Sandy Lyle is on a par with Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy suffered a mixed start in his bid to claim his first US Masters title, while Shropshire golfing legend Sandy Lyle could be thrilled with his opening day at Augusta.
Chasing the tournament win that would complete a grand slam of majors, McIlroy ended his opening round one over after shooting a 73 – a score matched by 61-year-old Lyle.
A rollercoaster day for McIlroy saw him make five birdies, but suffer six bogeys.
The Irishman undid most of his good work in frustrating fashion, three-putting the 17th from long range and dropping another shot on the last after pulling his drive and missing the green with his approach.
But Shrewsbury-born Lyle, who won the Masters in 1988, capped a remarkable couple of days that saw him just edged into second place by Matt Wallace in the traditional eve-of-tournament par three contest, with a round that included three birdies and four bogeys.
Tiger Woods carded a two under 70 to trail the early pacesetters – Spain’s John Rahm, South Africa’s Justin Harding and Australia’s Adam Scott – by one.
