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McIlroy was tied for the lead with Englishman Callum Tarren,
David Lingmerth of Sweden and Joel Dahmen with about half the
field in the clubhouse.
Hayden Buckley, Matthew NeSmith, Brian Harman and Aaron Wise
turned in rounds of 2-under 68 to trail the leaders by one.
The four-time major champion from Northern Ireland entered the
championship as the odds-on favorite after he won the RBC
Canadian Open on Sunday. McIlroy stayed hot, starting his day on
the back nine with two birdies before holing back-to-back
birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to reach 4 under.
But a tough shot from off the ninth green left him a long par
putt he couldn't convert, and his only bogey of the round
knocked him out of the outright lead.
"I wanted to try to shoot a round of golf on a really tough
course without making a bogey," McIlroy said on the NBC
broadcast. "I achieved that for 17 holes and then didn't quite
save par there at the last. But overall a really good day. Had
some really good par savers. Hit the ball pretty well and it's a
great start to the tournament."
Dahmen, 34, started on the back nine and heated up late,
birdieing three of his final five holes to join McIlroy and the
co-leaders. Dahmen made birdie at three of the four par 3s.
Tarren was even through 15 holes before going birdie-eagle at
the par-4 seventh and par-5 eighth to shoot up the leaderboard.
Tarren's second shot at No. 8 nestled inside 5 feet for an easy
eagle. Ranked No. 445 in the world, the 32-year-old has never
won on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.
Lingmerth is a PGA Tour veteran who won his only career title in
2015. He entered the week ranked even lower than Tarren -- No.
592 in the world. He was the only co-leader to stay bogey free,
with birdies at the par-3 16th, par-4 18th and par-4 fifth.
Defending champion Jon Rahm of Spain, two-time major winner
Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Max Homa and Australia's Adam
Scott were part of a large group tied at 1-under 69.
Rahm made a wild birdie at No. 18 to finish his round. After his
drive missed badly left, he was granted a free drop after
someone ran off with his ball. He found the edge of the green
and drained a 21-footer for birdie.
Xander Schauffele and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama shot even-par 70.
Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay opened with rounds of 2-over
72.
Notable players who had just begun their rounds in the afternoon
wave included Phil Mickelson, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler,
PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks
Koepka, Australia's Cameron Smith and Ireland's Shane Lowry.
--Field Level Media
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