Rory McIlroy whacked a drive over 400 yards at the Malayasian Open and announced he had put his US Masters woes behind him

“There was more people upset about that round than I was,” he said. “I’m fine. It’s one bad round. I’ll live and I’m getting on with it.”

He shot 3 under par to be five behind leader Alexander Norem.

McIlroy soon showed he ha ut his master's driving problems behind him by whacking his drive on the par five fifth hole past the 400 yard marker thanks to a favorable bounce.

Asked if it was his longest drive ever he said; “Probably,”“You don’t say this too often but I was almost too close to the green on a par five. It must have went at least 400 yards.

“I was lucky it hit off the cart-path and it could have went out of bounds but it stayed in bounds for me and set up an easy birdie.”

By the end of the round jet lag was evident as he missed some easy putts.

“I knew I was going to put a few bad swings on it just because of the way I was feeling but you know hopefully as the week progresses I can get better and shoot some better scores,” he said.