Rory McIlroy opened his Australian Open campaign with a wild first round, signing for a one-over 72 that somehow included six bogeys and five birdies.
Starting with a birdie on the 10th alongside Aussie stars Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee, McIlroy immediately found trouble with back-to-back bogeys, only to respond with birdies at 14 and 15 to stabilise the card. But the turbulence on a blustery day never really stopped, as another slight misread on 16 led to another dropped shot, before he turned with an even 37.
The front nine was more of the same chaos. A bogey at the 1st was instantly countered by back-to-back birdie putts to drag him back to even, only for the 4th hole to bite with yet another bogey.
McIlroy finally found some calm, carding four pars in his final five holes, with only a disappointing bogey on the par-3 7th breaking the run.
This year's Masters champion noted the difficulty in navigating tough winds that were surging above 40km/h in Melbourne.
"It's tricky, very tricky. The greens are getting firm," the 36-year-old North Irishman said. "It was a good thing they didn't cut them today because it would have been unplayable.
"I felt like I could have shot under par or something in the 60s but it doesn't look like anyone is going to get too far away today.
"I limited the damage and hopefully the conditions are a little better over the next few days and I can make a run."
Returning to Australia for the first time in more than a decade after winning this event in 2013, McIlroy said he was struck by the reception he received.
"It was great, a wonderful atmosphere, and playing with Adam (Scott) and Min Woo (Lee) it was unbelievable," he said.
"Just really cool to see how many people were lining the fairways and framing the greens.
"The welcome has been so warm, it's been a pleasure to be here and hopefully I can play a bit better over the next three days and give them a bit more to cheer about."
Catch up on how the first day unfolded below: