GOLF – Rory McIlroy began the defence of his first Masters title with a 5-under-par 67 that gave him a share of the afternoon lead with Sam Burns at Augusta National yesterday.
It is only the third time in 18 Masters starts that McIlroy has broken 70 in the first round, and the second-lowest opening-round score he has posted, only trailing a 65 in 2011.
“Great, great start to the week, obviously. Felt like I got a lot out of my round today,” he said.
“I settled into the round nicely even when I wasn’t hitting fairways.”
Yesterday’s effort tied the 5 under posted by Burns earlier in the afternoon. Both players took significant advantage of the par-5s.
Burns eagled the second hole and birdied the three others, while McIlroy birdied all four of them.
Like Burns, McIlroy made his turn in 2 under before carding a 3-under 33 on the back nine courtesy of three consecutive birdies from Nos 13-15.
McIlroy acknowledged earlier this week that last year’s victory took a “big weight” off his shoulders. And now he’s in an excellent position as he attempts to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters.
McIlroy shot an opening-round 72 in 2025 that left him in a tie for 27th, and his average opening score in 17 previous Masters was 71.7.
Through what he called a shaky first seven holes, a low round didn’t appear to be in the cards. Then a birdie at No. 8 led to playing his final 11 holes in 5 under.
Earlier, Burns posted the best score of his Masters career in any round, besting the 68 he shot in the first round in 2023. In 12 rounds through four previous appearances at Augusta National, that had been the lone time Burns had broken 70 until yesterday.
Patrick Reed also reached 5 under by eagling both par-5s on the front nine to make his turn at 31, but the 2018 Masters champion gave a shot back at No. 10 before putting a ball in the water on the par-5 15th for another bogey to enter the clubhouse at 3 under.
Kurt Kitayama finished an eventful day at 3-under 69. He reached 4 under through 10 holes before a bogey on No. 11 and a double bogey on the short par-3 12th. He was able to card birdies on two of his final holes to get to the clubhouse among the early leaders.
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