Rory McIlroy (71) of Northern Ireland has won the past two majors. But it was England’s Justin Rose (67) and Paul Casey (69) who carried the European banner in the first round. A European player hasn’t won in Augusta since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999.
How they all viewed their rounds:
Q: You were over par after 11 holes, can you speak about what you were thinking?
McIlroy: I just kept telling myself to be patient out there today. … Pretty satisfied with today's work. It was good to get into red numbers, and I feel with the way I'm driving the ball, if I can keep doing that and just be a little more patient with my iron play and give myself more opportunities, I'll hope to be right there at the end of the week.
Q: You’ve led three times here before after one round. What have you learned?
Rose: So much can happen around this golf course, and by no means am I worried about going wire to wire or anything like that. … There's so many shots out there, especially around Amen Corner, that can ruin a scorecard. So there's really no point in getting ahead of yourself. I've definitely learned the hard way a couple of times.
Q: How did your round go with exception of bogey at No. 18?
Casey: Very good, very, very good. Any time you break 70 around here, a … fine day. Although I had chances on 15, which is a very slippery putt, for birdie, 5 feet, 6 feet. Was very slippery, just missed it. Good par on 16. Good opportunity on 17, probably 10 feet, just slipped by. Hit a good putt and it slipped by. I really wanted to get to 5 under, maybe 6, have low round of the day. That's the only thing, not disappointed, just set my goals high.
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