Masters Leaderboard Kind to Rory McIlroy After Round One

The 2011 Masters leaderboard has several Americans in the hunt, but not quite at the top. Round one belongs to Rory McIlroy and Y.E. Yang, who have separated themselves from the pack. When McIlroy went into the clubhouse early in the round, he held a nice lead of several shots over the competition. That lead has shrunk as Yang finishes up on the 18th hole, and it will set up a very nice head-to-head between the two golfers Friday.

McIlroy posted a 7-under-par 65 for his first round on Thursday, one shot ahead of where Yang was through 17. It was also three shots ahead of several other golfers who were still out on the course. If McIlroy can keep up this pace, he should be able to hold off the rest of the field.

That's what it always seems to come down to at tournaments like the Masters, where one golfer looks like he is ready to beat the world, and just needs to remain consistent through the weekend to win it all.

The Americans who are in the hunt are Matt Kuchar, Ricky Barnes, and Brandt Snedeker. All three will finish in the top seven during the first round, but with a few golfers still on the course, their positioning could shift a little.

Snedeker had a 3-under par 69 for his first round, Kuchar finished at 4-under-par, and Barns was through the 16th hole with a score of 4-under-par. Those 4-under scores would be good enough for a third place tie on the leaderboard during the first round, and could keep them within striking distance through the weekend.

Some of the other notable golfers on the course today were Tiger Woods (1-under-par), Phil Mickelson (1-under-par through 12), and Lee Westwood (even for the day). None of them are really out of it yet, especially with 54 holes left. They might need to get a few strokes better in order to guarantee that they stay above the cut line on Friday night, though.

The story of the day is going to be Rory McIlroy, who made a really early charge up the official leaderboard. He had seven birdies in the first round, and made par on the other 11 holes. That was definitely a memorable round at the Augusta National Golf Club, and it shows that he has really become a "master" of this course. He did well on both the front nine and the back nine, so there is no reason to expect anything less than this when he tees off for round two on Friday morning.

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