Rory McIlroy expressed his satisfaction after keeping his dreams of the career grand slam on track with a battling display on the opening day of the 79th Masters.
Seeking to become just the sixth player in history to win all four major titles, McIlroy was one over par after 11 holes before recordingbirdies on the 13th and 15th to card a one-under-par 71.
That left the world No 1 four shots off the clubhouse lead of Justin Rose and Charley Hoffman, but it could have been a lot worse as the 25-year-old was forced to scramble for par a number of times on the front nine.
“I just kept telling myself to be patient out there today,” McIlroy said.
“It was a tricky day. The wind was swirling a little bit, the pin positions were tough. Anything under par was a pretty good score. It was nice to pick off a couple of birdies on the back nine on the par fives, and I’m pretty satisfied with the day’s work.”
McIlroy has recorded a score of 77 or worse on each of his past five appearances at Augusta National, and admitted it could have happened again.
The four-time major winner hooked his drive on the second into the trees and ended up in a narrow creek, but after taking a penalty drop was able to pitch out to the fairway and hit a superb approach to save par.
He did well just to bogey the sixth after his chip from short of the green rolled back down a slope to his feet, and scrambled a par on the ninth after his approach span back off the green.
“It could have been a round that got away from me,” he admitted. “I bogeyed 11 but I just kept telling myself to stay patient, realising it’s a 72-hole golf tournament and I don’t need to press too much. That’s what I did, and it was good to get into red numbers after day one.
“I feel the way I’m driving the ball well and if I can keep doing that and just be a little more efficient with my iron play and give myself more opportunities I’ll hopefully be right there at the end of the week.
“I haven’t put too much pressure on myself. I obviously know what I can achieve this week but I’m not letting myself think about it too much. I’m just trying to play it one round at a time, and today was a pretty good day.
“I feel like I can do better, but I’m happy after day one and I’ll go out and try to do a little bit better tomorrow.”