Golf:Alvaro Quiros birdied the last two holes at Augusta National late last night to join Rory McIlroy as the first round leader at the Masters. And no-one was more surprised than Quiros himself to see his name at the top of the leaderboard.

With the sun already setting over the pine tree-lined course, only the golfing faithful remained to watch the final group finish their rounds but it was certainly worth the wait.

Quiros, who claimed his fifth European Tour title at the Dubai Desert Classic in February but has since struggled for form and confidence, was playing one of the best rounds of his life.

In each of his two previous appearances at the Masters, the 28-year-old Spaniard had missed the cut and had never broken par for a round. But the massive hitter who consistently drives the ball over 320 yards changed all that after reaching the turn in three-under-par 33 and then covering the back nine in 32 for a spectacular seven-under 65.

"The two previous years, I came to the Masters thinking that I can play well, shoot low, and this was my main mistake," the self-deprecating Quiros explained. "This golf course, it's too tough. Every single situation has to be measured - the risk, the reward. Today, I was very happy making pars. This is why I probably shoot 65."

Quiros, who has often said he has the hands of a bricklayer, was even more surprised to learn that he ended the as joint pacesetter because he never bothered to check the leaderboard before starting his round.

"I just checked what the other Spanish guys were doing, nothing else," he added. "You have to see, this is my third appearance (at the Masters) and my best score was 75. I cannot be pretending to see the leaderboard, it would be stupid."

Despite his sizzling start, Quiros said his past experiences at Augusta National had left him with modest ambitions for the rest of the tournament.

"My target tomorrow is make the cut," he said. "It would be stupid to think about shooting 65 again because it's not my way. As I said before, 75 was my best round here. It could be just one good round of golf. So to avoid that, I want to think about the next shot that I'm going to have, which is the tee shot on the first hole."

McIlroy had earlier produced golf as dazzling as the spring sunshine to charge into the clubhouse lead. The 21-year-old, who recorded top-three finishes in three of the last five majors, fired a flawless 65 to set the early pace before being caught by Quiros.

South Korean YE Yang, who became Asia's first male major winner at the 2009 PGA Championship, finished bogey-bogey for a 67 to end a fascinating day of low-scoring level with compatriot KJ Choi.

Matt Kuchar and Ricky Barnes opened with 68s while four-times winner Tiger Woods, bidding for his first tournament win in almost 17 months, narrowly missed birdie putts on 15 and 16 before signing for a 71.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson, seeking his fourth Masters title, was three under playing the last before missing the green with his approach to record his only bogey of the round for a 70.

In perfect spring weather at Augusta National where birdsong echoed amid the pine trees, McIlroy birdied three of the first four holes and negotiated the tricky Amen Corner loop in one under before picking up further shots at 14 and 15.

"I drove the ball really good and when you drive it well, you have a chance to give yourself opportunities for birdies," he said. "I hit my irons really good but I just stayed committed to the targets I was picking. I was playing smart and really just trying to leave myself in the best possible place. I did a good job of that today."

Second Round Tee-Times

12.45pm– C Schwartzel, S Appleby, C Hoffman. 12.56pm– I Woosnam, DA Points, B Crane. 1.07pm– C Stadler, K Streelman, N Smith. 1.18pm– P Hanson, K-T Kim, R Moore. 1.29pm– A Cabrera, I Poulter, D Toms. 1.40pm– T Immelman, L Glover, H Matsuyama. 1.51pm– Z Johnson, YE Yang, MA Jimenez. 2.02pm– D Love, J-M Olazabal, L Kim. 2.13pm– T Watson, R Barnes, J Bohn. 2.24pm– F Couples, L Donald, S Stricker. 2.35pm– A Kim, H Stenson, S Marino. 2.57pm– P Casey, B Watson, E Molinari. 3.08pm– S Cink, J Furyk, Y Ikeda. 3.19pm– KJ Choi, J Rose, L Oosthuizen. 3.30pm– G Ogilvy, P Mickelson, P Uihlein. 3.41pm– J Vegas, G Woodland, A Quiros. 3.52pm– J Byrd, R Fisher, S O'Hair. 4.03pm– S Lyle, A Cejka, D Chung. 4.14pm– J Kelly, C Villegas, J Overton. 4.25pm– B Crenshaw, B Snedeker, K Na. 4.36pm– M O'Meara, A Hansen, H Slocum. 4.47pm– D Johnson, A Scott, N Watney. 5.09pm– V Singh, T Clark, A Baddeley. 5.20pm– G Havret, C Pettersson, R Palmer. 5.31pm– M Wilson, M Laird, B Van Pelt. 5.42pm– R McIlroy,R Fowler, J Day. 5.53pm– M Weir, H Fujita, R Goosen. 6.04pm– P Harrington,R Ishikawa, B Haas. 6.15pm– R Sabbatini, L Mize, J Jeong. 6.26pm– M Kaymer, L Westwood, M Kuchar. 6.37pm– E Els, H Mahan, F Molinari. 6.48pm– G McDowell,T Woods, R Allenby. 6.59pm – A Atwal (Ind), S Garcia, R Karlsson.