Rory McIlroy was put off by his own playing partner during his opening round at The Masters, according to Paul McGinley.

The Sky Sports pundit has pinpointed the moment which caused the world number two’s implosion on Thursday.

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McIlroy suffered a disastrous implosion during his first round at The Masters[/caption]

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The world number two found the water with his pitch shot on the 15th hole[/caption]

McIlroy had made an impressive start at Augusta National as he began his quest for the career Grand Slam.

The Masters remains the only Major title the Northern Irishman has yet to win.

After 14 holes on day one, McIlroy was four under par and yet to drop a shot.

His four birdies were enough to see him sit second on the leaderboard behind fellow Ryder Cup hero Justin Rose.

However, the 35-year-old carded double bogeys on both the 15th and 17th holes to end his round on an even 72.

It means McIlroy begins the second round tied for 27th with a seven-shot gap to Rose and two shots above the cut line.

McGinley believes the costly dropped shots on the final four holes were caused by playing partner Akshay Bhatia.

The pundit pinpointed the time the American took to play his fourth shot on the 15th hole after finding the water.

McIlroy was forced to wait for Bhatia before his pitch shot agonisingly rolled off the green and into the penalty zone.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage, McGinley explained: “I think he got distracted. It took him a long time to play that pitch shot.

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McGinley pinpointed the time Bhatia took to take a shot for McIlroy’s woes[/caption]

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The pair will be paired up with Ludvig Aberg once again for Friday’s second round[/caption]

“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 it. 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.”

McIlroy will again be partnered with Bhatia for Friday’s second round alongside Ludvig Aberg.

The trio are scheduled to tee off at 2:58pm BST as the leaderboard begins to take shape.

Bhatia will begin day two tied for seventh on two under par, whilst Aberg is in a three-way tie for second on four under.