Rory McIlroy signed for his worst score in seven appearances at the DP World Tour Championship as he laboured to a 75 on the opening day in Dubai.
McIlroy has a remarkable record in the European Tour's season-ending tournament, winning twice and never finishing lower than 11th over the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The defending champion had not carded an over-par score in his previous 28 rounds, but a three-putt bogey on the first green set the tone for his day and he dropped another shot at the sixth.
McIlroy short-sided himself on the short sixth as he blocked his tee shot into a greenside bunker and failed to get up and down, and he slipped to four over following a drive into the desert scrub at the 10th.
The world No 2 finally made a move in the right direction when he birdied the long 14th before he rolled in a 12-foot putt for another gain at the next, but he gave both shots back at the 16th after needing two attempts to hack onto the green from the edge of a water hazard.
McIlroy did get another putt to drop for birdie from eight feet on the final hole but, at three over par, he trailed leader Lee Westwood by nine strokes.
His uncertain start also left him with a monumental task to retain not only his title, but his Race to Dubai crown as well, with only a win giving him a realistic chance of overhauling Henrik Stenson.
Watch the video above to see where it went wrong for McIlroy on the first day in Dubai, and don't miss our live coverage of the DP World Tour Championship on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.