Rory McIlroy was again haunted by ‘silly little mistakes’ in posting a level par 72 on the opening day of the Masters.
McIlroy was two under par at the turn and only four shots from the then clubhouse lead before an roller-coaster inward half to end trailing six shots behind the leading duo of Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Australia’s Marc Leishman who shot six under par 66s.
Garcia’s round is the first time since the third round in 2002 he’s not recorded a bogey while Leishman is competing in only his second Masters and now carrying the added burden of looking to become the first ‘Down Under’ golfer to finish on top of the Masters leaderboard.
Rory McIlroy acknowledges the crowd but there was hardly much to cheer about in a 72.
McIroy’s score continues a first day trend at Augusta where he’s only broken 70 just once and that was shooting a 65 two years ago, and three days before the horror of his Masters meltdown.
The World No. 2 teed up in the penultimate group on the first day of the year’s first Major and quickly put his name up on the board when he birdied the second.
McIlroy, who had finished runner-up less than a week earlier in the Valero Texas Open, then moved to two under par with a birdie at ‘Juniper’, the par three sixth hole, where some three hours earlier reigning Irish Open winner, Jamie Donaldson aced the hole in his maiden Masters.
But McIlroy then bogeyed the next before a birdie the ninth.
However McIlroy again came unstuck at the downhill 10th and not in dramatic manner as he had endured two years ago, but nonetheless taking bogey for the sixth occasion now in 15 rounds of Augusta.
McIlroy then used his length off the tee to birdie the par five 13th and 15th holes and get back into the red on one under par.
He was then putting for birdie at 16th but just missed the hole before a sloppy three-putt bogey at the next to drop back to level par.
However while fellow PGA Champion, Keegan Bradley was looking for a passage from trees at the 18th, McIlroy split the fairway and then played an 8-iron, pin-high and left of the flag from where two putted for par.
McIlroy walked from the course just prior to 7pm local time ahead of impending rain shower.
The Northern Irishman will commence his second round at 3.34pm (Irish time) today (FRID) quickly looking for a brighter passage around Georgia golfing gem.
“It could have been better and I felt like I played well and gave myself plenty of opportunities,” he said.
“I just made some silly mistakes – a couple of three-putts on the back nine. I made enough birdies but I just need to cut those mistakes out and I’ll be fine.”
“I turned in two-under par and everything felt good. That was the story of the day any time I got a bit of momentum I gave it straight back. Around this course you really can’t do that. I feel like the game is there, I mean I hit the ball really well.
“As long as I keep giving myself birdie opportunities like that and take a few of them, hopefully I can go out and post a good one tomorrow.”
“But I am getting there. I think I am hitting the ball just as well. It is just a matter of taking the opportunities and limiting the mistakes.”
