Rory McIlroy showed us what his Masters freedom looks like in more ways than 1

Rory McIlroy's opening round at the Masters felt different Getty Images Rory McIlroy said he didn’t feel any different. Fifty-two weeks after he crumpled to the ground in ecstasy after achieving his greatest dream , he arrived at the first tee at Augusta National , this time as a Masters champion, and still felt the same rush of emotions he had felt on that tee box for the last 18 years. “I was nervous, I was anxious just like I always am on that first tee,” McIlroy said after his opening round on Thursday.

“I’m thankful that I felt the same as I always have. I think it would be worrisome if I didn’t feel that way because it definitely still means something to me. ” The major-championship nerves were still there for McIlroy, but he was different .

This round was different. In the past, as the career Grand Slam chase weighed on McIlroy, he’d routinely succumb to the pressure early, oftentimes shooting himself out of the Masters on a Thursday before the championship really got going. Shaky starts were compounded by mental errors as McIlroy gripped the steering wheel too tightly as he tried to guide himself to history.

On Thursday, McIlroy’s liberation from that pressure was evident. Both in how he played — he co-leads at 5-under despite just hitting five of 14 fairways — and how he bounced across the perfectly manicured grass of Augusta National while laughing and talking with 18-year-old amateur Mason Howell. Howell, who won the U.