Rory McIlroy has come under fire for not living up to the standards of "a great champion" and becoming "distracted" following his latest Masters slip-up, which has put his hopes of landing a career Grand Slam at risk already.

The Northern Irish golf star, cheered on by his wife Erica Stoll at Augusta, was performing well with four-under par through 14 holes until two double bogeys late in the round derailed his progress. McIlroy ended with a level-par 72, leaving him seven shots adrift of the leader Justin Rose, despite having tipped by golfing legends Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson to clinch this year's Masters.

His performance took a nosedive at the 15th hole when his second shot sailed over the green, followed by a chip that landed in the water, before McIlroy eventually scored a seven.

Golf Channel pundit Paul McGinley pointed out that the world No. 2 seemed to lose concentration before making the poor third shot. He explained: "I think he got distracted. It took him a long time to play that pitch shot. His playing partner Akshay Bhatia put his second in the water. He took ages to play his shot - he took about 10 practice swings.

"So A it took a long time. Then B his ball landed in Rory's line so he had to wait for him to walk around the lake to mark his ball. Then he had to wait for the players to walk off the 16th tee. So he ended up waiting five minutes to play his shot.

"He is such a quick player - he wants to get on with hit. He got distracted. I don't blame Bhatia or the players walking off 16. For a player who likes to play quickly, it was a drop in concentration. And that is what great champions don't do. And I am sure that the 17th was a legacy of it."

Following a challenging round that saw him score a seven and a double bogey at the 17th hole, McIlroy opted not to engage with the media and instead headed directly to the practice range. This marks his 11th attempt to clinch a career Grand Slam since his third Major victory at the 2014 Open.

The odds are now stacked against the 35-year-old as 18 out of the last 19 Masters winners have been within four shots of the lead after the first round. McIlroy has often struggled in his opening rounds at Augusta National, trailing by at least six shots after the first day in his last six Masters tournaments.

"It is a long way back for him," concluded McGinley, before pointing out McIlroy's tendency to be hard on himself and the frustration he must be experiencing after such a shaky first round.

His performance this year was further eclipsed by his playing partners; American Bhatia finished with three consecutive birdies, while Ludvig Aberg, who came second in his debut last year, matched golfers Scottie Scheffler and Corey Connors in second place.

This article originally appeared on Mirror US