Shane Lowry gave himself a pat on the back after starting his bid for a second major title in encouraging fashion in the 87th Masters.
Lowry, who finished third last year, missed from three feet for birdie on the opening hole but ended the front nine with three in a row and eventually signed for an opening four-under 68, equalling his lowest score at Augusta National.
Rory McIlroy made five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on the seventh in his level-par 72, the world number two having surprisingly conducted an in-round interview on ESPN while playing the ninth hole.
"I'm probably two or three shots behind how I'd like to be, considering how I played," McIlroy said afterwards.
"I think, if I had gotten the most out of my round, I would have shot 68 or 69. So (I'm) a few shots back, but nothing that's not insurmountable.
"I think I can go out there and give myself plenty of chances and play a great round of golf tomorrow and get myself back on that big white scoreboard."
Asked about the interview with ESPN during his round, McIlroy said: "The club reached out to us last week and just inquired if I would be interested in doing it. I did it a couple weeks ago at the Match Play.
"It definitely feels a little less intrusive with the earpiece rather than someone right up next to you with the microphone like they've been doing in Europe for a couple of years.
"I thought it would be a cool thing to do. I did it in Austin and didn't feel like it took me out of my rhythm in any way or made me think about things too much.
"So it's nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what's going on out here.
"I think with the previous chairman, he definitely brought things forward. Then I think since chairman Ridley has come along, he's really tried to push the envelope as well.
"So I think Augusta have a great balance of blending that history and that tradition but also making sure we're keeping up with the times, I guess."
Lowry was quite upbeat as he reflected on his round: "Felt like I was in control of my ball out there today," the 2019 Open champion said.
"It was nice. I said to Darren [Reynolds, his caddie] that was a pretty good round of golf. And obviously it's nice to go up and roll in that putt on the last as well. I'm pretty happy with myself."
Told he had looked comfortable on the course, Lowry joked: "I didn't feel it. You're never comfortable on this place.
"Even though I was playing good golf, especially when you go on to the back nine most holes are chances to make birdie and [also] chances to trip you up.
"You just have to stay patient and stay on your game and in your routine and that's what I did. I missed that really short putt on the first, which was a bit of a shock to the system. But I got back on it straight away.
"I think it was important to shoot a good score. I was trying not to put too much pressure on myself to do so, but I knew going into today how important today's round is because who knows what the next three days are going to hold."
Seamus Power had an eagle on the second hole to make up for a bogey at the first. After being one-under at the turn, the Waterford player dropped a shot at the 10th, but then had three birdies on 11, 13 and 15.
However, a double-bogey six at the last undid all that good work and Power would sign for a 73 to leave him one-over.
"It was just a poor finish - a couple of loose swings," Power admitted.
"For an hour it will kind of frustrate you, but you gotta get back into it. There's a lot of golf left to be played. One really low round and two solid ones and you can end up in a good spot."
Irish amateur Matthew McClean had a two-shot lead after he birdied the fourth, but that was as good as it got for the Belfast native, despite picking up another shot on the 13th.
Bogeys on 5, 11 and 12, along with double bogeys on 7 and 17, would see him post a 77 for a five-over finish.
Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka lead the way on seven under after carding 65s.
Hovland had the course record of 63 - shared by Nick Price and Greg Norman - in his sights before settling for an error-free 65.
Jon Rahm closes out Amen Corner with a birdie on No. 13 #themasters pic.twitter.com/TSlvQMROL2
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 6, 2023
However, it was world number three Rahm who recorded the most impressive score of the day, the fiery Spaniard responding to four-putting the first with an eagle and seven birdies in his 65, equalling his lowest round at Augusta.
"If you're going to make a double bogey it might as well be on the first hole so you have 71 to recover," said Rahm, who revealed he quickly took inspiration from the late Seve Ballesteros after his mishap.
"Walking to the second tee I remembered Seve's quote when he was asked how can you four putt when you're so good and he said 'I miss, I miss, I miss, I make'."
Rahm followed the double bogey with birdies on the second and third, eagled the eighth from just three feet and also birdied four of his last six holes, while Hovland's eagle on the second and three birdies took him to the turn in 31.
"My game's been feeling good, but to shoot a 65 bogey-free out here, some things have to go your way," Hovland said.
"It's not like you can just step up and have that handed to you. So I definitely had some things go my way today but also hit a lot of great shots."
Koepka missed the cut in his last two starts at Augusta, but said he considered the previous two years "a write off" as he battled to recover from a shattered kneecap.
"I'll spare everyone the details, it was pretty gruesome," Koepka said.
"It's probably the closest I can be to Tiger without his leg. I'm not saying it's anywhere near his, but I understand how painful it is and how just mentally gruelling it is.
"If your body won't allow you to do the things you want to do, it's frustrating and all of a sudden you create a lot of bad habits which you have to get out of. When you break free, it's kind of nice."
Tiger Woods admitted he was in "constant" pain as he struggled to an opening 74.
Making his 25th appearance at Augusta National, Woods carded five bogeys and three birdies to finish two over par, nine shots adrift of playing partner Viktor Hovland and world number three Jon Rahm.
The 47-year-old continues to be troubled by the severe leg injuries he suffered in a car accident in Los Angeles in February 2021 and looked understandably rusty in just his fifth competitive round of the year.
Woods told reporters his leg felt "sore" after the round and when asked if it was worse on some shots than others, replied: "It's constant."
With the weather forecast to deteriorate from Friday afternoon onwards, Woods faces an uphill task to avoid missing the cut in the Masters for the first time as a professional.
"Most of the guys are going low today. This was the day to do it," he said.
"Hopefully tomorrow I'll be a little bit better, a little bit sharper, and kind of inch my way through it.
"This is going to be an interesting finish to the tournament with the weather coming in. If I can just kind of hang in there, maybe kind of inch my way back, hopefully it will be positive towards the end."
Due to the prospect of poor weather conditions on Friday, the starting times have been brought forward by half an hour, with the first players out at 12.30pm Irish time.
Due to potential inclement weather on Friday, all starting times will be moved up 30 minutes. The first starting time will be at 7:30 a.m. off the No. 1 tee. Ticket gates will open at 7 a.m., as previously scheduled. #themasters
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 6, 2023
Additional reporting: PA
