Rory McIlroy has proved his critics so very wrong and gone into the US Masters 2011 with a bang, taking the lead after the opening round on Thursday 7th April. The 21-year old who hails from Northern Ireland played in his first professional European Tour event as a 16-year-old in 2005 at The Forest of Arden. And the teen prodigy went on to turn professional at just 17.
On the opening day in Augusta, he surged clear of the field on day one after shooting a seven-under-par 65 and was later joined by Alvaro Quiros at the top of the leaderboard, putting him straight to top of the bookies favourites list.
Despite such a positive start, there are fears that history may repeat itself.