It started ‘scrappy’. Then Rory McIlroy took the clubhouse lead

Evin Priest

April 10, 2026 — 8:08am

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Augusta, Georgia: First round co-leader Rory McIlroy can already feel the calming influence of his green jacket after negotiating a wobbly start to take a significant step towards Masters history.

On a drama-filled opening day at the 90th Masters that included an Amen Corner bunker meltdown from Bryson DeChambeau, McIlroy became just the second reigning champion in the past 31 years to hold at least a share of the first-round lead in the year after their Augusta National victory.

McIlroy’s opening 67 breathed hope into his quest to become just the fourth golfer to win consecutive Masters following Jack Nicklaus (1965, 1966) Nick Faldo (1989 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002).

The Northern Irishman, 36, had tennis icon Rafael Nadal following in the gallery and set many more tongues wagging after finishing at five under alongside American Sam Burns.

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History is on McIlroy’s side given 18 of the last 20 Masters winners were in the top 10 after round one. American Kurt Kitayama joined Australia’s Jason Day and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed on three under (69).

Dual Masters winner Scottie Scheffler was two under (70) alongside fellow major winners Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose.

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Admitting he started nervously, megastar McIlroy was uncharacteristically wayward with his tee shots over the first seven holes. But the 29-time PGA Tour winner produced an 11-hole stretch that set up a Friday (Saturday morning AEST) charge towards weekend contention.

“It started pretty scrappy; I was hitting out of the trees a little bit the first seven holes,” McIlroy said.

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The five-time major champion rattled off birdies at the eighth and ninth before a scintillating stretch of three straight birdies from the par-5 13th ignited his campaign.

“I started to string some good swings together from the eighth onwards,” the world No.2 said.

“I settled into the round nicely even when I wasn’t hitting fairways. I was trying to just get it up around the green and rely on my short game to get it up and down and move on. That’s a big part of what you have to do around this golf course.”

McIlroy, the sixth member of golf’s career grand slam winners’ club, attributed his impressive turn-around to the freedom of breaking his 17-year Masters hoodoo.

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“Sometimes here [a poor start] would lead me to get tentative and guide [the club],” McIlroy said.

“I just trusted that eventually I’ll start to make some good swings. I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one, I do.

“There are still shots out there you feel a little bit tight with. But I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know I can go to the champions’ locker room and put my green jacket on and have a Coke Zero at the end of the day.”

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Two-time US Open champion DeChambeau and fellow LIV golfer, 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm, were among the big names to all but rule themselves out of Masters contention.

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DeChambeau signed for a four-over 76 while Rahm shot a dismal 78. DeChambeau suffered an implosion in a greenside bunker on the par-4 11th, the start of Amen Corner, that led to a triple-bogey 7. He took three shots to exit a greenside bunker.

This was a pre-tournament favourite who had won consecutive LIV Golf titles coming into Augusta. The YouTube superstar was visibly irritated and short with his answer when asked about almost burying his hopes of a green jacket in the sand on the 11th.

“Bunker was softer than I anticipated,” DeChambeau said. The drama is set to continue in round two.

A warm and sunny week in Georgia has Augusta National presenting as firm and fast as it has in decades, leading McIlroy and others to urge caution fearing a Masters leaderboard reckoning.

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