{"id":373447,"date":"2011-04-08T01:20:44","date_gmt":"2011-04-08T01:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/08\/golf-masters-mcilroy-and-quiros-take-control-at-augusta-reuters\/"},"modified":"2011-04-08T01:20:44","modified_gmt":"2011-04-08T01:20:44","slug":"golf-masters-mcilroy-and-quiros-take-control-at-augusta-reuters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/08\/golf-masters-mcilroy-and-quiros-take-control-at-augusta-reuters\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf-Masters-McIlroy and Quiros take control at Augusta (Reuters)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

* McIlroy fires a flawless 65 at Augusta National<\/p>\n

* Caught at the top late in the day by Quiros<\/p>\n

* Woods opens with a 71
\n (Adds Quiros quotes, detail)<\/p>\n

By Mark Lamport-Stokes<\/p>\n

AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 7 (Reuters) – Britain\u2019s Rory
\nMcIlroy<\/a>, widely tipped as a future world number one, produced
\ngolf as dazzling as the spring sunshine at Augusta National to
\ncharge into a share of the lead at the Masters on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The Northern Irishman, who recorded top-three finishes in
\nthree of the last five majors, fired a flawless seven-under-par
\n65 to set the early pace before being caught late in the day by
\nSpaniard Alvaro Quiros<\/a>, who birdied the last two holes.<\/p>\n

South Korean Yang Yong-eun, who became Asia\u2019s first male
\nmajor winner at the 2009 PGA Championship, finished bogey-bogey
\nfor a 67 to end a fascinating day of low-scoring level with
\ncompatriot K.J. Choi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Americans Matt Kuchar<\/a> and Ricky Barnes<\/a> opened with 68s
\nwhile four-times winner Tiger Woods<\/a>, bidding for his first
\ntournament win in almost 17 months, narrowly missed birdie
\nputts on 15 and 16 before signing for a 71.<\/p>\n

Defending champion Phil Mickelson<\/a>, seeking his fourth
\nMasters title, was three under playing the last before missing
\nthe green with his approach to record his only bogey of the
\nround for a 70.<\/p>\n

In perfect spring weather at Augusta National where
\nbirdsong echoed amid the pine trees, McIlroy birdied three of
\nthe first four holes and negotiated the tricky Amen Corner loop
\nin one under before picking up further shots at 14 and 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drove the ball really good and when you drive it well,
\nyou have a chance to give yourself opportunities for birdies,\u201d
\nthe 21-year-old told reporters after his red-hot start to the
\nseason\u2019s opening major.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hit my irons really good but I just stayed committed to
\nthe targets I was picking. I was playing smart and really just
\ntrying to leave myself in the best possible place. I did a good
\njob of that today.\u201d<\/p>\n

At last year\u2019s British Open, McIlroy collapsed from a
\nrecord 63 to a second-round 80 in brutal winds at St. Andrews
\nbut he felt he could only learn from that experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back on it, it was a very valuable lesson in my development as a golfer,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll be thinking about it and I\u2019ll be thinking about how I can do things better tomorrow than
\nI did that day in St. Andrews.\u201d<\/p>\n

The long-hitting Quiros, who claims he has the hands of a
\nbricklayer, was delighted with his round after enduring a
\nrelatively lean spell since clinching his fifth European Tour
\ntitle at the Dubai Desert Classic in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy today,\u201d the 28-year-old said after holing
\nbirdie putts from 20 feet on 17 and four feet at the last. \u201cYou
\nknow, I\u2019ve been struggling with my game for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy target tomorrow is to make the cut. It would be stupid
\nto think about shooting 65 again, because it\u2019s not my way.\u201d<\/p>\n

CONFIDENT START<\/p>\n

Woods, who has finished no worse than tied for sixth in his
\nlast six Masters appearances, made a reasonably confident start
\nto reach the turn in one-under 35.<\/p>\n

He sank a 14-footer to birdie the par-three sixth but then
\nfaltered at the 10th, where he missed a par putt from six feet,
\nand also at the 11th, where he drove into pine trees.<\/p>\n

Although he rebounded with birdies at 13 and 14, he failed
\nto capitalise on further opportunities over the closing holes
\nto end the day six strokes off the pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hit a lot of beautiful putts, a lot of beautiful putts,\u201d
\nthe 14-times major champion said. \u201cAnd they were just skirting
\nthe edge, so hopefully they will start going in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would rather be where Rory\u2019s at but hey, it\u2019s a long way
\nto go. We have a long grind ahead of us. I\u2019m very pleased. I\u2019m
\nright there in the ball game, I\u2019m only six back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tournament favourite Mickelson, who teed off in the
\nafternoon, was annoyed to bogey the par-four last after his
\napproach ended up to the left of the green.<\/p>\n

\u201cI missed it in spots where I could get up and down in
\nspots that I knew the chip,\u201d the four-times major winner said.
\n\u201cI had a good angle, and that\u2019s why I was disappointed on 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t shoot myself out of it but I didn\u2019t make up
\nground on the field the way I wanted to, so I\u2019ve got to go do
\nit tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Ross Fisher<\/a>, whose wife is expecting their second
\nchild early next week, opened with a 69 to finish level with
\nsix others, including Spaniard Sergio Garcia<\/a>, Australian Geoff
\nOgilvy<\/a> and 2008 champion Trevor Immelman<\/a> of South Africa.<\/p>\n

Among the other big names, Germany\u2019s world number one and
\nlast year\u2019s PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer<\/a> battled to a
\n78 while second-ranked Briton Lee Westwood<\/a> carded a 72.
\n (Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story
\nemail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Taken from:
\nGolf-Masters-McIlroy and Quiros take control at Augusta (Reuters)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

* McIlroy fires a flawless 65 at Augusta National * Caught at the top late in the day by Quiros * Woods opens with a 71 (Adds Quiros quotes, detail) By Mark Lamport-Stokes AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 7 (Reuters) – Britain\u2019s Rory McIlroy , widely tipped as a future world number one, produced golf as dazzling as the spring sunshine at Augusta National to charge into a share of the lead at the Masters on Thursday. The Northern Irishman, who recorded top-three finishes in three of the last five majors, fired a flawless seven-under-par 65 to set the early pace before being caught late in the day by Spaniard Alvaro Quiros , who birdied the last two holes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-373447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nGolf-Masters-McIlroy and Quiros take control at Augusta (Reuters) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/08\/golf-masters-mcilroy-and-quiros-take-control-at-augusta-reuters\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Golf-Masters-McIlroy and Quiros take control at Augusta (Reuters) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"* McIlroy fires a flawless 65 at Augusta National * Caught at the top late in the day by Quiros * Woods opens with a 71 (Adds Quiros quotes, detail) By Mark Lamport-Stokes AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 7 (Reuters) - Britain\u2019s Rory McIlroy , widely tipped as a future world number one, produced golf as dazzling as the spring sunshine at Augusta National to charge into a share of the lead at the Masters on Thursday. 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