McIlroy Makes Strong Start in Bid to Defend Masters Title

Rory McIlroy has made an impressive start to his Masters title defense, carding a five-under 67 to take an early share of the lead at Augusta National. McIlroy, who last year became the sixth male golfer to complete the career Grand Slam, mixed six birdies with a lone bogey to leave him tied with Sam Burns. The Northern Irishman, who is seeking to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles, was pleased with his opening round but is refusing to get carried away. 'It's a great start, but there's a long way to go,' McIlroy said. 'I'm right in the tournament and it's a lot better than starting from seven behind going into the second round, like I was last year.' McIlroy's round was marked by a strong finish, with the 36-year-old carding successive birdies from the 13th hole to move to four under. He then drained a 30-foot birdie at the par-five 15th to pull level with Burns. McIlroy's opening round was his second-lowest at The Masters, and he is well-placed to make a strong defense of his title. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, who was the first player to successfully defend at The Masters in 1966, has backed McIlroy to follow suit. 'If you're going to win two years in a row, you'll find conditions you like and maybe you don't find conditions you like, but you've got to adjust to both of those,' Nicklaus said. 'I was fortunate enough to be able to do that. Rory has got the monkey off his back, and I think he has a very, very good chance to repeat.' McIlroy will look to build on his strong start when the second round gets underway on Friday.