'Patient' McIlroy pleased with opening day 71

Rory McIlroy intends to treat the next 54 holes at Augusta National like a game of chess as he patiently tries to become a grand Masters champion.

The Irishman and his tournament co-favourite Adam Scott, the defending champion, were both more than satisfied with their opening rounds of the first major of the season as they tucked in behind early clubhouse leader Bill Haas, who was setting the pace at four under par thanks to his 68 on a perfectly benign day for golf among the Georgia pine trees.

Even a three-putt bogey at the par-four 18th, his second of the day, could not spoil McIlroy's mood as he posted a four-birdie, one-under-par 71 that leaves him nicely placed in pursuit of the third leg of a career grand slam.

“I was very patient out there,” McIlroy said. “Even when I made bogey at 12, I didn't really push too hard. I had a couple of holes coming up where I could make birdies. So it was a good day for patience.

“It was a good day. It was solid. I think they set the course up very difficult today. Some of the pin positions were tough to get close to. It was just, sometimes I wasn't putting the ball in the right place and taking two putts and getting out of there.

“For the most part I felt like I put my ball in the positions they needed to be in and it was just one of those days it was tough to get it close to the hole. The greens are firming up. The wind was all over the place. Anything under par today was a good score.”

American world number 31 Haas will go into Friday's second round holding a one-shot lead on four under following an impressive opening 68 with six birdies and two bogeys.

Haas, 31, certainly has the pedigree to succeed, his great uncle, Bob Goalby, won the Masters in 1968 and his father Jay Haas played here 22 times, but there is a long way to go. He lies only a shot ahead of a formidable trio in defending champion Scott, 2012 champion Bubba Watson, the only player not to drop a shot on the opening day, and the man Watson beat in that year's play-off, Louis Oosthuizen.

They head a typically diverse opening-day leaderboard featuring a trio of debutants in Jonas Blixt, Jimmy Walker and Kevin Stadler among those on two under and McIlroy is expecting to have to stay patient as the course gets firmer and faster over the next three rounds and the number of contenders stays high.

“I think it brings the guys that don't hit it as far into the mix a little bit more. Because it's not just about power then, it's about precision, it's about putting your ball in the right place and it becomes more of a mental challenge than anything else, just playing to your spots.

“It almost becomes like chess, where you're just making these moves. That hasn't been my forte in the past, but I'll learn to love it this week.”

Scott's opening statement for his title defence was also described as solid but it was better than that, the champion getting off to a flier with a birdie at the par-four first, adding more at the par-three sixth and par-five eighth, his only mis-step coming at the par-three 12th as he found the water to fall out of the lead at four under with a double bogey. A birdie at the par-four 14th redressed some of the balance on the way to an opening 69 and there were no complaints from Scott.

“Getting off to a good start in major is huge, because I think they are the hardest tournaments to chase. Birdies aren't that easy to come by usually at majors, and if you're six back, five back, 10 back after the first round, it's a hard three days in front of you to peg it back.

“You almost have to play flawless. So to get off to a good start is key. I felt confident coming in today. I've been swinging well. Putting felt good. So I fully expected to play a solid round of golf.”

There were further grounds for optimism for both McIlroy and Scott as some of the players they would consider their potential rivals come Sunday afternoon lost ground on the opening day.

US PGA champion Jason Dufner saw his hopes of consecutive major victories take a nosedive at the par-five 13th, where he took a nine on the way to an opening-round 80.

Dufner's US Ryder Cup team-mate Dustin Johnson shot a 75 as did Scott's fellow Australian and World Cup of Golf team-mate Jason Day, who suffered a horror show around the turn as he went through holes eight to 11 in bogey-bogey-double bogey-bogey to finish three over.

It didn't end there with Luke Donald's 79 and Justin Rose's 76 looking to have put paid to their hopes of becoming the first Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1996 to win this tournament.

Like Faldo, Phil Mickelson has won the Masters three times, most recently in 2010, but number four may have to wait another year after Mickelson carded a four-over 76 which included a three-over-par seven on the seventh.

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Darren Clarke's 500th European Tour start, meanwhile, could not have begun in less celebratory fashion as the former Open champion bogeyed his opening hole of what would be a trying front nine in his 12th Masters.

Further bogeys followed at the fifth and seventh as Clarke made the turn three over par. The 10th offered some respite with a birdie but it was short-lived as the Ulsterman carded back-to-back bogeys before exiting Amen Corner with a birdie four at the 13th on the way to a two-over-par 74.

Simon Lewis