Rory McIlroy sends message to 'TIO lovers on Twitter' after lucky break at East Lake

Rory McIlroy joked all the 'TIO lovers on Twitter' were going to enjoy watching replays of his fortunate birdie on the 18th hole during the first round of the PGA Tour's season finale.

McIlroy trails early leader Russell Henley by five strokes after the opening round of the Tour Championship at East Lake. 

The Masters champion may count himself somewhat fortunate to card a 66 though after he was on the receiving end of a fortuitous break at the closing hole. 

He attempted to go for the green in two but found the sand guarding the green with his approach. 

Then his bladed bunker shot sailed over the green but bounced back off a hospitality tent onto the putting surface. 

Instead of taking relief from the temporary structure, McIlroy found himself with a 17-foot for birdie - which he promptly rolled in. 

McIlroy and his playing partner, Scottie Scheffler, were also lucky to finish round one as seconds after they putted out the horn blew to end the day's play owing to a dangerous weather situation. 

"If it hadn't have come down and we had to drop, we mightn't have got finished, so lucky in a lot of different ways, lucky for the score and lucky we got done," McIlroy said. 

"I feel like I played well enough to shoot four-under if not better, so it was a nice and lucky way to finish."

Asked for his reaction to his thin bunker shot, McIlroy said: "Came out a little faster than obviously I wanted it to, but at that point you're just hoping that something is going to happen - all the TIO lovers are going to love that one on Twitter tonight."

Scheffler said: "I have never rooted so hard for somebody's ball to come back, outside of my partner in a team event. 

"Because we're walking to 18 and Bones told us they were going to blow at any second, so I'm watching his ball fly towards the grandstand. 

"I'm like, oh, my gosh, we've got no way of finishing this thing, so I was relieved when I saw it come back on the green."

Watch what happened here: