The Masters 2026 LIVE: Leaderboard and updates as Rory McIlroy has overnight lead with Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose chasing – UK Times

Defending champion Rory McIlroy shot five-under on a great opening day, and he had the following to say on his first round:

“I thought I would feel different, but then I put my ball on the tee and felt the same nerves. I’m glad I felt that way. Something would be wrong if I didn’t,” he explained.

“I settled really quickly. I’ve said all week there’s a certain freedom now. If I hit it in the trees? Okay! I’ve seen it all. I did that a bit on the front nine and found my game on the back. I swung freely and kept doing so even on the front nine. It’s a great start but a long way to go. I’m feeling good with where I’m at, though.

“I still have high expectations, but my expectations are more ‘Did I make good decisions today? Was I committed? Was I trusting?’ It wasn’t, ‘I’m going to go out and shoot 65 and did I do it?’

“It took me a while to focus on the process and the little mini goals of not compounding errors. If I can live up to those expectations, then the scores and the results should take care of themselves,” he added.

Here are some of the notable tee times over the next 45 minutes or so:

14:02 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Aaron Rai (Eng), Jacob Bridgeman (US)

14:19 Harry Hall (Eng), Corey Conners (Can), Michael Brennan (US)

14:31 JJ Spaun (US), Maverick McNealy (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)

While the likes of McIlroy and Rose had a great first day at Augusta National, there are a few notable names who might have already played themselves out of contention.

Sergio García, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka are among those on level par going into day two, with Matt Fitzpatrick, JJ Spaun, Tyrell Hatton and Ludvig Åberg all scrambling as they start the second day on +2.

Further back, Viktor Hovland sits on +3 while Bryson DeChambeau is on +4. 2023 winnee Jon Rahm is essentially out of contention on +6 alongside Ryder Cup teammate Rasmus Højgaard, with Robert MacIntyre the biggest notable struggler after finishing day one at +8.

2023 Ryder Cup-winner Nicolai Hojgaard has teed off for the day, as have Zach Johnson and Michael Kim.

Meanwhile, 2026 marks 10 years since Danny Willet’s shock win at Augusta, and the 2016 winner is teeing off now as he bids to mark that anniversary with another memorable performance.

Another par for Samuel Stevens on the second hole, so he stays on evens.

Brian Campbell has also teed off and started with a par, meaning he stays one-under and tied 10th.

And it’s pars all-round really as Wyndham Clark remains level through the first hole.

McIlroy is also looking to join another slightly less exclusive list this year – that of multiple Masters winners.

18 players have won the tournament on more than one occasion, with Nicklaus leading the way with six wins between 1963 and 1986. The American also has the longest time between his first and last win, with 23 years!

Woods’ five wins came between 1997 and 2019, while Arnold Palmer is the only man with four wins – the first in 1958 and the last in 1964.

There were several players who won multiple titles in the tournament’s earlier years, with Horton Smith winning the first and third editions in 1934 and 1936.

Gary Player and Phil Mickelson are among the five men to have won the Masters three times, while Bernhard Langer and Spaniards Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal have both won twice at Augusta.

The most recent two-time winners are Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler, the latter of whom won as recently as 2022 and 2024.

A par to start the day for both Stevens and Im, with the American staying on level par.

Rory McIlroy could hardly have asked for a better start to the 2026 Masters as he finished day one five-under, and it’s a great start as he looks to join an exclusive club of back-to-back Masters champions.

Only three men have won successive Masters tournaments in the 90-year history of the major. Two of them are perhaps the most famous golfers in history: Jack Nicklaus won in 1965 and 1966 as two of his record six Masters titles, while Tiger Woods won in 2001 and 2002 as two of his five wins at Augusta.

And McIlroy looks to join Britain’s (other) most famous golfer as a two-time winner, after Sir Nick Faldo won in both 1989 and 1990.

The first groups of the day are underway at Augusta National! Samuel Stevens and Sung-Jae Im get us started on Friday.

Here are a few of the highlights from day one in Augusta:

Here are all of McIlroy’s birdies…

And an eagle from Shane Lowry!

Plus, a great moment from 2018 winner Patrick Reed as he became just the second player in Masters history to eagle two of his first nine holes at the tournament!