McIlroy finds his footing on front nine

Four kids from Northern Ireland were tossing a football in the streets of a quiet Augusta neighborhood until the cranky old neighbor yelled at them to keep it down.

"I was actually told off by the lady living across the street; we were making a bit too much noise," said the kid who hours later would be leading the Masters Tournament. "Had to cut it short. ... I just said, sorry, we'll go inside now."

Rory McIlroy, the 21-year-old phenom who posted three third-place finishes in his past five majors, came to Augusta fresh off an extended holiday playing golf with his mates to shoot an opening 65 on Thursday, tying Spaniard Alvaro Quiros for the first-round lead.

His youthful enthusiasm has carried over to his game.

"He's got a spring in his game and a bounce in his step," said his agent, Chubby Chandler.

His playfulness carried over into his first major round without his parents in attendance. McIlroy was sent out with his own peer group, playing with Masters rookies Rickie Fowler, 22, and Jason Day, 23.

They talked about common interests that had little to do with the task at hand.

"Cars, boats -- anything but golf, really," McIlroy said.

Not that McIlroy came in unprepared. He played the course last Thursday and Friday before retreating to Florida for a few fun rounds with his friends, then checking back in Monday night to return to work.

"I wanted to take three weeks off because I wanted to be prepared and fresh and ready to go for this week," he said. "Some people like to get into a run of events and play well, but I feel like the first week back out for me is my best week. I've done my practice, done my preparation, and I'm just ready to go out there and get out on the course."

The 65 marked his best round by five strokes in seven Masters rounds, but it was not McIlroy's best start in a major. He opened with a major-championship record-tying 63 at St. Andrews last year, only to follow it up with an 80 in a second round delayed by severe winds. He still came back on the weekend to tie for third in the British Open.

"I think it will be a massive help to me," he said of that experience last summer. "Obviously, at the time I was very disappointed to come off the course and shoot 80 after shooting 63. But looking back on it, it was a very valuable lesson in my development as a golfer. I'll be thinking about it and I'll be thinking about how I can do things better (today) than I did that day in St. Andrews."

As good as his opening round at St. Andrews was, Thursday's felt even better.

"The thing about the round at St. Andrews last year, nothing really started to happen until the back nine," McIlroy said. "Today, I felt as if I built the foundation of the round on the front nine.

"The front nine has been the nine I've struggled with over the past couple of years and (I) made a point last Friday to play 27 and go out on the front nine again and just make sure I'm very comfortable with the shots that I need to hit there."

Despite his age, McIlroy is becoming increasingly comfortable on the game's biggest stages.

"This is my ninth major," he said. "I've played a Ryder Cup, and I've had three top threes in majors. I'm still relatively inexperienced but I feel as if I'm a pretty quick learner. I'm getting there. I mean, there's no substitute for experience, especially in major championships, and I still feel as if I have a lot of learning to do."

He learned a lot more about himself in his last major start at last year's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

McIlroy was tied for the lead through 14 holes Sunday before a three-putt bogey forced him to press to catch up down the stretch.

"So I was there," he said. "I was leading with four holes to go in a major. Hopefully, if I get another chance this week, hopefully I'll be able to handle it a little better."

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 orscott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.