Rory McIlroy experienced a self-described "roller coaster" as he slipped seven strokes off the lead after the opening round of the Crown Australian Open.

McIlroy - making his first appearance since securing the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai for a seventh time - mixed five birdies with six bogeys during a one-over 72 at Royal Melbourne.

The Masters champion was among the early starters in windy conditions, where gusts reached close to 40 miles per hour at times, with McIlroy seeing an opening-hole birdie cancelled out with back-to-back bogeys over his next two holes.

McIlroy dropped a shot at the par-three 16th and opened his second nine with a bogey at the first, then saw successive birdies from the second undone by dropped shots at the fourth and par-three seventh.

"It was a roller co

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