The Northern Irishman didn’t play his best golf, but was still able to card a five under 67 around the iconic Augusta in the Georgia sunshine.
That put him tied with American Burns, while Jason Day, Kurt Kitayama and Patrick Reed are locked in T3 two shots adrift.
McIlroy’s driver was the key issue in the opening round. He would find just five of 14 fairways, but scrambled through the pine straw on several occasions to find par. The five-time major winner cancelled out his birdie at the par-five second with a bogey on the third, then had a run of pars.
He made the turn with birdies on either side, then a brilliant par save from the back of the 12th green seemed to kick McIlroy up a gear. Despite continuing with his errant driver, the aggressive approach yielded three birdies from the 13th to the 15th.
“I didn’t hit the ball very well the first seven holes, and sometimes here that would lead me to get tentative and a little guide-y,” quipped the 36-year-old.
“I kept swinging, just trusting that I’m going to find it eventually. So maybe that was a little bit different.”
McIlroy admitted that having the legendary green jacket back in the locker room meant he could play with a bit more freedom.
“There’s still shots out there that you feel a little bit tight with, and you just have to stand up and commit to making a good swing and not worry about really where it goes,” he added.
“But I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on and have a Coke Zero at the end of the day.”
Further down the leaderboard, last year’s playoff loser Justin Rose is tied with some of the biggest names in golf, including world number one Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele on two under.
Bryson deChambeau endured a disastrous round, signing for a four-over 76 thanks to a triple bogey on the par-four 11th.
