Rory McIlroy struggles on day one of the Masters as he finishes level par

Rory McIlroy wanted a fast start. In consideration of what played out ahead of him, he needed one, too. 

What he delivered, therefore, was desperately underwhelming, the sort of opening-round trundle that is no use to the pursuit of new jackets.

Early days, of course. Too soon for write-offs and he is too talented to receive one. But if we go by the truism that you cannot win the Masters on the first day, only lose it, then he certainly feels closer to the ropey end of the scale than the good.

By the time he was done, his card read 72 and level par, which is no disaster. But the fuller picture has some grim shades, because it shows that the best in the clubhouse are a street ahead at seven under, and more worrying for McIlroy will be the identities of those at the summit and in close proximity.

For one, there is Jon Rahm, his close rival in the undulating battles at the top of the world rankings. More tantalisingly, there is Brooks Koepka, whose regular golf is played on a tour with whom McIlroy has been at war, and whose best golf was good for four majors between 2017 and 2019.

It is a big blow to his tournament hopes on a day when three golfers finished seven under

They were a while ago now, but a win on the LIV circuit last weekend enabled some fascinating possibilities, and here it would seem he is in that dangerous state of mind and bouncing with a springy step. His first-round 65, the same as Rahm and Viktor Hovland, showed he is very much back in that groove.

After Koepka’s injuries and well-publicised crisis of the soul, his revival is warming to see, whatever one thinks of the LIV circuit, and from a narrative point of view, it is utterly fascinating, especially because of what we might think.

Certainly, he is not the kind of man McIlroy will relish chasing down, and other notable names on the leaderboard include Jason Day at five under, Adam Scott a stroke further back on four under, and the foreboding presence of Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1 at the same mark.

That is serious traffic for McIlroy to navigate if he is to end a nine-year wait for a major, while also becoming the sixth man to complete the grand slam.

It is harder still when factoring in how he played his opening loop, which was a mess of loose drives.

That was the issue he resolved by changing shaft after missing the cut at the Players Championship, but the same old leak seems to have sprung here, with the troubling quirk that misses which previously went right are now going left. The mind-melting anxiety of poor golf is one thing; it is quite another when new, unfamiliar weaknesses appear, so he has much to fix overnight.

Unfamiliar weaknesses seem to be appearing in his game and he will have to fix them fast

The 33-year-old seemed to be on his way back after getting to one under, but ended up fighting for par after a poor tee shot at the 17th

In truth, it was a difficult round from the outset, even if the weather was nothing like as severe for the late starters, as first feared. He required a skilful up-and-down to save par at one, briefly dipped under par with a birdie four at two, but made a hash of three with a wayward pitch, causing bogey, and then doubled the seventh. That was again caused by a drive left but also featured a short pitch directly into sand.

There was a revival of sorts that saw him card four birdies and one bogey between eight and 16, reaching one under, but he was wrestling with his long clubs and less than hot with the putter. To compound the confusing picture, he even gave a live interview to ESPN during the ninth – the first time that has been done. It didn’t seem like a great moment for trailblazing.

At one under, he had some momentum, but another errant shot from the tee at 17 put him behind trees and flattened the tyre with bogey, and by the close he was scrapping for par. It was disappointing and quite possibly a killer to his tournament.

Rahm had issues of his own, including a four-putt double bogey at the first, but his response was immense. birdies at two and three undid the damage and he began to rocket after an eagle three at eight before gaining four further strokes on the inward nine.

Rahm, a three-time winner in 2023 before going a little off the boil, said: ‘Obviously I’ve played really well this year. Maybe not the last few tournaments, but I’m feeling confident. Hopefully I can keep it going. I know it’s the first day and there’s a long way to go and a lot of great players have had a great day.’

Koepka, playing to the image that confidence is more necessary to him than most if he is to contend, said: ‘It’s a major. It’s Augusta National. So, you know, it’s the Masters. You’d better show up. I kind of just count out the last two years, not feeling good. But yeah, if you win, you’re fine.’

Jon Rahm shares the lead after the first round after coming in seven under par

Both Brooks Koepka (left) and Viktor Hovland (right) also hit impressive 65s on day one

The best golf of the day was played in the company of Tiger Woods by Hovland. While Woods struggled to a 74, Hovland didn’t card a single bogey.

He said: ‘That was fun, especially playing with Tiger for the first time. Obviously it’s really cool to just be around him,’ he said. ‘He’s been such a huge influence to the game of golf, and obviously watched him hours growing up. And to get to play with him for the first time today was very special, and especially to play this round, as well.

‘When I was told I was paired with Tiger, my heart kind of went a little bit further up in the throat, and I just thought, “Wow, this is going to be exciting”. Heart rate started going up. After that, I calmed myself down. You’ve just got to embrace it. You can’t be scared or anything like that. If you want to win this tournament, you can’t be scared about playing with Tiger. So you’ve just got to overcome things like that.’

He did it pretty well.