McIlroy Tied for Lead at Augusta After Impressive Opening Round

Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, made a strong start to his bid for back-to-back Masters titles, sharing the lead with Sam Burns after the first day at Augusta National. McIlroy carded a 67, which included five birdies in an eight-hole stretch, to finish five under par. He is joined at the top by Burns, with Jason Day, Patrick Reed, and Kurt Kitayama two shots back in tied-third. Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler are also in contention, despite a difficult day for some of the other big names, including Bryson DeChambeau, who struggled to a 76, and former champion Jon Rahm, who shot 78. McIlroy, who is looking to become the first player to retain the Green Jacket since Tiger Woods, found momentum after a slow start, with successive birdies helping him reach the turn in 34. He then started a fresh birdie burst with a gain at the par-five 13th, before another birdie at the next took him to four under with four holes to play. McIlroy avoided a repeat of last year's expensive finish to his opening round, taking advantage of the par-five 15th to pull level with Burns. 'I felt like I got a lot out of my round,' McIlroy said. 'It started pretty scrappy, but I stayed patient and played some good golf from the eighth hole onwards.'