AUGUSTA — The sun is out, the wind is down and Rory McIlroy has resumed his chase to win his first Masters and complete the career Grand Slam.

It looks like he'll have to take down the defending champion to do it.

Scottie Scheffler, who won the green jacket in 2022 and ’24, birdied Nos. 2, 4 and 8 in his opening nine to stamp his name on the white leaderboards at Augusta National.

Scheffler's only hiccup came at the par-5 13th, where he three-putted and made par. He later drained a 42-footer on 16 for birdie and burned the edge for a birdie on 18. He signed for a bogey-free 68, two shots higher than his opening-round score last year.

Scoring conditions on the opening day could not be more ideal.

Scheffler matched Canada's Corey Conners with the clubhouse lead at 4 under.

Tyrrell Hatton, playing in the group behind Scheffler, was at 4 under for most of the closing nine before failing to get up and down from behind the green on the par-4 17th. He finished with a 3-under 69.

Justin Rose birdied three of his first four holes, then knocked in two short putts on 8 and 9 to make the turn at 5-under 31. He added three more birdies on the back and has a shot at matching the course record 63 with a birdie on 18. Rose has a strong track record at Augusta but no victories—he finished runner-up to Jordan Spieth in 2015 and lost a sudden-death playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017. At 44, he would be the oldest Masters champion.

McIlroy made birdies at Nos. 3, 8 and 9 and turned at 3 under. It was his best opening-day front-nine score since 2011, where he went on to take a four-shot lead into the final round and shot 80. He's playing the back nine now.

Bryson DeChambeau teed off in the day's third-to-last group and birdied Nos. 2 and 3 to quickly move to 2 under. But he bogeyed the short par-3 12th after hitting his tee shot into the back bunker.

Jason Day, Aaron Rai and Harris English signed for 2-under 70s.

In 2023, Fred Couples became the oldest player to make the cut at the Masters. On Thursday, he birdied No. 1 and holed out on 14 for eagle en route to a 1-under 71. Now 65, Couples will have a chance Friday to reset his own Masters record.

This article will be updated throughout Thursday's opening round.

More Masters Coverage on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as LIVE: Rory McIlroy Is Off to His Best Masters Start Since 2011.

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