Rory McIlroy leads Masters on -5 after Day One as he closes in on joining Tiger Woods in exclusive four-man club

RORY MCILROY is on course to follow up his Grand Slam triumph by joining another of golf’s most exclusive clubs, as a back-to-back Masters champion.

That is a feat only three players have achieved so far: Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.

That is exalted company. But a five under par 67 in the opening round – which took McIlroy to the top of the early leaderboard alongside demon putter Sam Burns – was pretty much the perfect start towards becoming a new member.

Nicklaus predicted it might become a table for four even before McIlroy hit a shot, saying: “Rory’s got the monkey off his back and I think he has a very, very good chance to repeat,”

It was far from plain sailing though. McIlroy began his Masters defence like a man determined to see every corner of Augusta, before making a rapid return to the Butler’s Cabin on Sunday.

That is where the iconic green jacket is handed over, as the world No 2 knows to his lasting delight, after finally completing the Grand Slam here 12 months ago.

That is the main reason he loves every inch of this course – and could explain why some wild drives took him to parts of it that you really should have nothing to do with.

No matter. Some sublime recovery shots, and an obedient putter made sure the damage was minimal, and sent the odds on a successful title defence tumbling.

McIlroy started this week as the 14-1 FOURTH favourite, behind Scottie Scheffler,  Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau.

The shrewdies who snapped up those odds will be patting themselves on the back after this start.

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They might not have felt like doing that when McIlroy was in the trees on the first – AND the par five second, where he somehow managed to scramble his first birdie – and he was about twenty yards wide of his intended target on the third.

That was where he made his only bogey, although McIlroy’s disbelieving expression when his nine footer for par seemed to defy gravitating by teetering on the edge of the hole was priceless.

It got a bit better after that – it could hardly have got worse – and back-to-back birdies on eight and nine got things heading back in the right direction.

McIlroy rarely plays a round without at least one real purple patch, and this time it came after another visit to the trees on the long 13th.

He had to lay up short of Rae’s Creek but knocked in a 14 footer for the first in a hat-trick of birdies that sent him storming up the leaderboard.

The early action was not just about McIlroy and Burns, still best known  as Scheffler’s best pal and preferred Ryder Cup partner, despite five PGA Tour wins of his own.

Playing partners Patrick Reed and Tommy Fleetwood – two men with impressive Ryder Cup pedigrees – seemed to be going at it match play-style as they played the front nine in five and four under par respectively.

Both men gave a couple of shots back on  the supposedly easier back nine, but could still be pleased with their opening day’s work.

Shane Lowry three-putted from three feet for a double bogey at four, and gotr both shots back by holing out from 99 yards for an eagle on 13.

His two under par 70 was matched by double Major champion Xander Schauffele. Like Reed, Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama went one better.

But you sense that they will have to do a lot better to catch the most recent Masters winner.