Rory McIlroy insisted he would not get ahead of himself following his impressive start to his Masters title defence.

McIlroy carded a five-under par 67 in his opening round at Augusta National, giving him the joint-lead alongside Sam Burns by the end of the Northern Irishman's 18 holes.

The 36-year-old finished his round with a two-putt par, which secured him the third-lowest opening round by a defending champion in Masters history.

Only Jordan Spieth in 2016 (66) and Jose Maria Olazabal in 1996 (66) have carded lower scores in the opening round at Augusta as defending champions.

Despite finding the bunker and trees early on, it was also McIlroy's lowest Masters opening round since a 65 in 2011.

McIlroy believes the freedom he is playing with as defending champion was key to his brilliant start.

"I feel like I settled into the round really nicely and really quickly. And I’ve kept saying all week, there is a certain freedom. Like, if I hit in the trees, it’s ok, I’ll figure it out," he told Sky Sports.

"So I think just wherever I hit it on this golf course, I feel like I’ve seen it all over the past 18 years, and I always feel like I can figure it out, get it to the front of the green, make a par and move on.

"I did that quite a bit on the front nine today and then I started to sort of find my game a bit on the back.

Right where he left off.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy opens with a 5-under 67, currently tied for the lead @TheMasters. pic.twitter.com/ajNcJ7mQqb

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 9, 2026

"I think I swung freely. Even when I was missing tee shots on the front nine, I still kept swinging. I didn’t start to get tentative or giddy.

"I kept swinging away just hoping that sooner or later I’ll find, and I did. I started to string some good swings together from the eighth hole, and from then on I played some really good golf.

"It’s a great start. There’s a long way to go. I’m right in the tournament and it’s a lot better than starting from seven behind going into the second round like I was last year.

"Great start, but can’t get ahead of myself. There’s a long way to go, but feeling good with where I’m at."

McIlroy's Ryder Cup team-mate Shane Lowry carded a two-under 70 in the opening round, level with American Xander Schauffele.

Kurt Kitayama, Jason Day and Patrick Reed all ended on three-under to go T3 ahead of the late action on Thursday.