<p>Masters champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland speaks to members of the media following the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 09, 2026.</p>
Rory McIlroy came out swinging and ignited his bid for more Masters history by embracing his first-round nerves to grab an early share of the lead at Augusta National.
The Holywood star thought it was a good sign that he felt his hand shaking and struggled to tee up his ball on the first hole.
And he was proved right as he overcame some scrappy early play and carded a five-under 67 to join American Sam Burns at the top, two shots clear of Kurt Kitayama, Jason Day and 2018 winner Patrick Reed.
"No, I was nervous, I was anxious just like I always am on that first tee,” McIlroy confessed after a round that was full of free-flowing swings that come with the belief that he has a weapon he should be using.
"It's the first round of Major season, the first round of the 16 most important rounds of the year.
"Yeah, I'm thankful that I felt the same as I always have. I think it would be worrisome if I didn't feel that way because it definitely still means something to me.
"But I would say that I didn't hit the ball very well the first seven holes, and sometimes here that would lead me to get tentative and a little guidey, and I kept swinging, just trusting that I'm going to find it eventually. So maybe that was a little bit different."
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<p>Masters champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a stroke from the No. 12 tee during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 09, 2026.</p>
It was a mature, patient round by the Co. Down man, who has learned the hard way to handle a firm, fast Augusta over the past 18 years.
But it was equally impressive to see him so keen to follow last year's historic win with a strong defence.
Asked why it felt good to be nervous on the first tee, he explained: "It's the Masters. You know, if I felt absolutely nothing on that first tee, that's not a good sign.
"So it was nice to feel my hand shaking a little bit when the tee went into the ground, and I struggled to put the ball on top of the tee. So I knew I was feeling it.
"And yeah, that's a good thing. That's why we want to be here. We want to be able to try to play our best golf when we're feeling like that.
"That feeling went away. It's not as if you feel like that the whole way around, but it was still nice to feel that on the first tee."
It was an impressive statement by the world number two, who is bidding to become just the fourth player after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods to retain the title.
The reigning champion hit just five fairways in perfect early conditions and rode his luck at times, especially with poor tee shots at the fifth and the seventh.
But he still managed to hit 13 greens and mix six birdies with a lone bogey to race right to the top, playing his last 11 holes in five under.
It's just the third time McIlroy has shot in the sixties on Thursday at the Masters and while getting the monkey off his back last year has eased the pressure, he insisted he felt no different as he began his round than he had the previous 17 times.
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While he was in trouble off the tee at the first, he saved par, then made birdie despite driving into the trees again at the par-five second.
A three-putt bogey at the third set him back, but he regrouped with a two-putt birdie at the eighth and another birdie at the ninth before playing the back nine in three under thanks to a hat-trick of birdies from the 13th.
"I've kept saying all week, there is a certain freedom," he said of the freedom that comes with a green jacket.
"When I hit it in the trees, I said, ' It's okay. I'll go figure it out, you know
"So I think just wherever I hit it on this golf course, I feel like I've seen it all over the past 18 years. So I always feel like I can figure it out, get it to the front of a green, make up and down and move on.
"And I did that quite a bit on the front line today, and then I started to sort of find my game a bit on the back."
His round truly got started at the eighth, where he choked down on a three-wood and found the green to set up a two-putt birdie.
When he spun his approach back to six feet at the ninth and rolled in the putt to turn in one under, he was off and running.
He went on to get up and down from short of the creek at the 13th, rolling in a 15-footer, then birdied the 14th from seven feet before making a slippery 30-footer at the 15th,
The Holywood star admitted he rode his luck at times, but he was still thrilled to start so well.
"Great start to the week, obviously," he said. "Felt like I got a lot out of my round today. It started pretty scrappy. I was hitting out of the trees a little bit the first seven holes and then started to string some good swings together from the 8th hole onwards. Played those last 11 in 5-under.
"Yeah, 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.
"Yeah, stayed really patient when I needed to. Then, as I said, I made some good swings and played a good stretch of holes there to finish up the round."
He admitted that he probably didn't quite deserve a 67, but he wasn't taking it back.
"Yeah, my hope was to get off to a solid start," he said. "I feel like the way I played, five-under sort of exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do.
"I think a fair score for me today would have been like two-under, maybe, with some of the places I hit it.
"But again, I used my head and I didn't -- I got up-and-down when I needed to. I didn't compound mistakes.
"Again, that's just a learning curve that you have to go through around here, and I did it well today."
Last year, he watched Zootopia with his daughter, Poppy, before the final round.
It appears he means to take up where he left off when asked what they're watching this year.
"Zootopia 2," he said. "We actually did start watching Zootopia 2 the other night, and we did watch it in the cinema."
With wife Erica, it's "Love Story" about JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
At Augusta, it appears the love story between McIlroy and the Masters has only just begun.
Article Link: First tee nerves prove a good sign as McIlroy makes dream Masters start - News - Irish Golf Desk