IT would seem Rory McIlroy’s propensity for drama at Augusta National has survived his transition from chaser to champion. A year in a green jacket has clearly done nothing to cure this man.
That he landed himself in a share of the day-one lead is not the only point to be made here, because it would overlook the wonderful absurdities of how his score of 67 was written.
There’s a short answer for that – loopy. Quintessentially mad. Same as always when McIlroy walks between these hills at the Masters.
But the detailed answer is better. For that, we should revisit his situation as he contemplated an approach to the par-five eighth hole, when he stood in the first cut of rough beneath the canopy of a tree and 270 yards from the flag following his drive. By then, retrievals had been the theme of his day and they needed to be – every fairway had been missed. Not a single hit.
Goodness, had you asked him in those two hours to take aim at a barndoor from five yards with driver in hand, chances are he would have missed.
But they always say Augusta is a second-shot course and McIlroy’s were exceptional. This one was kept low beneath the branches with a gripped-down three wood and his ball followed the contours to the wildly improbable outcome of a two-putt birdie. Over the course of the next seven holes, four more followed, mostly from even ropier spots.
Let’s go to the 13th, for instance, where he had chunked into the water on that final-round of catharsis and craziness 12 months ago. He put himself in bother there again this time, deep into the trees and on the pine straw, but he punched out and got up-and-down from the wrong side of the creek for a birdie four. That was impressive.
Rory McIlroy carded a five-under 67 to begin the defence of his Masters title at Augusta
But there was more. More loose drives and more stunning revivals.
And that means a look at the 15th, another par five and another landmark of 2025. Once again, he had yanked his drive left but too far even for a repeat of the wonder hook he uncorked for the highlight shot of last year. No, he instead had to stab through a small window between the trunks and followed it with a floaty pitch over the lake to leave a 30-foot birdie putt. He drained it.
Which was what he did all day. That goes for each of the par fives – every one of them is essential for a good score on this course and all were birdied from a tough position – and it goes for how he grinded across the 18 holes in general.
With countless challenges inflicted by his own driver and a course at its most fiendish, he repeatedly got the ball where it needed to be, delivering his best first-round score here since 2011 and matched only by Sam Burns. Scottie Scheffler is three back alongside that old thorn Justin Rose, but neither Jon Rahm nor Bryson DeChambeau were in the same postcode.
‘It’s a great start, but there’s a long way to go,’ McIlroy said. ‘I’m right in the tournament. It’s a lot better than start from seven behind going into the second round like last year.
‘I’m not getting ahead of myself but I’m feeling good with where I’m at.’
He admitted there had been more nerves than he expected on the first, but that was also a source of reassurance. By his view, that masterpiece of 2025 has not sapped his hunger but it has given him the confidence to ride out a few bad drives. A good combination, all told.
Of course, there are 54 holes to go and on Friday McIlroy will not have the advantage of an earlier start. This course baked itself firmer by the hour and so it was even tougher for those who went later.
But, then again, DeChambeau was out shortly before him. A winner on his past two LIV starts, the American was fancied on arrival and shot 76, including one against the arm of a patron on the sixth and three in the 11th bunker. The mad scientist will need to find serious answers in his lab.
What of Jon Rahm, the pre-tournament favourite? A later starter, he finished on six over and spent most of it with a face like thunder. A lost ball in the greenside flowers at the 13th for a double was his nadir. A quadruple-bogey nine at the 15th by Bob MacIntyre contributed to an 80 – a recurring tale of woe for what happens at Augusta when the fairways and green get this fast. He uttered ‘jesus f***’ to himself on Amen Corner, so let’s not forget the ungodly things this place can do to excellent golfers.
McIlroy will surely relish how many big names struggled, but he won’t savour who is in proximity. They include Scheffler, whose failure to win for a couple of months has been exaggerated as a crisis.
True, his irons, once so reliable, have been looser of late but an eagle at the second illuminated a steady 70. The fact he carded only one bogey suggests he is back in control of his ball and on Friday he will have the kinder side of the draw, with the cooler morning conditions.
It was far from plain sailing for McIlroy, who struggled before recovering in a strange first round
More tantalising perhaps is the presence of Rose, aged 45 and chasing a rematch with McIlroy after last year’s play-off defeat. He twice got to four under par on the back nine but finished bogey-bogey for a 70. As ever, he’s in the mix, along with Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama (both three under) and a past champion in Patrick Reed, who shot two eagles in a 70. Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele are the major winners in a cluster at two under.
That is a stroke clear of Tommy Fleetwood, who sank a combined 56-feet of putts in amassing three straight birdies from the second and reached four under at the turn. He gave three back on the way in and Ludvig Aberg fell harder from three under to two over.
None could match or better the scores of Burns and McIlroy, who appears to be living up to the expectation of what he might do with the monkey off his back.
If McIlroy can stabilise his driving, which is no easy fix given balls were being missed to both the left and right and he only hit five fairways all day, then any jump from his B-game to A-game is a formidable prospect.
Time will tell how well he can sustain the pace, but few golfers grumble about a round featuring only one bogey. Having carded two doubles in his corresponding round of 72 in 2025, this was a significant upgrade, not that the last visit here ended too badly.
