Rory Shares Lead

Rory McIlroy spent the first seven holes looking ordinary, then walked off Augusta National with a 5-under 67 and a share of the lead anyway. ESPN called it his lowest opening round at the Masters since 2011, which is the kind of start that changes the temperature of the whole week. (espn.com) Sam Burns got there first with his own 67, and his round was built differently: one eagle, four birdies, and just one bogey. Golfweek said he hit 11 of 14 fairways, which matters at Augusta because playing from the short grass lets you attack greens instead of just surviving them. (golfweek.usatoday.com) By the end of Thursday, McIlroy and Burns were tied at 5 under, and nobody else was closer than 3 under. CBS Sports had Kurt Kitayama, Patrick Reed, and Jason Day in that next group, with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele another shot back at 2 under. (cbssports.com) McIlroy’s card shows why the round felt so loud even without fireworks on every hole. He made six birdies against one bogey, played the front nine in 34, and came home in 33, with birdies on 13, 14, and 15 turning a solid day into the co-lead. (espn.com) That matters more here because Augusta National usually punishes impatience before it rewards aggression. McIlroy said he “didn’t hit the ball very well the first seven holes,” but he kept swinging freely instead of steering the ball, and that is usually the line between a 72 and a 67 on this course. (espn.com) The defending champion angle changes the feel of it too. CBS Sports noted that McIlroy finished Thursday “the same way he left it in 2025,” with his name on top of the leaderboard, so this was not just a good round but a reminder that the player everyone is chasing is comfortable in the jacket and on the course. (cbssports.com) Burns brings a different kind of pressure into Friday because his 67 was his best Masters round ever. When one player is the reigning champion and the other just found his best gear at Augusta, the tie at the top is less a truce than two very different threats arriving at the same number. (golfweek.usatoday.com) Friday usually starts deciding who is really in the tournament and who just had one clean day. ESPN’s leaderboard had McIlroy teeing off his second round at 1:44 p.m. Eastern time and Burns at 12:32 p.m., with Scheffler only three shots back, which is close enough that one loose stretch on Amen Corner can erase Thursday by sunset. (espn.com)