It's just not supposed to happen this way. Young men in their early twenties are supposed to be preoccupied with things like spring break, frat parties and, maybe, starting to consider what they'll do with their lives once college is over. They are not, conventional wisdom tells us, supposed to be dismantling a storied major championship venue like Augusta National. I suppose we shouldn't mention that to Rory McIlroy. The Twenty-one year old from Northern Ireland fired an opening round seven under par 65 that can best be described as, well, businesslike. Seven birdies, no bogeys and none of the normal fireworks one expects from a player who has it going on the premier risk/reward course in the world. No spectacular escapes from trouble, no eagles, no recoveries from the bogeys that are the penalties for the slightest lack of precision on Augusta's difficult greens. Rory's day was spent, by and large, driving the ball where is should be driven, striking approach shots to the proper places and leaving himself with great looks at birdie all day. As hard as it is to believe, 65 was just about as high a score as he was going to shoot yesterday, given that he failed to convert at least three make-able birdie putts. There are three rounds left to play in a tournament that is notoriously unkind to both youth and first round leads, and McIlroy has some dark history to overcome where first round leads in major championships are concerned (he led the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews with a first round 63 only to shoot 80 the next day), but this is one young golfer who will certainly bear watching over the next three days.
McIlroy sits atop one of the most internationally flavored major championship leader boards in recent memory. You have to scroll down to a tie for fifth place to find the first American names and six of the top ten first round scores belong to foreign born players. Spaniard Alvaro Quiros is tied with McIlroy at seven under and former PGA Champion Y.E. Yang tied for third with K.J. Choi at five under. Two former U.S. Amateur champions, Ricky Barnes and Matt Kuchar are tied for fifth at -4.
The biggest surprise of the day may have been the performance of reigning PGA Champion and current world number one Martin Kaymer. Kaymer posted a shocking 78, putting him in real danger of missing his fourth masters cut in four tries. Other first day fizzles included current U.S. Open champion and fifth ranked Graeme McDowell's 74, matched by Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson, all players whom were included in the pre-tournament discussion of Masters favorites.
Perennial Masters favorites and buzz-meter needle movers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were decidedly average on day one, with Woods carding a one under 71 and Mickelson a two under 70. Mickelson only managed to find three fairways and was saved by his short-game prowess while Woods recovered nicely from consecutive birdies at 10 and 11 with a 20-foot par save from the back of the green on the dangerous twelfth. When asked how he felt about his chances going forward, Woods responded that he felt good about his round and his prospects by pointing our he was "only" six strokes back.
The early tee times are already on the course for round two, stay tuned for more
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