RORY McILROY was satisfied with his first round one under par 71 in the US Masters at Augusta National.
Seeking a Grand Slam of majors McIlroy admitted to being ‘a little nervous, but mostly excited’ as he responded well to a shaky start.
"It could have been a round that got away from me, but I just kept telling myself to stay patient, realising it's a 72-hole golf tournament and I don't need to press too much," McIlroy said.
"It was a tricky day; the wind was swirling a little bit, the pin positions were tough.
"Anything under par was a pretty good score. It was nice to pick off a couple of birdies on the back nine on the par-fives and I'm pretty satisfied with the day's work.”
McIlroy isn’t putting too much pressure on himself as he bids to becomes to the sixth player in history to record a career Grand Slam.
"I feel the way I'm driving the ball if I can keep doing that and just be a little more efficient with my iron play and give myself more opportunities I'll hopefully be right there at the end of the week. All in all, I'm happy with my start.
"I haven't put too much pressure on myself. I obviously know what I can achieve this week but I'm not letting myself think about it too much. I'm just trying to play it one round at a time and it was a pretty good day," was McIlroy’s verdict.
