McIlroy Takes Early Lead at Augusta as DeChambeau Struggles

Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, has taken a share of the lead on the opening day of The Masters, joined by Sam Burns on five under par. McIlroy, who is seeking to become the first back-to-back winner at The Masters since Tiger Woods, carded an impressive 67, which included five birdies in an eight-hole stretch. The world No 2 is two shots ahead of Jason Day, Patrick Reed, and Kurt Kitayama, who are tied for third. Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler are also within three shots of the lead. Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau had a disastrous start, shooting a four-over 76, while former champion Jon Rahm struggled to a 78. McIlroy, who is aiming to join Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, and Woods as the only players to retain the Green Jacket, made a slow start but gained momentum with successive birdies. He found just five fairways off the tee but managed to cancel out an early bogey with a birdie at the par-five 13th. McIlroy then started a fresh birdie burst, taking advantage of the par-five 15th to pull level with Burns. The five-time major champion avoided a repeat of last year's expensive finish, equaling the second-lowest opening round by a defending champion. McIlroy said, 'I felt like I got a lot out of my round. It started pretty scrappy, but I stayed patient and leaned heavily on my experience.' Kitayama briefly held the solo lead after four birdies in a five-hole stretch, while Reed and Scheffler also had strong starts but slipped back. Rose, a three-time runner-up at Augusta National, sits tied-sixth after carding five birdies and three bogeys, and Lowry recovered from being over-par after seven holes to get back to two under. Aaron Rai is among the group on one under, bidding to become the first player to claim the Masters Par 3 Contest and major victory in the same week. DeChambeau's struggles continued with a triple-bogey seven at the 11th, leaving him nine strokes adrift, while Rahm failed to register a birdie on the opening day.