Rory cool as teenagers suffer Masters nerves

From Brian Keogh in Augusta

Teenage rookies Danny Lee and Ryo Ishikawa feel like nervous wrecks at the Masters.

But Rory McIlroy is still super cool and hoping to make a major impression.

He said: “I thought I would be nervous hitting my first shot here. But you know, I think maybe if I was a little younger and maybe if I played here as an amateur it, would have been a little different and I would have been in awe of the place.

“But having been on tour now for a year and a half, I'm not saying that it's not any different, but you try and, you know, just treat it as if it was another golf tournament.

“It's obviously a great position to be in, and one that I've wanted to get to for a long time. Now that I'm here, I want to make the most of it, and become the best player that I can be.”

McIlroy, 19, is one of three teenagers in the field alongside 18-year old New Zealand amateur Lee and 17-year old Ishikawa from Japan.

And both have confessed that they are shaking in their spikes at the thought of making their debuts today.

Speaking to the press, Lee said: “I can't really talk properly, because my nerves are breaking down and I'm having a stomach ache, too. I'm serious.

“I'm trying to relax and trying to calm myself every time, but I know as soon as I go outside the clubhouse and watch all of those crowds out there, I cannot get relaxed or like nice and calm like that.”

Japanese hero Ishikawa is also feeling the heat, explaining: “I’m not going to lie to anybody.  I'm not going to hide my feelings.  I am nervous, and  every time I come to this course, I get nervous.”

Asked about McIlroy, Ishikawa said: “I think he's cool and I like his hair.”