Rory McIlroy makes solid return to action after Masters agony

Rory McIlroy returned to business as usual with a solid 69, but it is Sweden's Alexander Noren who leads the way after the opening round of the Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

The Northern Irishman, who threw away a four-shot lead during the final round at Augusta, carded a three-under-par round to end the day in a tie for ninth as part of a group that includes 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

Scotland's Stephen Gallacher fared even better, though, going round in a five-under-par 67 to share third place alongside Jeev Milkha Singh, of India, and Australian Darren Beck.

McIlroy, who had lost his clubs en route from America to Malaysia, had started brilliantly with birdies at the second, fourth and fifth. The only blemish of his round was a bogey at the par-four 14th, but he picked up another shot with a three at the 17th.

Charl Schwartzel, the man who took advantage of McIlroy's collapse to secure the green jacket, did not enjoy such a good day and could only post a one-over score of 73.

He said: "I didn't sleep very well. I'm struggling to focus and the golf swing is tight. I was swinging so well last week and the weeks before that. The body isn't responding right now, but it will come."

The South African started at the tenth and bogeyed the 11th, 13th and 16th holes before staging a recovery of sorts on the front nine by picking up shots at the second and third.

But that was only good enough to leave him nine shots adrift of Noren, who dropped just one shot as he secured a two-shot lead with an eight-under-par round of 64.

The Swede, another player to start at the tenth, birdied his first three holes before bogeying the 14th. But he picked up further shots at the 16th, 17th, first, third, fifth and ninth to leave him clear of Italian Matteo Manassero, who held the clubhouse lead after his 66, posting eight birdies and two bogeys.

Manassero, who became the European Tour's youngest winner when he captured the Castello Masters Costa Azahar last year and turns 18 next week, said winning in Malaysia would be "a nice way to celebrate".

Noren admitted he was slightly surprised by the quality of his putting, but felt a recent break had done him the world of good. "I was really nervous going into this round. I don't know why. I'm normally nervous after a little break," he told the European Tour website. "I had two weeks off and I worked a lot harder on my game these two weeks than before. I really felt coming in that you only play one round and it didn't feel the same.

"I started off holing a nice putt on ten, 11 and 12 and thought: 'What's going on?' I had bogey on 14 and then I managed to putt well. My putter was great today. After that, my driver was steady then it was all about getting it close enough.I felt lucky at times when they kept rolling in, but you have to have that sometimes. I holed a lot from six over seven metres."