Golf:A dropped shot at the final hole denied Rory McIlroy a share of the lead at the Korea Open today. But on three under, the 22-year-old trails first round pacesetters Rickie Fowler and YE Yang by just a single stroke.

McIlroy, chasing a first win since his breakthrough major success at the US Open in June, had a mixed day at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in the South Korean city of Cheonan.

The 22-year-old fired seven birdies, more than both Yang and Fowler, but three dropped shots straight after the turn were compounded by a six at the par five 18th. He shares third place with Koreans Lee Soo-min and Hong Soon-sang.

After bogeying the 10th, McIlroy found water at the 11th could only scramble for a six. He also found water at the last after attempting to go for the green in two.

“I felt like I played well. I started nicely and I was three under through nine holes, but I had a bad couple of holes on the back nine at 10 and 11 with a bogey and a double bogey,” he said.

“I did well from there to birdie four of the next six holes to get back to four under par, but then I was disappointed to bogey the last. But overall, it is a good start and something to build on.

“The shot on 11 was just a bad shot, while on 18 the wind just grabbed it. I was aggressive, but I want to play aggressively.”