Rory McIlroy cracks self-deprecating joke after roaring back into Masters contention

Rory McIlroy joked he's 'the king' of shooting 72 in the first round of The Masters after he roared back into contention at Augusta National.

McIlroy looked as though he was going to card an opening round in the 60s for only the third time in his Masters career on Thursday. 

But he came unstuck in dramatic fashion down the stretch, giving away four shots over the final four holes to card a level par opener and leave him seven strokes adrift of early leader Justin Rose. 

His critics suggested his 11th attempt to complete the career grand slam was already over. 

But he rebounded and then some on Friday, carding a bogey-free 6-under 66 to be in the thick of it heading into the weekend. 

McIlroy picked up a birdie on his second hole but struggled to find any momentum for the majority of his morning. 

But then he caught fire after making seven pars in a row. 

McIlroy birdied 10 and 11 before making a sublime eagle at the par-5 13th after finding the green in two strokes from the pine straw.

It was a risky shot from 189 yards but McIlroy's aggression paid off. 

"I don't think it was really a decision to go for it or not," he said. 

McIlroy said he hit a 4-iron and, when the ball was in the airborne, did not believe it had enough to get there. 

He said: "I was like, you idiot, what did you do?"

Thankfully it covered and he was able to take advantage. 

McIlroy picked up another birdie at the 15th before making three more pars to close out his round. 

He opted not to speak to the media last night and told reporters after his second round he just wanted to make it back to his hotel before his daughter Poppy's bed time. 

"I was so frustrated last night because I played so well," he said. 

"And you can make these big numbers from absolutely nowhere on this golf course, just like the most benign position."

"Just proud of how I got back into it"

McIlroy's opening round was characterised by two huge mistakes. 

At the par-5 15th, McIlroy's second shot did find the putting surface but bounced through the green. 

McIlroy then proceeded to hit his third into the water and it led to a double bogey seven. 

He followed that with another double on the par-4 17th.

"I think overall just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night," he said when asked to sum up his emotions after his second round. 

"[I] just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday, and you know, I wasn't going to let two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week."

McIlroy said he felt as though he hit a 'pretty good' chip at the 15th and he was surprised with the first bounce. 

He knew how fast it was. 

"I was obviously surprised that I had done that," he said.