Rory McIlroy top leaderboard at Masters
April 8th, 2011 | by |
Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros are tied for the leaderboard after the opening round of the Masters.
McIlroy posted a 7-under 65 in one of the early groups Thursday, then Quiros matched it in the final threesome of the day. The long-hitting Spaniard closed with a pair of birdies, sticking his second shot at No. 18 just behind the flag and rolling in a short putt to pull even with the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland.
There were plenty of red numbers on the board, the golfers able to attack the venerable course on a warm, sunny day with only a slight hint of a breeze.
South Koreans Y.E. Yang and K.J. Choi were two shots back at 67. Nine other players were in the 60s. Defending champ Phil Mickelson shot 70, and Tiger Woods was at 71.
McIlroy nearly duplicated his dynamic start at last year’s British Open, when he started off with a 63. The next day at St. Andrews, in a howling wind that actually forced a brief delay, he slumped to an 80.
He shouldn’t face those conditions in Georgia, where the forecast calls for warm, sunny weather through the weekend. Whatever happens, he feels better prepared to deal with any adversity.
“At the time, it was very disappointing,” McIlroy said, referring to his second-round collapse at St. Andrews. “But looking back, it was probably very valuable in my progression as a golfer.”
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