AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Rory McIlroy pushed his tee into the ground on the first tee at Augusta National Thursday morning, he felt his right hand twitch.
It was a familiar feeling, but on this day — his first competitive round at the Masters since his long-awaited career slam victory last year — it was a feeling he welcomed with open arms.
“I was worried like I always am. I’m thankful that I felt the same way. … I think it would hurt if I didn’t feel that way because it definitely still means something to me,” said McIlroy. “That’s a good thing. That’s why we want to be here. We want to be able to try to play our best golf if we feel like it.”
McIlroy did not, by his standards, play his best golf in the opening round but managed to control his 18 holes with a combination of patience and freedom resulting in a 5-under 67, good for a share of the Day 1 lead with Sam Burns and his lowest opening round at the Masters since 2011.
“I didn’t hit the ball well the first seven holes, and sometimes here that would lead me to test and get a little guide,” McIlroy said. “I kept throwing, just hoping I’d get it in the end. So maybe that was a little different.”
Despite hitting just five of the 14 fairways, McIlroy showed he knows exactly how to score here, getting birdies on the 13th and 15th holes despite hitting his drives into or behind Augusta’s pine trees, as well as one on the 14th — the hole he parred last year.
McIlroy said that he felt that the way he hit the ball, the appropriate score for him would have been less than 2, but it is clear that even though he hit the wrong shots, he did not panic or try to do much.
Last year, his hot start was hampered by double bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17 and led to a par opening round. This year, it seems that the steering wheel that had been struggling for more than a decade was finally under control.
“There are still shots where you feel a little tight on them, and you have to stand up and commit to a good swing and not worry about where it’s going to go,” McIlroy said. “But I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it’s going when I know I can go to the Champions Locker Room in my green jacket and get a Coke Zero at the end of the day.
As if shifting gears in a car, McIlroy showed that he knows when to be aggressive and when to be smart. Earlier in the week he mentioned that the discomfort he felt last year playing numbers 7, 14, and 17 off the tee prompted him to choose an aggressive approach. He hit a driver instead of a 3-wood on all three holes Thursday and played them to 1 under.
“I think it took me a while to get to that point where, if I focus on the process and the little goals of not making mistakes, like today, hitting it into the trees and trying to be the hero, making good decisions, thinking my way around the golf course,” McIlroy said. “I think those are the expectations of myself. And if I can live up to those expectations, then the points and the results should take care of themselves.”
In some ways, this opening round looked like the kind of victory McIlroy didn’t have last year as he rallied from the jaws of defeat and had to win a tight playoff against Justin Rose. Blown away by Thursday’s massive galleries, which saw him shrug off nearly every green, McIlroy tipped his hat and quietly acknowledged the scenes.
What’s more, he delivered a round that was worthy of his title and one that planted an important story throughout the week: Can he become the first player since Tiger Woods to win back-to-back green jackets?
“I said this when I entered on Tuesday,” said the player who has won five times. “I think winning the Masters makes it easier to win the second one, I do.”
