Rory McIlroy: Instant Reaction to Rory's Opening Round Performance

Rory McIlroy may have had a record-breaking performance at last year's U.S. Open, but he hasn't been the same since.

McIlroy came into the 2012 U.S. Open on Thursday with five top-10 finishes in eight PGA Tour events this year, including a victory at the Honda Classic in March. On the other hand, McIlroy placed 25th and 64th at the British Open and PGA Championship respectively in 2011 and 40th at the Masters this year.

McIlroy's major championship woes since the 2011 U.S. Open continued on Thursday at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, as he shot a seven-over 77 through 18 holes. The 23-year-old had eight bogeys on the day and one birdie.

McIlroy started off the day poorly, scoring a bogey on the first hole. He shot even par for the next three holes before he ran into a tough patch, shooting a bogey on the fifth, seventh and ninth holes. He was even par for the next two holes before he bogeyed No. 12, birdied No. 13 and then bogeyed No. 15, No. 17 and No. 18.

Overall, McIlroy was never able to get into a rhythm. He had a string of holes where he shot even par, but even after his birdie on No. 13, he closed off the first round in disappointing fashion.

The reigning U.S. Open champion has had trouble hitting the fairways all season long. Headed into this year's tournament, he had hit just 56.5 percent of fairways, ranking him 127th on the PGA Tour. He hit just six fairways in the first round on Thursday.

McIlroy also hasn't done as well this year on greens in regulation. He hit six of 18 greens on Thursday. He hit 17 greens in the first round last year.

On top of that, McIlroy was eighth in putting per hole headed into this year's U.S. Open, but he missed some putts down the stretch on Thursday that he would normally make.

McIlroy's golf game has been concerning overall this year, especially in big tournaments, and he's making things harder on himself with his poor driving accuracy.

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