Mixed Day for McIlroy, GMAC and Clarke

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Rory McIlroy battled Augusta National to finish one under par 71 after his first round at the 78th US Masters,

Pre-tournament favourite McIlroy had been in danger of dropping a shot on the first after spinning his approach back off the green, but almost holed his pitch and was left with a tap-in to save par.

The 24-year-old also made par on the second after finding the same bunker as Scott, but holed from five feet for birdie on the third and also birdied the fifth.

McIlroy fell back to level par after a bogey on the eighth and three-putt bogey on the 12th, but birdied the 13th to get back under par.

A birdie on the par 5 15th brought McIlroy to -2 and he parred his next two.

A poor drive on 18 saw McIlroy find the sand and he couldn't recover to save par to leave a little bit of a bitter taste after a decent opening effort.

"I feel okay about today. I think the golf course setup today was very difficult for a Thursday," he told Sky Sports.

"Some of the pin placements were pins that you would expect to see at the weekend. To shoot under par today I thought was a good effort.

"It got a little windier, and the wind was swirling all over the place. I think you've seen w lot of guys struggle on 12 today.

"I think you have to be really patient out there.

"I feel like I'm better prepared than I ever have been. I feel like that each and every year I come back because experience counts for so much on this golf course.

"I felt like I did a good job today in putting the ball in the right places for uphill putts or easy two-putts."

McIlroy is two shots behind the clubhouse leader, American Bill Haas.

Haas carded an opening 68 to finish four under par, to lie one shot ahead of Australian Adam Scott.

Defending champion Scott had been four under par after a flawless opening 11 holes, with one of his birdies coming on the par-four 10th where he sealed victory on the second hole of a play-off with Angel Cabrera last year.

He suffered a double bogey on the notorious 12th but managed to recover one shot on 14.

Graeme McDowell carded an opening level par 72 after making the turn on level par. However he then bogeyed 10 and 11 before battling back.

Darren Clarke was two over on Thursday.

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Clarke Hits Number 500

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Darren Clarke will become the first Northern Irishman to make 500 appearances on The European Tour when he tees up in the Masters Tournament on Thursday morning.

On the eve of becoming the 25th player in European Tour history to reach the milestone, the hugely popular Ulsterman – whose crowning glory came at The Open Championship in 2011 – was presented with an engraved silver Thomas Lyte ice bucket by George O’Grady, the Chief Executive of The European Tour. 

It is the latest landmark in a glittering career for Clarke, whose CV includes 14 European Tour titles, four victories in The Ryder Cup and that Major moment at Royal St George’s three years ago.

Together with his inspirational performance as a wildcard pick in an emotionally charged Ryder Cup win over the United States at The K Club in 2006, lifting the Claret Jug was the defining moment of a professional career which spans 24 years.

Clarke said: “It seems like only yesterday that I was setting out on this journey into the unknown, but here we are 500 tournaments down the road and still counting. I couldn’t have done it without a lot of help from a lot of people – they know who they are, and I thank them enormously for it.

“What gives me just as much satisfaction in reaching this milestone is that I have seen The European Tour change enormously during my 20 plus years on the Tour, and for the vast majority it’s been for the better.

“I’d like to thank the Tour for honouring me in this way, and I hope we can share many more milestones in the future.”

Clarke’s first pay cheque on The European Tour was the €2,931 he earned from finishing in a tie for 29th place in the 1991 Girona Open, since when the 45 year old has accrued a further €20,158,058 – thereby becoming one of only eight European Tour players to have broken through the €20 million mark in Official Career Earnings.

Career highlights include his defeat of Tiger Woods in the final of the 2000 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship – the first victory by a European in a World Golf Championship event.

Clarke would end that season second behind his close friend Lee Westwood in The European Tour Money List, and three years later – despite becoming the first European to win a second World Golf Championship when capturing the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title – he was again denied the Harry Vardon Trophy, this time by Ernie Els.

The following year, Clarke tasted Ryder success for a third time, collecting three-and-a-half points from a possible five as Bernhard Langer’s men romped to a record-breaking nine point defeat of the Americans. But it is for his exploits two years later that the Portrush native will be best remembered.

Despite having lost his wife Heather to cancer just five weeks previously, Clarke secured three points from three matches as the European team equalled their record margin of victory with another 18½-9½ triumph. 

His heroics marked Clarke’s final Ryder Cup appearance as a player but he has since featured as a vice captain on two occasions, firstly alongside Colin Montgomerie at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2010 and then again as one of José María Olazábal’s trusted assistants in the so-called ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012. 

Sandwiched between those two was his remarkable victory in The Open Championship, as he became only the second player from Northern Ireland to lift the Claret Jug after Fred Daly in 1947.

Despite the sometimes treacherous conditions at Royal St George’s, Clarke held his nerve with a closing round of 70 to see off Americans Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson by three shots and win his first Major aged 42 years and 337 days.

It was Clarke’s 20th appearance in golf’s oldest Major Championship, and he was subsequently rewarded with an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List. 

Clarke becomes the fourth Irishman to reach the 500 appearances mark, following Eamonn Darcy (610), Des Smyth (594) and Paul McGinley (545).

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McIlroy Green Jacket Favourite

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Rory McIlroy admits his Masters record is a source of disappointment and he cannot imagine ending his career without a green jacket.

McIlroy is the bookmakers' favourite for the year's first major championship, although the former world number one's best finish at Augusta National remains his share of 15th in 2011, when he held a four-shot lead going into the final round but collapsed to a closing 80.

"I'd be disappointed if I ended my career and wasn't able to go up and have breakfast in the champions' locker room," McIlroy said.

"The way I play golf, the way my game is, Augusta does set up well for me. And for me not to have a top-10 coming into my sixth Masters..."

McIlroy already has two major titles to his name after winning the US Open in 2011 - just two months after his Masters meltdown - and the 2012 US PGA Championship, both by eight shots.

The 24-year-old would love to take the third step towards a career grand slam by winning a Masters title that has evaded greats of the game like Greg Norman and Ernie Els.

Take control

"You can look at someone like Greg Norman, or the person that I look at is Ernie Els," McIlroy added. "He sees Trevor Immelman winning, he sees Charl Schwartzel win. He sees all these young South Africans; Louis Oosthuizen (losing) in a play-off.

"He should have won it in 2004 when Phil Mickelson birdied two of the last three. Mickelson was due a major at that point but he had never finished like that to win one, and all of a sudden he does. I think Ernie probably goes back every year and feels like that is the one that got away.

"I don't want to get to that point but I am 24, not 44. It would be great to win one sooner rather than later. It is the same with every competition; you don't want to wait too long for these things to happen. You want to take control of them yourself.

"Five players have won the career grand slam, I was looking at that the other day. I was looking at the ages; Tiger Woods was 24, Jack Nicklaus was 26. I think three people have done it in their 20s.

"There is no timescale, I have a lot of years left. I would love to do it. It's something that would be a huge achievement, to put yourself on that list."

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Masters Could be Fuzzy - GMAC

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Graeme McDowell believes a rookie could burst from the pack and win this week's Masters for the first time since Fuzzy Zoeller's shock victory on his Augusta debut in 1979.

With Tiger Woods absent injured, the tournament is expected to be one of the most open for years andNorthern Ireland's McDowell would not be surprised to see some of the game's lesser lights stealing the limelight.

"Some of the rookies today have a great chance," McDowell said in his BBC column.

"I played with Harris English a few weeks ago at Bay Hill. There's a kid making his Augusta debut and if he was on the leader board come the weekend I would not be shocked.

"He's long, hits his irons very high, very cool, and has a good short game and putter.

"You know he's got the tools to win around Augusta. These young players are just so well equipped nowadays.

"They are better athletes and they're fearless. They're growing up in an era where they've watched Tiger Woods do things with a golf ball that seemed impossible."

First-timer Zoeller famously won the 1979 Masters but it has not happened since at a tournament which usually ends with a big-name champion.

"The belief level globally now for a young professional is so much better than it used to be," McDowell said.

"The Zoeller-type first-time, rookie champion could happen in any of the majors now - this one included.

"It could be an amazing week for the game, with one of the new breed making a name for himself and coming out of the shadow of Tiger.

"He has taken the game to new heights but with him absent there's a real chance for someone else to take the headlines."

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Rory Augusta Ready

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Rory McIlroy gave himself something to build on heading into the Masters with a final-round 65 at the Shell Houston Open on Sunday.

Although he started and finished the day well out of contention after a 74 on Saturday, McIlroy could afford a smile after a bogey-free round which matched the low score of the week so far.

“It was a good way to end the week, obviously,” McIlroy said on the PGA Tour website.

“I wanted to shoot something in the 60s at least today to give me some positive vibes going into Augusta. I played really well, played really solid from tee-to-green again.

“I holed the putts that I felt I should hole and just kept the ball in play all day. Every time I hit it pretty close, within 10 feet, I holed the putt. It was great to see a few putts like that drop. It’s a nice bit of confidence going into next week.”

Saturday’s 74 had left McIlroy down in 37th place, and although he had done enough to climb back into the top 10 by the time he finished his round he could expect to drop again as the rest of the field followed him home.

That, however, was not his concern as he prepared to travel to Augusta.

“I’m happy with how this week went, even though I didn’t quite do what I wanted to do in terms of getting in contention,” he said. “But I sort of made up for it today. I couldn’t be in a better mood getting on the plane and heading over (to Augusta) tonight.”

Overnight leader Matt Kuchar was still top of the leaderboard after picking up one shot over the first 13 holes, but was coming under pressure from Matt Jones who was five under after 14, overhauling Sergio Garcia for second place.

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