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.”