Rory McIlroy’s bid to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters got off to a decent start on Thursday.
McIlroy, who has already won the British Open, U.S. Open and PGA Championship (twice) at the age of 25, shot a 1-under 71 at Augusta National.
He wasn’t able to use his length to overpower the four par 5s, playing them in just 2 under. But birdieing both on the back nine turned around a day in which he was over par until the 13th hole.
“Pretty satisfied with today’s work,” he said.
McIlroy said the key to keeping the round from ballooning to a title-killing 77 was patience.
“It was good to get into red numbers after day one 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,” he said.
His best Masters finish came last year when he tied for eighth.
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