Friday, 10 April 2015 00:23
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Reuters: Rory McIlroy made an erratic start in pursuit of a rare career grand slam of the four majors while American Charley Hoffman charged into an early one-shot lead in the Masters first round on Thursday.
World number one McIlroy, who is gunning for his third consecutive victory in a major and a maiden green jacket, hit a couple of poor chip shots as he offset a bogey at the sixth with a birdie at the seventh to reach the turn in level-par 36. Watched by massive galleries on a glorious morning of unbroken sunshine at Augusta National where the course was receptive to scoring, the Northern Irishman failed to birdie either of the two par-fives on the outward nine. Hoffman, however, took advantage of an early start by storming to the top of the leaderboard with a sizzling eagle-birdie-par-birdie finish for a five-under 67.
