Double, double, toil and trouble as McIlroy's late collapse brings familiar Augusta angst

A perfect start and chance to banish those Masters Thursday demons is flushed away on the 15th and 17th, leave McIlroy with fresh demons to fight

TO WIN JUST WINCE: Rory McIlroy hits from the fairway on the 15th hole, where his first round unravelled on Thursday. Pic: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

The last thing Rory McIlroy needed was a Shakespearean tragic start his Masters quest. But the finish of Thursday’s first round proved to be double, double, toil and trouble for the world No. 2.

The perfect start McIlroy needed at the Masters was flushed away with a pair of late double bogeys from over the backs of the 15th and 17th greens. Instead of sitting poised near the top, McIlroy’s even-par 72 leaves him chasing a stacked leaderboard led by 44-year-old Justin Rose at 7-under 65.