Jason Day says how worried he is by the start Rory McIlroy has made to The Masters

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Jason Day has shared how concerned he is by the start that Rory McIlroy has made to his title defence at The Masters, with the Northern Irishman helping to set the pace on Thursday.

It was always going to be fascinating to see how McIlroy would fare, particularly in the opening round at Augusta National.

Of course, it was his first competitive round at the famous course since he completed the Career Grand Slam in dramatic fashion 12 months ago.

Those who thought he may struggle to find that extra gear with the pressure off were left very much mistaken after his opening round at the first major of the year.

Jason Day reacts to Rory McIlroy’s opening round at The Masters

When McIlroy tapped in for par on the last, the 36-year-old found himself tied for the lead with Sam Burns on five under par. At the time, their closest rivals were three under.

One of those two back of McIlroy was Jason Day. Day has found some form recently, and looks to have given himself an opportunity to win a first major title in more than a decade.

Day was initially asked about what conditions he expects over the weekend after his opening round.

He was then asked how much he is following what McIlroy has been up to.

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“I mean, just depends on what they want. If they want [single] digits to win it’ll be baked out and fast and guys will be kind of spewing on themselves out there. Be really difficult,” he said.

“So if they want, they can definitely soften it out if they need to. It’ll be interesting. It’s going to be a good challenge regardless.”

“Obviously I’m looking at him right now because the leaderboard is staring me right in the face. Obviously he’s off to a great start defending the championship, The Masters,” he said.

“So, yeah, there is plenty of great golfers out there that you have to worry about as well. Not just him. And first and foremost you got to worry about yourself. Just make sure you’re doing the right things.

“If you can do that and execute the shots that you need to, then hopefully things should take care of themselves.”

Jason Day has a unique opportunity to replicate Rory McIlroy’s achievement this week at Augusta National

It is going to be difficult for anyone to catch McIlroy if his first round is a sign of what is to come over the next three days.

But perhaps Day has reason to think that history is on his side this week.

The Australian has not won a major since the 2015 PGA Championship, meaning that he has waited almost 11 years to secure one of the game’s four biggest prizes.

Of course, one year ago, another player arrived at Augusta National looking to win their first major in more than 10 years after winning the PGA Championship.

That was McIlroy. So Day should certainly take plenty of encouragement into the rest of his week after such a promising start.