AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fore, please! The 90th Masters Tournament is officially underway.

Read below for a breakdown of Round 1 action.

The leaders: McIlroy, Burns set pace

It's a two-way tie at the top! The reigning Masters champion fired a 5-under 67 that should have the rest of the field worried. The only player to match: Five-time PGA TOUR winner Sam Burns.

Burns surged into the early first-round lead thanks to a pivotal stretch through Amen Corner. The world No. 33 knocked in a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-3 12th, then followed it by sticking his 50-yard third shot to 11 feet at the par-5 13th and converting again to reach 2-under for the iconic stretch.

Burns added another birdie at the par-5 15th to seize the outright lead, posting his lowest career round at the Masters in his fifth start.

"I think historically people who have success here play the par 5s really well, and we were able to do that today. So it's a good recipe around this golf course," said Burns.

Asked if this was the best he felt about a single round at Augusta National, Burns said, "Probably, yeah."

His lead didn't hold for long. An hour later, McIlroy matched Burns' 67, but he struggled off the tee and hit just five fairways. McIlroy is only the second player in the last 10 years to shoot 67 or better in one round at the Masters despite hitting five or fewer fairways. Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, is the other (2023, Round 3, shot 65 with just five fairways hit).

The story of McIlroy's day was grinding. He stayed patient enough and struck when the opportunities presented. He took advantage of the par-5 eighth and made birdie, then added another at the ninth by spinning a wedge shot within a few feet of the cup. His round really elevated at the tail-end of Amen Corner. He made a long putt for birdie at the 13th and added two more birdies at the 14th and 15th.

“Honestly, I couldn't have got a lot more out of my round,” he said.

Six Masters champions have held at least a share of the first-round lead the following year: Jordan Spieth (2016, finished T2), Jose Maria Olazabal (1995, T14), Jack Nicklaus (1966, won), Gary Player (1962, lost in playoff), Arnold Palmer (1961, T2) and Jack Burke Jr. (1957, T7). Only three players have won the Masters in consecutive years: Jack Nicklaus (1965, 1966), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002).

Notables

Patrick Reed (69): The 2018 champion started his round in spectacular fashion Thursday, going birdie-eagle to open and becoming just the sixth player in Masters history to begin a first round with a birdie-eagle start. He followed up with another eagle at No. 8 to turn in 31 and tie the first-nine record. Reed dropped two shots on the second nine with bogeys at 10 and 15 to finish at 3 under.

Jason Day (69): A frequent Masters contender in the 2010s, Day showed he's still got the capability to contend here with an opening-round 3 under. He wasn't under par until a rare birdie at the 12th hole. He added two more at 13 and 16.

Xander Schauffele (70): A popular pick this week, Schauffele plodded his way around Augusta National quietly on Thursday morning. He shot a pair of 35s on both sides to jump into the top 10.

Collin Morikawa (74): His first round since withdrawing from THE PLAYERS Championship with a back injury went how you might expect. There was some good and bad in his return, but Morikawa is much more worried about his mental than his physical. "I've never felt this nervous, like, in my life," he said. "I've played in majors. I've played in other events. I think it's a trust factor, right? I think when it happened out on the course at THE PLAYERS, you know, there's a certain doubt factor of, like, is this going to happen, is this not?"

Bryson DeChambeau (74): It was a rough start for DeChambeau, who struggled to a 4-over 76. DeChambeau, who earned Low Amateur honors in his tournament debut in 2016, has finished inside the top six in each of the past two years at Augusta National.

Tommy Fleetwood (71): The reigning FedExCup champion, making his 10th Masters appearance, finished in the red but just barely. He carded five birdies against four bogeys and is just outside the top 10.

Aldrich Potgieter (84): Making his second Masters start and first since 2023, the reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year struggled mightily on Thursday. After opening with a double bogey, he strung together three pars before a bogey-bogey-double-double stretch on Nos. 5-8 to turn at 8 over. The second nine didn't improve much: He carded just one birdie at No. 13, but still collected three more bogeys and a double before the trainwreck finally ended.

Jon Rahm (78): The 2023 Masters champion failed to card a single birdie in his opening round Thursday, making four bogeys on the first nine and a double bogey on the back to finish 6 over.

No. 15: It may be unusual for a hole to make it into the "Notables" category, but this diabolical 550-yard par 5 earned its spot Thursday after three players – Fred Couples, Bobby MacIntyre and Danny Willett – each made quadruple bogey there. It marked the first time that three or more 9s were carded on a hole in one round of the Masters since 1998 (No. 15, Round 2).

Justin Rose (70): The Englishman creeped up the leaderboard Thursday, reaching 4 under on two occasions before a bogey-bogey finish left him three off the lead. Rose, one of only two players including Ben Hogan to have lost twice in a playoff at the Masters, finished among the top 10 on the leaderboard at the end of Round 1 for the ninth time in his Masters career. Only Jack Nicklaus (15) has done that more often, with Byron Nelson and Phil Mickelson also matching Rose's nine times.

Scottie Scheffler (70): The two-time Masters champ showed signs of improvement in his first-round play this season, hitting 12 of 14 fairways (85.7%) and marking the first time in 25 rounds this season thathe hit at least 80% of the fairways. However, he kept another streak alive that he undoubtedly is looking to break: Thursday marked his sixth opening-round score of 70 or higher in his last six starts on TOUR.

Quotables

"It just flew straight into the bag. It was a great break. That bounce would've put me in the pine straw and who knows if I would've had a shot to hit up the hill. So thanks to the lady on 8." – Xander Schauffele (70) after his tee shot on No. 8 landed in a patron's shopping bag

"It's a great example for golf architects to realize you don't have to make the holes all that long. That's an 8-iron, and it's crippled more people than polio." – Gary Player on No. 12 at Augusta National

"We have a job to do. You have to apply your game, simple as that." – José María Olazábal (74) on not being distracted by playing with notoriously long hitter Aldrich Potgieter

"I give the front nine an F. I would probably give the back nine like an A. Overall a C, which would get a degree most places, so I'll take it." – Ryan Gerard (72) evaluating his first round

“I was nervous, I was anxious just like I always am on that first tee. It's the first round of major season, the first round of the 16 most important rounds of the year. Yeah, I'm thankful that I felt the same as I always have. I think it would be worrisome if I didn't feel that way because it definitely still means something to me.” – Rory McIlroy (67) on how he felt on the first tee Thursday

“To be honest, it's been a number that I'm not overly comfortable with or I haven't been, and I did work on it a lot over the last two weeks. It was nice to pull it off. I knew when it was in the air, it was really good, but I knew it was going to go close, but it was nice to see it go in. It kind of gave me a little jump for the rest of the round.” – Shane Lowry (70) after holing out from 99 yards for eagle on No. 13

"For the really good players I think they want it like this. I know the Jon Rahms and Schefflers and Spieths and Rorys (do). And by the way, Rory may never lose this thing again after last year. I said that on about the 12th hole to my caddie." – Fred Couples (78) on the firm and fast conditions Thursday

"That's the kind of stuff that's been happening. I'm in position to make birdie and walk off with a six on a random hole. Give me a dozen balls in there I probably make birdie on 10 and make bogey on one and par on the other. You know what I mean?" – Jordan Spieth (72) regarding his results not matching his play

Honorary Starters open the week at Augusta

The first major championship of the season teed off on a picturesque Thursday morning in Augusta, Georgia, with the traditional Honorary Starters ceremony at 7:25 a.m. ET.

The trio of Masters champions of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player opened up the week of play for the fifth time as a trio. Nicklaus took his place as an Honorary Starter in 2010, joined by Player in 2012 and Watson in 2022.

Following the ceremony, the first tee time of Johnny Keefer and Haotong Li took to the course at 7:40 a.m. ET.