Defending champion Rory McIlroy stormed right into a share of the lead after the opening day at The Masters, with Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler all in rivalry at Augusta Nationwide.
McIlroy made the dream begin to his bid to change into the primary back-to-back winner at The Masters since Tiger Woods, 12 months on from finishing the profession Grand Slam, as he posted 5 birdies in an eight-hole stretch on his approach to an opening-round 67.
The world No 2 is joined on 5 underneath by Sam Burns, who set the preliminary clubhouse goal, with the pair holding a two-shot buffer over Jason Day, Patrick Reed and Kurt Kitayama in tied-third.
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Watch highlights of Rory McIlroy’s opening spherical, the place he began his title defence with a powerful five-under 67
Rose – who completed runner-up to McIlroy final April – was inside one of many lead till ending a two-under 70 with successive bogeys, with Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele and Scheffler additionally all inside three of the lead.
Simply 16 gamers broke par in agency and quick circumstances, with Bryson DeChambeau struggling to a four-over 76 and former champion Jon Rahm stuttering to an opening-round 78.
Dream begin for defending champion McIlroy
McIlroy, trying to be part of Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Woods as the one gamers to retain the Inexperienced Jacket, cancelled out an early birdie on the par-five second with a bogey on the subsequent as he made a sluggish begin alongside Cameron Younger and US Novice champion Mason Howell.
The five-time main champion discovered simply 5 fairways off the tee in the course of the opening day however noticed momentum change when successive birdies helped him attain the flip in 34, with McIlroy beginning a recent birdie burst by benefiting from the par-five thirteenth.
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McIlroy made three consecutive birdies on the second 9 at Augusta Nationwide, shifting him tied for the lead
One other birdie on the subsequent took him to 4 underneath with 4 holes to play, the identical place he was in earlier than an costly end to an opening-round 72 final yr, with McIlroy avoiding a repeat when he took benefit of the par-five fifteenth to drag stage with Burns.
McIlroy missed a birdie alternative for the solo lead on the seventeenth however equalled the second-lowest opening spherical by a defending champion, with Burns additionally on 5 underneath after posting his career-best spherical at The Masters.
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McIlroy claimed that he felt simply as nervous in the course of the spherical as he is felt throughout earlier tournaments at Augusta Nationwide, regardless of having the Grand Slam secured
“I felt like I got a lot out of my round,” McIlroy mentioned. “It started pretty scrappy. I was hitting out of the trees a little bit the first seven holes and then started to string some good swings together from the eighth hole onwards and played those last 11 in five under.
“I stayed actually affected person once I wanted to. Actually, I could not have gotten much more out of my spherical. I really feel like I leaned closely on my expertise on the market to do this.”
Can McIlroy defend his title and register a sixth main victory?
Star-studded leaderboard chase McIlroy and Burns
Kitayama briefly held the solo lead after 4 birdies in a five-hole stretch from the sixth, then recovered from dropping three pictures in two holes of Amen Nook to card a three-under 69, with Reed on the identical rating regardless of additionally main after eagling each par-fives on the primary 9.
Scheffler threatened the clubhouse goal after an eagle-birdie run moved him to a few underneath after three holes, however the world No 1 performed the remainder of his spherical in a single over to slide three off the leaders.
Can Scottie Scheffler declare a fifth main title in as many seasons?
Rose – a three-time runner-up at Augusta Nationwide – additionally sits tied-sixth after carding 5 birdies and three bogeys throughout his opening day, with Lowry recovering from being over-par after seven holes to additionally get again to 2 underneath.
“I’ve got to look at the big picture,” Rose advised Sky Sports activities. “It was a day to be patient. I was doing a nice job of that, but then the course was getting a bit firmer towards the end of the day and I made a couple of poor mistakes.”
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Bob MacIntyre’s Masters hopes had been severely dented with a quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-five fifteenth gap
Aaron Rai is among the many group on one underneath as he bids to change into the primary participant to say the Masters Par 3 Contest and main victory in the identical week, with Tommy Fleetwood additionally 4 again after failing to construct on a three-birdie run early in his spherical.
DeChambeau took three makes an attempt to get out of a greenside bunker on his approach to a triple-bogey seven on the eleventh, leaving him 9 strokes adrift, whereas Rahm is tied-73rd in a 91-man discipline after failing to register a birdie on the opening day.
Who will win The Masters? Watch all through the week reside on Sky Sports activities. Reside protection continues Friday from 2pm on Sky Sports activities Golf, with further protection on Sky Sports activities+. Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract.
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