Rory McIlroy at Masters 2014: Tee Time and Day 1 Predictions

Rory McIlroy is one of the top favorites for the 2014 Masters Tournament, and is trending in the right direction to seize the green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club this weekend.

A final round of seven-under 65 at last week's Shell Houston Open in tough conditions got McIlroy into a tie for seventh, maintaining his strong form since the 2013-14 PGA Tour season began.

In that span, McIlroy has not finished outside the top 25 in 10 starts worldwide and picked up a victory at the Emirates Australian Open in a head-to-head showdown with reigning Masters champion Adam Scott.

The strong finish in Humble gave McIlroy a burst of excitement heading into the year's first major event:

Multiple other chances for McIlroy to win tournaments—in Abu Dhabi and at the Honda Classic in particular—saw him not quite able to close the deal. With the heightened stakes at Augusta National, perhaps this is the week McIlroy is due.

A Masters triumph would leave him just one Open Championship win away from the career Grand Slam. It wouldn't be too shabby of a resume for one of golf's biggest stars at the ripe age of 24.

McIlroy tees off with fellow young guns Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed at 10:52 a.m. ET in Thursday's opening round. Below are some predictions as to how McIlroy will fare in his quest for a third major championship.

Note: Statistics are courtesy of PGATour.com. For complete tee times, visit Masters.com.

Day 1 Predictions

Experience Will Pay Dividends in Course Management

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Although he will be playing with two fearless 20-somethings in Spieth and Reed, McIlroy has the big edge and will be giving the Masters class to his more youthful playing competitors.

In addition to being a reputed fast starter in big events, what helps McIlroy's cause even more is that he has played Augusta enough times to be comfortable with it. Almost three years have passed since he collapsed in the final round after holding a 54-hole, four-stroke lead in 2011.

Aside from the woeful 79 McIlroy carded in last year's third round, he played the rest of the week in five under par. He's familiar with the danger that lurks at every turn, but he's striking it well enough from tee to green at the moment to take on the challenging shots.

In his comments prior to the start of the Masters, conservatism was a theme, and McIlroy added he can't imagine not winning this tournament in his career:

It's all about starting steady and not pressing, though. The cliche often used is that a player can't win a major in the first round, but can certainly shoot his way out of it with a bad opening 18 holes.

McIlroy knows it's not a sprint to Butler Cabin. While his other wide-eyed, prodigious rivals may press too much in their maiden appearances, there should be a sense of maturity from McIlroy as he thinks his way around the course, executes his shots and takes his chances without pressing the issue.

Course management can be a difficult concept to grasp for a player of McIlroy's caliber whose game suits Augusta so well. By default, his experience will serve him well in that area and lead to a strong opening round.

Rory Tears Up Augusta's Par-Fives

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Now that the likely overall narrative for how McIlroy will play has been established, where will most of his scoring come from? The answer is in the boldface above: the par-fives.

The tee shot on No. 2, the long second shot on the eighth and the 13th hole's sharp dogleg all favor McIlroy's towering, right-to-left draw.

Although he can work the ball both ways with effectiveness, there's no question the draw is McIlroy's go-to shot. A lot of the layout sets up perfectly for him in that regard, especially on the par-fives.

McIlroy would be sixth on tour in par-five birdie percentage if he had enough attempts to qualify. Even a limited sample size shows how well he capitalizes on those pivotal scoring opportunities, thanks largely to his immense power.

SportsCenter's official Twitter account reveals more on the science behind how the diminutive McIlroy hits it such a long way:

The second hole is reachable in two but is a tricky downhill approach. As long as McIlroy bails out at least in the greenside bunker, he ought to have a good look at birdie.

No. 8 is a big contrast, with an uphill approach, trees on the left but plenty of room to miss right and get it up and in. Then the 13th and 15th are just 510 and 530 yards respectively. Even though they are guarded by water before the green, McIlroy has the distance to make those shots a non-issue if he brings his A-game.

Projected Round 1 Score: 68 (-4)

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All eyes will be on McIlroy and his group in the morning wave, and he should have no trouble living up to the hype as he has in the past. Going three under par on the four par-fives seems like a reasonable expectation, meaning all McIlroy would need is a one-under mark on the other 14 holes.

That's easier said than done at the Masters, but McIlroy has the chops to get it done. Even if McIlroy's streaky putter isn't quite behaving, he has the power to have enough short clubs in his hands on par-four approaches and will set up great looks at birdie.

You won't hear any excuses from the Northern Irish stalwart if things go awry again, per USA Today's Nancy Armour:

"

Mind, body, equipment, it's all there. There's no excuses. It's just about not getting ahead of yourself and just letting all the practice and all the work that you've put in come out in your execution, and just get out of your own way.

"

Low scores can often be had in the early going, but Augusta toughens up as the pressure-cooking weekend wears on.

McIlroy has run away from the field in both of his previous major wins by eight strokes. To be in a comfortable and somewhat familiar spot for the rest of the tournament, he must take care of business on Thursday and make sure he's near the top.

Posting a 68 might not be good enough to sleep on the overnight lead entering the second round, but as long as McIlroy is within striking distance, he will continue to be a dangerous threat to don the green jacket come Sunday.

A Masters win would be yet another epic chapter in McIlroy's short but turbulent career in terms of on-course results. What has remained amid the chaos between the ropes is McIlroy's composure to handle such intense scrutiny and expectations, his refusal to remain down even after the most trying instances of adversity and his demonstrated ability to dominate as so few have in golf history on the biggest stages.

Magnolia Lane beckons as McIlroy embarks on his journey for one of golf's most prestigious prizes. For the first round at the very least, expect him to power his way around Augusta and into the thick of contention.