McIlroy, the world number three, used new equipment – in drivers and fairway woods – at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida, but spent too much time playing from the rough in a tournament won by Russell Henley, who closed with a 70 for 277 to win by a stroke from overnight leader Collin Morikawa.

A day after blustery conditions produced the highest first-round scoring average (74.624) since 2011, the wind relented and the temperature rose into the mid-70s to present a course ripe for