Rory McIlroy Shoots Even-Par 72 on Inconsistent 1st Day at 2017 Masters

Rory McIlroy overcame three bogeys in the first eight holes to ultimately finish the opening round with an even-par score of 72 at the Masters on Thursday.

That left him seven strokes behind the early leader, Charley Hoffman, who was superb Thursday. You can see the updating leaderboard below.

While still a sizable deficit to make up, McIlroy's outlook was far more grim after the front nine. He opened the tournament with a bogey on No. 1 and added another on No. 3. By the time he bogeyed No. 8, McIlroy seemed poised for a rough afternoon.

But he quickly salvaged the round, posting birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 16. As ESPN.com's Jason Sobel noted, that turnaround was key:

It was certainly a round to build on, as Golf Digest Ireland suggested:

On a day when Jordan Spieth shot a nine on No. 15, McIlroy's slow start now feels like a blip on the radar. And with Spieth (75) and Jason Day (74) struggling to open their tournaments and Dustin Johnson pulling out because of a back injury, per Bob Harig of ESPN, McIlroy has now arguably emerged as the most likely among the favorites to win the Masters and earn the historic career Grand Slam.

Billy Horschel is certainly rooting for his colleague:

And as Kyle Porter of CBS Sports posted earlier on Thursday, the sort of round McIlroy shot could come back to be the foundation of a performance that leads to a green jacket:

He'll have to chip away at Hoffman's lead, of course, and if Hoffman doesn't slow down from his torrid pace, he may run away with the tournament. And McIlroy can't afford another front nine as rough as the one he suffered through Thursday.

But he's within striking distance, a development he'll surely be pleased with after his round started off on the wrong foot.