Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns set the pace at the Masters Tournament, while Aaron Rai delivers a promising performance in the opening round at Augusta National.
Indo-British golfer Aaron Rai had an electric start with three birdies in the first four holes and was in the Top-3 position after the first round but ended the day with a score of 1-under 71 to be placed Tied-10th at the 90th Masters here.
He was four shots behind co-leaders, defending champion Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns, who shot 5-under 67 each.
Indian-American Akshay Bhatia, who has three PGA Tour wins to his name, had three bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine in his 1-over 73, which placed him Tied-33rd at the Augusta National Golf Club.
With only 16 under par scores, the 2026 Masters promises to be a tough test once again.
It was a two-way tie at the top, as McIlroy fired a 5-under 67, the same as five-time PGA TOUR winner Burns, who finished earlier.
Burns surged into the early first-round lead, thanks to a fine stretch through Amen Corner.
The world No. 33 knocked in a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-3 12th, then followed it up by sticking his 50-yard third shot to 11 feet at the par-5 13th and converted again to reach 2-under for the iconic stretch.
Burns added another birdie at the par-5 15th to seize the outright lead, for his lowest career round at the Masters in his fifth start.
But his sole lead didn't hold for long. An hour later, McIlroy matched Burns' 67, but he struggled off the tee and hit just five fairways.
McIlroy is only the second player in the last 10 years to shoot 67 or better in one round at the Masters despite hitting five or fewer fairways.
Only three players have won the Masters in consecutive years -- Jack Nicklaus (1965, 1966), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002).
Rai, 31, who won the Par-3 contest a day earlier, is coming back from a neck niggle. He putted well on the demanding greens and was 3-under through four.
Then he followed six pars before back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and the 12th which set him back. A birdie on the 13th and a bogey on the 17th saw him finish at 71.
Bhatia's opening round of 73 featured promise as he birdied second, fourth and the eighth with a bogey in between on the fifth.
Turning in at a healthy 2-under, he gave away bogeys on the 12th, 13th and the 15th and a double bogey on the 17th. Birdies on the 14th and the 17th salvaged the round.