McIlroy Makes Strong Start in Bid to Defend Masters Title

Rory McIlroy has made an impressive start to his defense of the Masters title, carding a five-under 67 to share the early lead with Sam Burns. McIlroy, who became the sixth male golfer to complete the career Grand Slam with his victory at Augusta National last year, mixed six birdies with a lone bogey in his opening round. Despite his strong start, McIlroy is refusing to get carried away, saying 'it's a great start, but there's a long way to go.' He added that he felt the same nerves as always on the first tee, but settled into the round quickly. McIlroy's round was marked by a brilliant par-save from the back of the 12th green, followed by successive birdies to take him to four under with four to play. He then drained a 30-foot birdie at the par-five 15th to pull level with Burns. McIlroy's patience was rewarded as he found a way to score despite not always being in position, with five birdies in an eight-hole stretch pushing him up the leaderboard. The Northern Irishman's impressive opening round has set him up well for the rest of the tournament, with Jack Nicklaus backing him to become the fourth player to win back-to-back editions of The Masters. McIlroy will look to build on his strong start when the second round gets underway on Friday.