KUALA LUMPUR: Rory McIlroy smashed the longest drive of his career as he put his US Masters meltdown behind him to fire an opening round three-under-par 69 at the Malaysian Open Thursday. All eyes were on McIlroy after he blew a four-shot lead at Augusta Sunday with huge crowds putting up with stifling temperatures in Kuala Lumpur to follow the Northern Irishman. Looking fresh in his white outfit despite his long flight, McIlroy carded a promising opening round to finish five shots behind leader Alexander Noren. It was not such a good day for Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. The South African bemoaned jet-lag and lost clubs as he slumped to a 73 after an early tee-time. The curly-haired McIlroy showed no ill-affects of a 25-hour journey to Malaysia and his clubs arriving late as he birdied three of his opening five holes at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. McIlroy, playing alongside world No. 1 Martin Kaymer (70) and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee (73), was not his usual solid self tee-to-green but his drive on the fifth hole passed the 400-yard mark thanks to a favorable bounce. “Probably,” the 21-year-old smirked when asked by reporters if it was the longest drive of his career. As the round progressed, however, a few loose shots crept in and his Augusta final-round putting woes returned when he missed a short par effort on 14 for his only dropped shot of the day. Noren, whose sole victory came at the European Masters in 2009, birdied his opening three holes before dropping his only shot at the 358-yard par four 14th. More birdies came though at the 16th and 17th, after starting on the 10th, as he turned in 32 thanks to a red hot putter. The Swede produced an error-free back nine, closing with birdies at his 10th, 12th, 14th and 18th.
