RORY MCILROY admitted he found it difficult to “hold it together” at Augusta - while playing partner Scottie Scheffler made it look easy.
The difference showed in their scores, with world No1 Scheffler shooting a bogey-free 66 - to move to within a shot of early pace-setter Bryson DeChambeau - while McIlroy could only manage a one-under-par 71.
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And McIlroy had the air of a man who knows that if he loses any more ground to the hot favourite for this year’s Masters, his career Grand Slam hopes could be dashed yet again with half the tournament left to play.
He said: “My round was OK. It was a little scrappy, but I held it together well.
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“I got off to a slow start, missing a good birdie chance on one, and then bogeying the par five second from the trees, but bouncing back with a few birdies around the turn was good.
“I was a little wasteful coming in. I had a good chance for birdie on 15 after putting it in the middle of the fairway, and didn't take that. I missed a shortish one on 16, and then bogeyed on 17.
“I probably turned a three under round into a one under at the end. But overall still not a bad score, and obviously a lot of golf left to play.”
McIlroy could not hide his admiration for the level of play Scheffler is producing - two wins and a runner-up finish coming in, followed by a flawless opening round here.
The Northern Irishman added: “Scottie does such a good job of keeping on an even keel.
"The way he was playing it doesn't look like it's six under par - and then at the end of the day the scoreboard confirms that it IS six under par.
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“He's just so efficient with everything. If you look at Scottie compared to the rest of the field, the amount of bogey-free rounds he plays and he shoots is phenomenal.
“And that's the secret to winning Major championships, and winning big-time golf tournaments. It is more about limiting the mistakes rather than making a ton of birdies.
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“I made three bogeys today, which is fine out there in these conditions. But I just need to tidy it up a little bit to try to keep up with him.”
Another big name with plenty of ground to make up is Tiger Woods - especially if he wants to back up his claim that he still has “one more Masters win” in him.
Woods went out knowing he had no chance of completing his opening round as a late starter, after early morning thunderstorms pushed the start of play back by two and a half hours.
The 15-time Major champion managed 13 holes, and also got to one under par - and with two par fives coming up when he resumes his round today, it could get better.
The drawback is that Woods, 48, will have to play 23 holes today, starting round two with precious little recovery time for his creaking body.
His score, and the way he looks at the end of today, will tell us a lot about his chances of resurrecting his days as a Major championship contender.
