Rory McIlroy makes 'fiddly' remark after taking route 66 to kickstart Open bid at St Andrews

Rory McIlroy hailed his latest fast start in a major - in what he describes as the 'fiddliest' Open he has ever played.

McIlroy, the 2014 champion at Hoylake, would love to make history by becoming a two-time Open winner on the occasion of the 150th championship.

"It's the fiddliest Open that I've played. It's the only way I can really describe it," said the Ulsterman, after shooting a six-under par 66 on the Old Course to trail early pace-setter Cameron Young by two shots.

Rory McIlroy gets Open bid off to ideal start after sparkling first round at St Andrews

"It's just really fiddly out there. Carnoustie was firm in 2018, but it wasn't like this.

"OK, the 18th at Carnoustie was like a runway, that fairway, but around the greens here and just all the slopes and undulations and everything, I think as the tournament progresses, you're going to get some funny bounces and it's going to test your patience at times.

"And fiddly hasn't really been my forte over the years, but I'm hopefully going to make it my forte this week."

The 33-year-old looked extremely comfortable around the Old Course, following an opening birdie with three more back to back on 5, 6 and 7 to reach the turn in 32.

His one dropped shot came on 14 when a chip shot in front of the greenside bunker took a nasty bounce and he failed to get down in two putts from distance.

"Yeah, fantastic start," smiled McIlroy. "Just sort of what you hope will happen when you're starting off your week. I came in here playing well, and I've played this golf course well over the years.

"So I knew if I just went out there and played my game and stuck to my game plan, that something like this was possible. Yeah, I did everything that you're supposed to do around St Andrews. I