McIlroy Takes Early Lead at Augusta as DeChambeau Struggles

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 round at Augusta National. McIlroy carded a 67, with five birdies in an eight-hole stretch, to finish five under par. He is joined at the top by Burns, while Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and world number one Scottie Scheffler are also in contention. In contrast, Bryson DeChambeau had a nightmare start, struggling to a four-over 76. McIlroy, who is seeking 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, taking advantage of the par-five 13th, and 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, 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 really patient when I needed to.' Kitayama briefly held the solo lead after four birdies in a five-hole stretch, while Reed and Scheffler also had strong starts, but DeChambeau's triple-bogey seven at the 11th left him nine strokes adrift. 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 also get back to two under. Aaron Rai is among the group on one under as he bids to become the first player to claim the Masters Par 3 Contest and major victory in the same week.