McIlroy, Quiros lead Masters; Woods at 71

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Becoming a major champion and wearing that green jacket are nice enough goals, but they will have to wait at least a couple days. First things first. For Rory McIlroy, today's aim in the Masters is to go out and break 80.

He obviously wants to do much better than that. The fact is, though, he had a brilliant start in the British Open last summer, a 63, then shot 80 the next day, eventually finishing third. So he planted that memory in his mind for Friday as he tries to follows up the brilliant 7-under par 65 that gave him a share of the first-round lead at Augusta National.

McIlroy is tied with Alvaro Quiros, an upbeat 28-year-old Spaniard who is 0-for-2 lifetime in cuts made at the Masters. His previous low was 75.

Consider it the continuing education of McIlroy, 21, the same age as Tiger Woods was when he won his first Masters in 1997. "This is my ninth major. I've played in a Ryder Cup and I've had three top-threes in majors," the young man from Northern Ireland said after his bogey-free round. "I'm still relatively inexperienced but I feel as if I'm a pretty quick learner."

Lesson No. 1 is not to go for broke in Round 2 and not to panic. "Hopefully, it doesn't happen. But say I'm 2-over after three," he said, referring to his self-advice heading into today: "Knowing that it's OK, it's fine, you're still in the golf tournament. There's still 50-whatever holes to play. Just being patient and just realizing that you don't need to play spectacular golf for 72 holes to win."

Plus, there is the matter of holding off holding off veterans who have learned the hard lessons. For Quiros, who was in the final group, that meant not looking at McIlroy's morning score. Noting his own history at Augusta, he said, "I can't be pretending to look at the leader board."

As for playing in the twilight, it reminded him of a late Sunday round. "Normally, I watch the situation on TV, sitting on my couch," he said.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson had an unspectacular but efficient 70 Thursday. Woods shot a solid 71 and rued the fact that he putted well but not many went in. "I'm very pleased. I'm right there in the ballgame," Woods said.

This Masters, the venerable 75th, could feature a generation gap as well as a continental divide. There was much energy surrounding the grouping of McIlroy with Ricky Fowler (22) and Jason Day (23). "They seem to like to pair the young guys together here, which is a good thing," McIlroy said, adding that the threesome had a running conversation on "cars, boats, anything but golf."

McIlroy is a standard bearer for a new generation. He has a trained, big, fluid swing. He works hard on conditioning, especially exercises to strengthen the back that balked on him last year. He is aggressive, tending toward fearless. And yet he knows he has a lot to learn.

The second round meltdown at St. Andrews "will be a massive help to me," he said. "Obviously, at the time, I was disappointed to come off the course and shoot 80 after shooting 63. But looking back on it, it was a very valuable lesson in my development as a golfer."