Rory McIlroy Shoots 69 at 2018 Masters; Tied for Fourth on Thursday Leaderboard

Rory McIlroy is officially in position to win his first green jacket. 

McIlroy carded a strong three-under 69 in Thursday's first round of the 2018 Masters Tournament to put himself in a tie for fourth place heading into the clubhouse. He is three strokes behind leader Jordan Spieth, who roared out of the gate at his favorite major to sit at six under.

McIlroy carded four birdies with just one bogey, spending most of his afternoon taking advantage of par fives on the Augusta course. He played the long holes at three under and all others at even par, parring every par-three and trading off a birdie on No. 1 and a bogey on No. 7 to play the par fours even.

McIlroy enters the week still on his search to complete the career Grand Slam. He won the U.S. Open in 2011, took home The Open Championship in 2014 and has a pair of PGA Championships (2012, 2014) on his mantle. Should he win this weekend, he would be the first player in history to complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta.

"This is my fourth go at trying to complete the slam," McIlroy told reporters. "Obviously that comes with its own pressures but you just got to treat it like ... not any other week, because this isn't any other week ... but just try to prepare for the golf tournament the best way you can and execute your shots when you're out there."

McIlroy is now in position to contend over the weekend, knocking down a series of key par putts and setting himself up for red numbers on the tee box. He has never finished better than fourth at Augusta—thanks to his propensity for posting one poor round per week on the course—but has four consecutive top-10 finishes.

"I played 54 holes here Wednesday and Thursday last week," McIlroy said. "I was up here a couple of weeks before that and played another 36, just real comfortable on the golf course—different pin positions, different shots, playing one ball, shooting scores. If you can do it in that environment, there's no reason why you can't go out and do it in the tournament as well."

Sitting just three strokes back of Spieth puts him in a good position for the final 54 holes. Spieth is the only golfer in the last five Masters Tournaments to win with a score that was double digits under par. 

Should McIlroy stay consistent—his biggest challenge throughout his career on this course—there's no reason to believe he'll be anything but a contender come Sunday.