McIlroy has reason to celebrate with best start at Augusta in 15 years

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy began his title defense in the Masters with a tee shot that rolled next to a spectator's seat. Another one was in the trees. His tee shot on the seventh hole went into the 17th fairway. The prevailing thought was not concern, not the slightest bit of panic. He's the Masters champion. That brought a measure of patience and a load of freedom. "I just trusted that eventually I'll start to make some good swings. So that was a little different," McIlroy said after opening with a 5-under 67, his best start at Augusta National in 15 years, to share the lead with Sam Burns. It seems as though McIlroy has been wearing his Masters green jacket all week — to the weekend activities, to his news conference on Tuesday (Tiger Woods never did that), to the Masters Club dinner that night. And after his opening round? "It's easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on at the end of the day," he said. It wasn't his best golf, but he got everything out of his round in his bid to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back at Augusta National. "By the way, Rory may never lose this thing again after last year," Fred Couples said he told his caddie when he heard another cheer, presumably for McIlroy. Only one other player in the last 10 years — Hideki Matsuyama when he won in 2021 — shot 67 while hitting only five fairways. McIlroy was the sixth defending champion to have at least a share of the 18-hole lead, though only Jack Nicklaus (1966) went on to win. There's a long way to go, and a course that already has everyone's attention because of how fast and firm it already was on Thursday. Burns was among the early starters. He played the par 5s with three birdies and an eagle and wound up with his lowest score in his fifth Masters appearance. "Historically, people who have success here play the par 5s really well, and we were able to do that today. So it's a good recipe around this golf course," Burns said. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world going for a third green jacket in the last five years, was 3 under through three holes in the tougher afternoon, when the light gusts began playing tricks and the greens got crispy. He had one bogey and 14 pars the rest of the way for a 70. The whole day was tough, and the forecast — this could be the first Masters in 25 years without any rain — has everyone on edge thinking what the next three days could hold. Yes, the weather was gorgeous. But dry and firm conditions are scary, even in this marvelous garden. "It's not right on the edge, but it's playing nice and firm where you can get yourself in a lot of trouble if you lose control somewhere," Adam Scott said after a 72. Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion and a two-time winner on the European tour this year, was at 69 along with Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama. Reed was atop the leaderboard for so much of the day due to two eagles on the front nine that sent him out in 31. But he dropped a shot on the 10th, and then was flummoxed by what he thought was an ideal shot for his second into the par-5 15th. Such are the firmness of the greens that his shot hit hard off the back of the green, bounded down the slope and didn't stop rolling until it was in the pond on No. 16. "Water?" Reed asked his caddie as he looked toward the green. "It landed on the green." He later described it as a "head-scratcher." "I knew if it went over the green, we would be fine," Reed said. "Didn't really think I was going to go 30 yards over the green." Justin Rose, twice a playoff loser in the Masters, was in range of the lead until he dropped three shots over the last five holes and had to settle for a 70, tied with Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry. The greens are already are so firm that Rose quipped, "You might get a yellow jacket if you win." That was a reference to the shade of the greens — a yellow sheen means firm and fast, and that color on Thursday can make players nervous. Augusta National can still take a bite out of anyone with enough swirling gusts to bring indecision, or bad shots that wind up in the wrong spot. Bryson DeChambeau found that out on the 11th hole when he put his approach in the right bunker and it took him three to get out on his way to a 76. Jon Rahm turned potential birdie or better into a double bogey with a shot into the azalea bushes on the par-5 13th. He didn't make a birdie in his 78. Only five players broke 70, and only 16 players broke par, the lowest in five years at the Masters for the opening round. Ten players failed to break 80. One of them was Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, the No. 8 player in the world. He was among three players to take quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-5 15th. McIlroy wasn't sure want to expect in his 18th appearance, his first as the Masters champion. Only twice had he started with rounds in the 60s, his best a 65 in 2011. That year, he went on to shoot 80 on the final day. There were still nerves. It's still Augusta National. "My hope was to get off to a solid start," he said. "I feel like the way I played, 5 under, exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do." ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf