Rory McIlroy Finishes Round 1 of 2019 Masters +1 After Poor Putting Performance

The one glaring omission from Rory McIlroy's otherwise sterling resume is a green jacket. 

That won't change if his lack of consistency with the putter in Thursday's round continues.

McIlroy shot a one-over 73 in the opening round of the 2019 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, overcoming a slow start with three birdies on the final six holes but watching his momentum slip away with bogeys on the final two holes. He is still just four shots off the lead as of the completion of his round and within striking distance with history at stake. 

If the third-ranked golfer in the world is able to win the Masters and complete his career grand slam, he would join the likes of all-time greats in Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen as the only golfers in history to win all four majors.

He has certainly come close, including in 2011 when he entered the final round with a four-stroke lead. However, he shot an 80 on the tournament's last day and watched the title slip from his hands.

McIlroy finished in a tie for 15th that year but has enjoyed better showings of late with top-10 finishes in each of the last five Masters. He tied for fifth last year and seemed to be building toward his first green jacket as an almost automatic top-10 finisher in every tournament he's played this season.

The Northern Ireland native won The Players Championship in March, tied for sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, tied for ninth at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, tied for fourth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, tied for fifth at the Farmers Insurance Open, tied for fourth at the Genesis Open and finished in second at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

That version of McIlroy was not on display at the start of Thursday's opening round, and he found himself in immediate trouble with a missed fairway and bogey on the first hole. While he birdied the third and eighth, missed birdie putts on Nos. 2 and 5 and a missed par putt on 6 meant he was even through the front nine.

It was a microcosm of his season to this point, as he is sixth on the Tour in driving distance and 10th in greens in regulation but a mere 99th in putts per round, per his PGA Tour profile.

He consistently shortens the golf course with his blasts off the tee, which helped him birdie the par-five eighth, 13th and 15th. The 15th came after a brilliant, aggressive second shot through the trees and gave him momentum leading into a long birdie putt on the 16th to move under par.

That distance plays well at the Masters, as Bob Harig of ESPN.com noted the additional 40 yards on No. 5 in this year's tournament means the course's length is 7,475 yards compared to the 6,925 it measured in 1997.

Still, he was unable to fully take advantage with the putter remaining a concern.

McIlroy missed a short par putt on the 10th, bogeyed the 11th following a poor chip, missed birdie putts on Nos. 12 and 14, and missed his par putts on the 17th and 18th. The missed opportunities added up and served as a primary reason he isn't in the top 10 heading into Friday.

The cliche that tournaments can't be won but can be lost on the first day applies to McIlroy's showing, as he appeared on his way to falling too far behind at two-over through 11 before he rebounded with a late charge of birdies that put the rest of the field on notice and kept him in contention even with the two mistakes at the end.

The green jacket is still well within reach if the putts start falling.