McIlroy ties lead after superb start to Masters defence

Rory McIlroy made a superb start to the defence of his Masters title as he sits tied for the lead after an opening round 67 at Augusta.

McIlroy, seeking to become the first player to win back-to-back Masters since Tiger Woods in 2002, registered six birdies and one dropped stroke to post a five-under-par tally, his round leaving him joint-leader alongside Sam Burns of the United States.

Shane Lowry also made a fine start to his Masters tilt, the 2019 Open champion lying tied for sixth on two under.

Lowry is part of a high-powered quartet on two under, alongside Xander Schauffele, last year's runner-up Justin Rose and world number one Scottie Scheffler, who was one of the last players to finish on Thursday.

McIlroy's score was all the more impressive given his struggles off the tee for much of the round, the defending champion deploying all his scrambling skills in a rocky front nine.

Typical was his first birdie at the second hole, McIlroy lashing his second shot out of the trees and then hitting a beautiful pitch to three feet.

He suffered his sole dropped stroke after a three-putt on the treacherously fast downhill third.

McIlroy finished his outward nine with back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth to get to two under.

The 2025 winner really hit his groove in the middle of the back nine, with three birdies on the trot from the 13th to 15th, despite being forced to lay up with his second on both par-fives as a result of errant drives.

His birdie putt on 15 - a downhill putt, breaking hard from left to right - generated the biggest roar of the day and brought him level with clubhouse leader Burns.

"I felt like I got a lot out of my round.

It started pretty scrappy," said the world number two.

"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 eighth hole onwards and played those last 11 in five under.

"I stayed really patient when I needed to.

Honestly, I couldn't have got a lot more out of my round.

I feel like I leaned heavily on my experience out there to do that."
The highlight of Lowry's round of 70 was a pitched eagle at the 13th, choosing to lay up short of Rae's Creek at the par-five and then holing out from 70 yards.

Shane Lowry holes out for eagle on No.

13.

#themasters pic.twitter.com/Gcbph9cYIp — The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2026
The 2019 Open champion got off to a perfect start, with birdies on the opening two holes before being rocked by a double-bogey on the par-three fourth after three-putting on a tricky green.

A missed green on the sixth resulted in another dropped stroke at the par-three sixth, but Lowry bounced back with birdies on the eighth and ninth to turn in one under.

Then came the fireworks at the 13th to leave him one stroke off the lead.

A pulled approach cost him a bogey at the 17th but his efforts leave him just three off the lead.

"I felt in control," said Lowry afterwards.

"I got off to a great start.

I hit some lovely shots early on and then had a bit of a disaster on the fourth.

I was happy I composed myself after that.

"I think this could be the toughest Masters we've played in a while.

Over the last few years we’ve had a day every year where it’s been raining or it’s been heavy rains and it’s kind of helped us a little bit, but I think before the week is out it’s going to get very crusty around here."
Tom McKibbin, the other Irish player in the field, carded a three-over round of 75 on his Masters debut.

Burns, whose round was kickstarted by an eagle on the par-five second, was the clubhouse leader prior to McIlroy's late surge.

Scheffler, winner in 2022 and 2024, got off to a whirlwind start with an eagle at the second and then a birdie after driving the green at the short par-four third.

However, he failed to register another birdie, with 14 pars and a single dropped stroke at the 11th his lot for the rest of Thursday, as the course continued to firm up for the later starters.

In particular, it was a sobering afternoon for the leading players on the LIV tour, with Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm carding rounds of 76 and 78 respectively.

DeChambeau's round was marred by a treble-bogey at 11, where he remarkably took three shots to escape the greenside bunker, while Rahm failed to register a single birdie on Thursday as he slumped to six over.