Rory McIlroy 'encouraged' by Masters first round despite 73

Rory McIlroy insisted he was "encouraged" by his first round at the Masters despite shooting a one-over-par 73 that left him six shots behind leader Sungjae Im.

McIlroy is pursuing a first major title since 2014 and the 'Grand Slam' of golf's major crowns but is joint 43rd after the first round at Augusta.

The Down native posted two birdies, three-putting on 14 for a bogey and will need to avoid any slip-ups on Friday to be sure of making the cut [top 50 and ties].

"I played much better than the 73 shows but I'm happy with how I played," McIlroy told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.

"If I can bring that sort of form into tomorrow [Friday], just hole a few putts and get a bit more out of the round, I'll be pretty happy.

"Start well and all of a sudden you'll be on the board. So I'm really encouraged with how I played.

"Drove the ball well, if I can continue to do that over the next three days and just hole a few putts, be a little more efficient with my scoring, I feel I'll be right there."

Leaderboard

Reflecting on missed opportunities, he added: "I had a putt at 14 to go two under for the round with a par five to play but I three-putted that and halted any momentum I had.

"Didn't birdie 15 and hit it in that right bunker on 16 and didn't get it up and down.

"I feel like it was the worst I could have shot today. I feel like I played really, really well. I pulled a couple of putts, so I want to go on the putting green now and work on that a bit.

"The course is in incredible shape for the amount of rain we have had so I am looking forward to dry conditions over the next three days."

Shane Lowry was also on one over after a much more rollercoaster round - he eagled the 14th but then slipped to a double bogey on 15 after his ball found the