Rory McIlroy was happy to be trending in the right direction after firing an opening 67 on day one of the BMW PGA Championship.
The 2014 champion was teeing it up at Wentworth Club for the first time since 2015, a three-year absence that has seen the West Course undergo some major changes and the event become part of the prestigious Rolex Series.
McIlroy has yet to make the cut in a Rolex Series event - although injuries restricted him to just two appearances in the blue-riband events last season - but his round on Thursday laid an excellent foundation for the three days to come.
The four-time Major Championship winner bogeyed the third but hit back with birdies on the fourth and sixth and when he hit the pin on the eighth, he moved to two under before giving the shot straight back. He then birdied the tenth and 12th, hit a stunning tee-shot into the 14th, and when his approach to the 16th was equally good, he was on the charge.
A stroke of luck after hitting the trees on the last allowed the Northern Irishman to set up a two-foot putt for birdie but he agonisingly missed it.
"I played well," he said. "I played a lot better today than I have done the last couple of weeks so it's a good step in the right direction.
"I think I did everything pretty well. I drove the ball much better and put the ball in play off the tee a lot more than I've done the last couple of weeks, so that's been really good.
"I thought I gave myself a lot of chances and I took most of them. A little frustrated I couldn't get a birdie or two out of the last couple of holes but, overall, a really good start."
McIlroy's five under par total was matched by Englishmen Richard Bland, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Sam Horsfield, with the home trio delighting a bumper crowd of 20,915.
Bland was the first man to set the target after a run that has seen him make just two cuts from ten starts this season, but he admitted golf had been put into perspective after his brother fell ill at the end of last year.
"My brother got very seriously ill in December and was in a coma for nearly a month over Christmas," he said. "Fortunately he seems on the way to recovery. He's still recovering and he's here today. It's great to see him walking around.
"We're a close family anyway and it's brought us even closer together and it just makes you think, even though I've had a tough time on the course, life ain't that bad at the end of the day. I've tried to sort of keep grasp of that, as well, and hopefully now I can just push on forward."
He added: "The quality of practice I've been doing is better and it's just been taking it out on the course. Today is one of those days you need just to see the progress you're making.
"It was nice to finish off, especially with three birdies because you know you're on for a good score and I managed to stay free and stay positive and stay aggressive and it worked out for me today."
