Thanks for reading and join us again for round two. While Rose made the headlines, one man definitely didn’t come up smelling of flowers. Remarkable. Here’s that story and also the first-round report.
And that’s just about day one of the 89th Masters in the books. Justin Rose stole the show, becoming the only man ever to lead The Masters five times thanks to a brilliant 65. He was previously tied on four FRLs with Jack Nicklaus. I noted earlier that every Masters winner since 2006 had finished day one no worse than 11th. That’s good news for the -1s which include Shane Lowry, Cam Smith, Brian Harman, Patrick Reed, Min Woo Lee, Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick. However, 18 of the last 19 champions were within four of the lead after the first round so that would knock out the -1s as well as the -2s. If history plays out, the Masters winner will come from Justin Rose, Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau. Three of that six are already Major winners. Rory McIlroy is seven back after his destructive finish. The last man to overcome a first-round deficit that large? Tiger Woods in 2005. It’s also bad news for 2023 winner Jon Rahm, who has just signed for a 3-over 75.
-7: Rose
-4: Conners, Scheffler, Aberg
-3: Hatton, DeChambeau
-2: Rai, English, Day, Bhatia
DeChambeau can’t convert but that’s a strong day’s work and a round of 69. Not quite the opening 65 of last year but it puts him inside the top five. Lowry strokes in his birdie putt to finish at a healthy 1-under but Matsuyama’s attempt to follow him horseshoes out – perhaps an appropriate finish to a back nine that included a double bogey at 13 after the Japanese golfer’s third shot cannoned off the flagstick and into Rae’s Creek.
Just a couple of groups to complete now and they include Bryson DeChambeau who has a good chance to get back the shot he just coughed up at 17 after a lovely approach to the last. He has maybe 12 feet but Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama have less than half that after even better approaches. Jon Rahm’s hugely frustrating day continues with a lip out at 17. He remains down with the stragglers at +3.
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After a low scuttler from the tree pulls up shy of the green, McIlroy almost chips in at 18 but his ball hangs up to the right. He plucks it out of the hole, surely wondering what questions will come his way after he shipped four shots in the final holes via those costly double bogeys at 15 and 17. Contrast that with Akshay Bhatia who somehow emerges with a 2-under 70 after five birdies in his last six holes (along with bogey at 15). Aberg also puts an exclamation mark on his round with a 10-footer for birdie at 18. A back nine of 32 has taken last year’s runner-up into tied second, as this leaderboard I’m about to publish shows…
-7: Rose (F)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (F), Aberg (F)
-3: Hatton (F), DeChambeau (17)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Day (F), Bhatia (F)
An excellent and educational email here from Leslie Camp, who has picked me up on my somewhat flowery knowledge of Augusta’s opening hole. “Just to chime in on”Tea Olive”, I’m a native of Atlanta Georgia and wife of a landscape architect. Tea olive is a shrub that blooms in the autumn and has flowers that aren’t especially showy. But the fragrance is incredible and carries a long way. So rename Hole 1 to “Rose” if you must, but don’t remove the tea olives that are planted there!”
Viktor Hovland birdies the final hole and history says it’s a big one. Why? It puts the Norwegian tied 10th and, as noted earlier, every Masters winner since 2006 had ended day one no worse than 11th. Rory is now outside that significant mark and doesn’t look like climbing back inside it after a leaky tee shot at 18 leaves him blocked out by trees.
Oh goodness, I’d (rather generously) given Rory that return putt at 17 and he misses. That’s a second double bogey in three holes and McIlroy has tumbled all the way back from 4-under to Evens. Is another Masters green jacket slipping away? By sharp contrast, Bhatia has now birdied four of the last five holes and is at -1. Aberg’s birdie try slipped by to keep him at -3 but suddenly Rory has the worst score in this late-afternoon group having looked set to dominate it.
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Rory airmails the 17th green and faces another testing moment. Playing partner Aberg has really got this irons under control now and hits his 155-yard approach just short and right of the pin. Another great birdie chance for the Swede, who won the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines earlier this year. DeChambeau does indeed tap in for birdie at 16 to move to 4-under but his tee-shot at 17 appears to have landed behind a tree. Rory can’t get up and down and it’s a bogey. Ouch. That’s three shots gone in the last three holes and a lot of the hard work has been undone. He falls six back.
Bryson DeChambeau is charging! After a bogey at 12, he’s birdied the two par 5s (13 and 15) and has now played the perfect tee-shot at 16, his ball catching the slope and curling down to a couple of feet. When he knocks that in, the current US Open champion will be up to tied second, alongside Scheffler and Conners, and three back from Rose. A reminder that the last five Masters winners were all in the top three after 18 holes.
Rory recovers his composure with a straightforward par at the short 16th. He’s a little miffed that his tee-shot isn’t nearer the flag but two putts and a ‘3’ on the card is just fine. Aberg pars to stay at -3, one clear of McIlroy, while Akshay Bhatia threatens a hole-in-one, tapping in for his third birdie in four holes to get back to even par. Shame about finding water and taking a bogey at 15.
With putter in hand this time from off the right side of the green, McIlroy strokes his sixth shot to around four feet. Aberg makes the birdie that Rory wanted – the Swede’s third gain in four holes to take him to 3-under – before McIlroy cleans up. No getting away from the fact that Rory has taken three shots more than he wanted to there. He may even have been thinking eagle when his second was in the air. Time for a leaderboard update.
-7: Rose (F)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (F)
-3: Hatton (F), Aberg (15)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Day (F), McIlroy (15), DeChambeau (14)
Oh no, Rory! His chip at 15 has no check at all, gathers pace and tumbles over the back of the green, down a slope and into a watery grave. This is what Patrick Cantlay just did – twice. Hopefully McIlroy won’t need three goes. He’s now going to chip from the drop zone on the fairway side of the green. Up and down for a six is still possible but his chip is a little fruity and finds the apron. This is a mini-crisis for McIlroy. Nothing worse than a double bogey please.
McIlroy booms a drive down the par-5 15th and then launches a towering iron which lands on the green but hops over the back. Birdie incoming you would imagine though and that would move him to 5-under. It’s hard to stress enough the importance of a fast start for Rory. When he won his four Majors, his round one scores were 65 (2011 US Open), 67 (2012 PGA Championship), 66 (2014 Open Championship) and 66 (2014 PGA Championship). A birdie at 15 and three closing pars would give him a 67 here.
Justin Rose can’t save par at 18 but that’s still a wonderful first lap of Augusta National. His 65 puts him three clear in the clubhouse and all set to lead the first round of the Masters for a fifth time! He also set out with a 65 in 2021 when tied seventh. It’s no surprise to see him ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Putting but 5th for SG: Approach also tells you how well he hit his irons.
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A quick head count and I make it 27 players are under par for the day so far. They include Rasmus Hojgaard, whose cards shows 14 pars and one birdie. His twin brother’s featured an eagle, five birdies, five bogeys, three doubles and four pars. Idea for TV show: Danish differences. Jet from Gladiators hosting.
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McIlroy’s bid to move to 5-under and perhaps even reel in Rose takes a leap forward at 14 as he flights another superb approach to inside 10 feet. But his birdie try slips by on the right – “wow” says Rory – and he stays at 4-under. At 18, Rose has wedged out and then hit a safe third to the heart of the green. A bogey looks highly likely there.
How’s yer luck, Hideki? Answer: not good. The 2021 Masters winner wedges a lovely approach to the par-5 13th but it clatters the flag and flings back into Rae’s Creek. Gosh, that’s unlucky: worthy of an Oliver Hardy look to camera. He takes a very undeserved double-bogey 7. In a new section called ‘Back Nine Calamity Corner’, Patrick Cantlay has twice chipped into water at the other par 5 at 15. He has to roll in a testy putt for an 8 and, in a flash, goes from 1-under to 2-over on a hole he would have been expecting to birdie.
Sepp Straka was perhaps the hipster’s choice going into this 89th Masters but the Austrian has taken a triple-bogey 6 at 11 to slump to 6-over for the day. That’s a whopping 14 shots behind leader Justin Rose, who does indeed get up and down for par at 17. A ‘4’ on his card at the last will tie the course record. Here he goes with his tee-shot at 18 and … whoops … he’s carved into what Sir Nick describes as a “very mature Magnolia tree” down the right.
Ludvig Aberg, who has the look and air of a polite young man who worked in advertising in 60s America, birdies 13 and last year’s runner-up is definitely in the hunt here at -2. McIlroy is now two shots better and alongside Scheffler at -4 after two-putting 13 with minimum fuss.
Rory, from the light rough to the right-edge of the 13th, pulls the trigger with 7-iron from 197 and plonks his approach to inside 15 feet. What a shot! He’ll be putting for eagle again, just as he did at 8. Rose runs into trouble at 17 with a tee-shot that finds the trees. One lofty pine is straight in his line so he’ll have to hit a 30 to 40-yard fade to try and reach the green. He gets the necessary cut but comes up shy. Judging by his short-game prowess today, you’d back the five-time Masters first-round leader-elect to make par although that 62 is now looking somewhat remote.
Incredible! Justin Rose clenches his right fist and flashes another big smile as he drains his birdie putt from 19 feet at 16. He’s 8-under and leads The Masters by four shots! Let’s get thoroughly carried away by saying that if he finishes birdie-birdie he’ll break the course record and become the first player in history to shoot 62 at Augusta National. A 63 would match the previous best of 63 set by Nick Price and Greg Norman.
-8: Rose (16)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (F)
-3: Hatton (F), McCarty (17), McIlroy (12)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Day (F), McCarthy (16), Fitzpatrick (14)
While Rose makes hay, let’s look at a few players who aren’t at it today. Sorry to bring the mood down on what is a picture-perfect day at Augusta National. Two big names at 2-over – now nine back! – are Open champion Xander Schauffele (after 12) and Tommy Fleetwood (10). Even worse, Jon Rahm is +3 after 10 and shares that score with the players ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in the FedExCup standings this season, Russell Henley (13) and Sepp Straka (10). Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner, is +4 after 12.
Out on the course, Sky’s Wayne Riley says conditions are ideal and that Rory has a great chance to parlay his 3-under score to 5-under. We shall see. He’s safely aboard the dancefloor at 12 (Golden Bell) and he’ll be sniffing birdies on those par 5s at 13 (Azalea) and 15 (Firethorn). Up at that 15th hole, leader Justin Rose has gone long and right with his approach and has to chip delicately back onto the green. But he holes the 10-foot birdie putt and hits 7-under. As all the holes at Augusta take the name of flowers, perhaps they’ll have to re-name one ‘Rose’ if he wins this week. How about the 1st, Tea Olive, as that doesn’t sound very flowery to me. Note: I know nothing about flowers.
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Jon Rahm has looked like an angry man about to uproot a tree for most of the day. The 2023 winner took six blows at the par-5 2nd hole and three more bogeys, the latest at 10, against a lone birdie have left him at +2 and stomping from tee-to-tee.
“Get me a pair of rollerblades and he can serve me a hamburger with that outfit,” quips Sir Nick Faldo in the commentary box as Sergio Garcia, resplendent in bright yellow trousers and red top (fun fact: he’s from Spain) holes a par putt at 15 to stay at +1. Sir Nick still mentally dining in the 80s there or perhaps there are lots of places around these days where burgers are served by some fella/girl on skates.
Great save from Rose at 14 after he leaves himself an up and down from around 100 feet after not making the green. He’ll now be chasing a birdie at 15 although a par would produce some nice symmetry given that his scorecard so far shows three birdies, four pars, three birdies and three pars. Shane Lowry adds birdie at 9 but gives it straight back at 10. Up at 11, Rory smashes a colossal tee-shot to leave himself an 8-iron in. He’s a little careful with it but finds the right edge and he should be able to two-putt from there. Should is always a risky to thing to say at Augusta National of course.
Let’s look at what some of the early finishers have been saying. And I’ll start with some expanded quotes from the naughty and incontinent Spanish amateur.
Jose Luis Ballester (76): “Well, I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box. I’m like, I really need to pee. Didn’t really know where to go, and since JT had an issue on the green, I’m like, I’m just going to sneak here in the river and probably people would not see me that much, and then they clapped for me. It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again.” Jeez, the man’s doubling down.
Scottie Scheffler (68): “I felt pretty good. Anytime you can keep a card clean out here, it’s a really good thing. Like you said, I struggled for what felt like two pars today. I had to make two really good up-and-downs. But other than that, the golf course was in front of me most of the day, kept the ball in play, did a lot of really good things out there.”
Tyrrell Hatton (69): “I don’t know if I’ve worked on my patience. I think it just depends what side of the bed I get out of, if I have a little bit or none. Obviously today was a good day. Drove the ball pretty well, which in years gone by is something that I’ve struggled with. Last year obviously was my best finish, and I said that week I felt like I couldn’t have driven the ball much better than what I did. It was nice to go out there today and play a pretty solid round.”
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Well, this is quite a story. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go, I guess but, really! Not at Augusta. The Butler Cabin interview between Jim Nantz and the leading amateur is toe-curling as it is but imagine the awkardness if Jose Luis Ballester wins that honour this week after he chose to take a pee live on the course. I mean, he may already have been escorted off the property but this is what we know so far!
While I was in the grandstands overlooking the 13th green and 14th tee, Jose Luis Ballester had to take relief... but not for what you think.
— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) April 10, 2025
Immediately after playing his 3rd shot, he sprinted toward the tributary and urinated about 60 yards short of the green and into the…
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We’ve not mentioned Shane Lowry yet but it’s positive news for the Irishman, who finished third behind Scheffler and McIlroy here in 2022 and has four top 25s in the last five Masters. The 2019 Open winner (it’s back at Portrush again this year, folks) dropped a shot at 3 but got one against the head with birdie at 4 and added another circle at 8 to move into red numbers for the day. Others at 1-under out on the course include two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson (15), Patrick Cantlay (11), Rasmus Hojgaard (11) and Bryson DeChambeau (8).
Rory McIlroy strokes in his putt at nine and that birdie-birdie finish to the front nine takes him out in 3-under 33. This is going very nicely. Tyrrell Hatton finishes on that same number with a par at 18. This place used to absolutely bamboozle him – his first four visits ended in MC-44-56-MC – but he broke 70 for the first time last year (R4) when finishing ninth and he’s added a second round in the 60s today. It’s his compatriot Rose who still leads the way though as we go over now to view the latest leaderboard.
-6: Rose (12)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (F)
-3: Hatton (F), McIlroy (9)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Day (F), McCarthy (10), Fitzpatrick (10), Matsuyama (8)
Depending on who you’re cheering on, it’s either great news or an absolute body blow to find out where previous Masters champions have sat after 18 holes. The stats are quite eyepopping. Every Augusta champion since 2006 ended round one no worse than 11th and the last five winners were all in the top three after day one. Snooze and you lose. If you want to delve even further back, only one winner this century was outside the top 15 after the first round. That was some fella called Tiger, who opened with a 74 in 2005 to lie 33rd following the opening lap. Rory’s doing a good job of putting himself in the top three (or 11 if you want some added leeway) by close of play as he’s just thrown up a wedge to four or so feet at 9 following a monster drive.
Hideki Matsuyama served one of the best Champions Dinners in 2022, a year on from his Masters win in 2021. He started this year by shooting a ridiculous 35-under to win The Sentry in Hawaii but his form rather plummeted afterwards and he arrived at Augusta this week on the back of two missed cuts. But the 33-year-old from Matsuyama (yes, really) is going nicely today, opening with six straight pars and finding a first birdie of the day at 7.
Scheffler looks tiny stood in the massive fairway bunker at 18, one of two great expanses of sand down the left waiting to gobble up stray drives. But he comes up big with his approach, his second shot catching the slope and leaving himself a good birdie chance. It slides by on the right but 4-under 68 is an excellent return, comprising 14 pars and four birdies. For the record, Scheffler opened with a 69 when winning in 2022 and a 66 when adding his second green jacket last year. Back at 8, Rory unleashes two mightly blows and sets up a 25-foot eagle putt. It doesn’t drop but tap-in birdies are always lovely and McIlroy nudges up to tied fifth. Official status: lurking. Tyrrell Hatton’s official status is ‘furious’ after he drops a shot at 17, his first bogey of the day, to return to -3.
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The Strokes Gained: Putting stats are perhaps a hole behind but, nevertheless, they’re pretty informative so far. Rose is ranked 1st while Scheffler is 4th. And if Scheffler is putting well, look out! That said, you can’t just rely on the flatstick here and the defending champ has just pulled a second straight tee-shot, this one resulting in him finding a fairway bunker down 18. Scheffler would become a three-time winner if he gets it done this week and, talking of triple Masters champions, Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006 and 2010) has just signed for a 75. A pair of closing bogeys have taken the edge off a brave back-nine fightback.
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Collin Morikawa, who started the Masters as third favourite behind Scheffler and McIlroy, had it going today but he’s been leaking oil coming home and signs off with a bogey at 18. That’s three dropped shots in his final four holes, turning a sub-70 round into an even-par 72. Frustrating. Meanwhile, Scheffler is having an adventure down 17. His tugged tee-shot leaves him blocked out by a tree which he decides to heave a gap iron over the top of. It comes up short but he chips to around eight feet and drains the par putt. “Putts like these, these define champions,” says Rich Beem in the Sky commentary box. Scheffler remains tied second alongside Conners (F) and Hatton, who does ever so well to make par at 16 after leaving himself at the top of the green but solving the puzzle with a tickling breaker and a steely par putt.
This is inspirational stuff from Justin Rose. The 9th and 10th are supposed to be consolidation holes but the Englishman has birdied them both. And let’s not forget he picked up another shot at 8 so that’s three par breakers on the spin. On he marches to 6-under, now two clear of the field. Can he keep it going? The tough 11th is a tough next hurdle but there are chances at 13 and 15. Meanwhile, Rory pars 7 but it’s only after a poor approach and some tidy short-game play. Current status: not firing but hanging in there well at -1.
Scheffler breaks a run of seven straight pars with an unlikely birdie-2 at 16. It’s a good shot to the classic Sunday pin down on the bottom tier but the flag in round one is much further along the green. No worries, Scheffler decides to drain a 42-footer for birdie, sparking one of those great Augusta roars! The official Masters scoreboard shuffles and the winner in 2022 and 2024 moves up to tied second, just one behind Rose. Justin Thomas follows Scheffler in with a lengthy putt of his own but that’s the two-time PGA Championship winner’s first birdie of a strangely lacklustre round. On the plus side, another red circle at 17 or 18 and he could be signing for a 72.
-6: Rose (10)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (16), Hatton (15)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Morikawa (15), Day (16), McCarthy (10), DeChambeau (6)
Pars for Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Rory will be happy with his three swishes at the 6th to stay at -1 but Scheffler may be just a little niggled that his has come at 15, meaning he’s failed to pick up a shot on both the back nine’s par 5s. Still, 12 pars and three birdies to start a Masters defence will do very nicely thankyou.
There seemed to be a run of Masters in the 2010s where Fred Couples was turning back the clock and making the dreamers believe he could add a second green jacket. They ended quite a while ago and his last six attempts here show five missed cuts and a 50th. But today he’s opened with a 1-under 71, the first time he’s broken par in round one in 11 years. That 71 has been matched by a, shall we say, less popular former winner, Patrick Reed. ‘Captain America’ has had four top 12 here since winning in 2018 so he’s definitely worthy of the ‘course horse’ tag.
My word. Justin Rose makes another birdie, the latest at 9 after a superb approach allows him to hole from five feet, and hits the front on his own at 5-under. That’s a scintillating outward half of 31. Of course, it’s no surprise to see him at the top of a Masters leaderboard on Thursday. He’s had a piece of the first-round lead at Augusta National no less than four times here (the most recent in 2021) and here he goes again.
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Rory holes another testy par putt at 5 to remain 1-under and three off the pace. Now he’ll be hitting down to the par-3 6th green, a huge drop from the top of the hill where tee-shots sail over the heads of patrons sitting on the bank. They wouldn’t be sat there if I was teeing off, let me tell you. As for Rory, this was him speaking yesterday: “I’ve preached this the whole year, but just managing my game and minimizing my mistakes. If I get myself out of position, putting myself back in position. Just playing really smart and being really logical and rational about everything. If I can do that for four days, I feel like I’ll have a good chance.” So far, so good.
Thanks Scott. Enjoy your recreation of the Champions Dinner. What are ya serving? Anyway, I’ll start with a tale of two Højgaards. Nicolai scribbled just four pars on his card in a rollercoaster 76 today. But proving that twins don’t do everything the same, brother Rasmus has started with six straight pars. Perhaps no surprise to see Nicolai’s colourful card given that the Dane made more birdies than anyone (21) in last year’s Masters when he ended an excellent Augusta debut in tied 16th. He had 17 bogeys and two ‘others’ that week so he’s been a fun watch here.
… and with that, I’ll hand you over to David Tindall, who will take this baby home. See you again tomorrow!
Justin Rose joins his compatriot Tyrrell Hatton at the top! Birdie at the par-five 8th, his fourth of the day, takes him there. And how about this from the 33-year-old Canadian nearly-man Corey Conners, whose best result here was a tie for sixth in 2022, his third consecutive top-ten Masters finish? Birdies at 15, 17 and 18, and he signs for a best-of-day (so far) 68. Throw in bogey for Collin Morikawa at 15, the price of flying the green with his approach, and here’s what the all-new leaderboard looks like.
-4: Conners (F), Hatton (13), Rose (8)
-3: Scheffler (14)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Morikawa (15), Day (14), McCarthy (8), Bhatia (4), DeChambeau (4)
Harris English finishes with birdie at 18. The 35-year-old local lad, who has never finished in the top 20 at the Masters, signs for a two-under 70 and is the joint early clubhouse leader with Aaron Rai.
Rory McIlroy finds the heart of the green at the par-three 4th. He can’t rake in the long birdie putt, and in fact leaves himself quite a bit of work to do, racing it ten feet past. But he makes the one coming back, and that’s a staunch putt. See also Tyrrell Hatton, who secures his par on 13 despite racing an excitable first putt well past the hole. They’re -1 and -4 respectively.
It’s a poor start for Jon Rahm, of LIV Golf and Buyer’s Remorse fame. A dropped shot at 2, the result of some scrappy putting, and already the 2023 champ doesn’t cut a figure of contentment. He’s +1. Better early news for Matt Fitzpatrick, who birdies 4, and Bryson DeChambeau, who picks up a shot at 2. They’re both -1.
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Cameron Smith, who has never missed the cut at the Masters, and finished in a tie for second in 2020, has begun his latest bid in stealthy fashion. A birdie at the last for a one-under 71, having previously made one other birdie, one bogey, and 15 pars. Meanwhile an uncharacteristically sloppy three-putt for Scottie Scheffler, but he’d reached the par-five 13th in two, so the damage is just par, not a dropped shot. He remains at -3.
Some glorious short-game play at 3. Ludvig Åberg first up, and it doesn’t augur well when his wedge from the right-hand side bounces hard on the green and down the bank to the left. But then Akshay Bhatia, from a similar position out right, lands a delicious chip 15 feet to the right of the hole that spins around to a couple of feet. He’ll tidy up, but not before Åberg chips in for a birdie of his own! And then it’s three from three, with Rory McIlroy the neatest and tidiest of them all, albeit without half as much drama. McIlroy and Åberg are -1; Bhatia, who had birdied 2, is -2. A spring in Rory’s step all of a sudden!
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Aaron Rai finishes up with par, and signs for a fine 70. It’s a round that promised more, after a front nine of 32, but he’s done well to stem the bleeding after three consecutive birdies around Amen Corner. He’s -2.
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Tyrrell Hatton leads the Masters! He lands his tee shot at 12 to eight feet, one of the shots of the day there, and rolls in the putt with great confidence. Meanwhile Jason Day, who finished second here on debut back in 2011, birdies 12 and 13 to join the party.
-4: Hatton (12)
-3: Morikawa (13), Scheffler (12), Rose (7)
-2: Rai (17), Conners (15), Greyserman (15), Day (13)
Two holes in, and Rory McIlroy already cuts a frustrated figure. Head not quite addled, but he doesn’t look totally happy, a little agitation betraying him as he goes about his business perhaps too briskly. Having missed a makeable birdie putt at 1, his tee shot at 2 flies into a step-faced fairway bunker. He’s forced to wedge out, and his third takes a hot bounce onto the fringe at the back of the green. He stabs with great uncertainty at the birdie putt, which breaks weakly to the left. He’s faced with a missable five-footer … which to be fair he makes. A par-par start that could have been better, but it also could have been worse. Perhaps that’ll settle a few nerves.
Bernhard Langer, 67, understandably ran out of energy on the back nine. Having hit the turn in 35, he came back in 39, dropping strokes at 12, 13 and 17. Still, that’s a decent 74 and there’s no reason whatsoever why the beloved veteran can’t make the cut on his valedictory appearance tomorrow afternoon.
Some ersatz Jean van de Velde stylings from Joaquin Niemann. He sends his second at the downhill par-five 13th stumbling into Rae’s Creek. Or more exactly, resting on the sand by the stream. He’s able to chip up … but the ball stalls on the bank and comes rolling back into the drink. It’s not submerged, though, and he has another go. This one squirts out, and lands 15 feet past the flag. He can’t steer in the right-to-left swinger for an unlikely par save, and slips back to -1. But going the other way: his partner Collin Morikawa, who curls in a huge putt along similar right-to-left lines, but from twice the distance, for eagle! Throw in a bounceback chip-in birdie for Aaron Rai at 17, plus birdie for Corey Conners at 15, and all of a sudden we have a very glamorous and interesting leaderboard!
-3: Morikawa (13), Scheffler (12), Hatton (11), Rose (6)
-2: Rai (17), Conners (15)
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An opening bogey for the Open champion Xander Schauffele. He’s +1. Back-to-back dropped shots by the 2020 winner Dustin Johnson, at 3 and 4. He’s +2. But most welcome news of 2017’s hero Sergio Garcia, who opened with birdie and is currently -1 through 4. He won recently in Hong Kong on the LIV tour, so let’s rule nothing out yet.
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Davis Thompson would be an unexpected winner, but given he’s a Georgian born and bred, a popular one. The 25-year-old from Atlanta is very much trending in the right direction: his first PGA Tour win last year at the John Deere Classic, a top-ten finish at the US Open, then another top-ten finish at this year’s Players. Now he’s opened his Masters debut with a one-under 71. Birdies at 13 and 15 on the way home, a fine response after making four bogeys between the 5th and 11th.
Now then, you’ll have noticed the group at -2 is significantly smaller than it was. The main top lines of that mass exodus: A double bogey for Brian Harman at 14, and a similar fate for Jordan Spieth at 10. And now Aaron Rai has immediately handed back the shot he picked up at 15, failing to get up and down from greenside sand at 16. He’s unravelled badly since hitting Amen Corner, and slips back to -1.
A huge chance for Rory McIlroy to open with a birdie. He sends his second pin high to 12 feet, but doesn’t give the left-to-right slider enough oomph, and it’s always dying to the right. Pars for Bhatia and Åberg as well. Meanwhile one heck of a turnabout in fortune for Aaron Rai at 15. His second over the water sails the green and nearly finds the pond behind. But it stops in just time, and he wedges up to kick-in distance for an unlikely birdie! He’s back in the group at -2.
-3: Scheffler (10), Hatton (10), Rose (5)
-2: Rai (15), Niemann (12), Canter (8)
It’s not been poor Nick Dunlap’s day. The 21-year-old from Alabama is making his second start at the Masters. He didn’t make the cut last year, and he’s not going to do so this time either. Out in 43 after four bogeys and a triple at 5, he’s just made back-to-back doubles, at 11 and 12, finding the drink at both holes. He’s +11 through 12 and Augusta National is proving a hard-knock seat of learning for the young man all right.
Not many under-hit tee shots at 12 stick on the bank at the front without toppling back into Rae’s Creek. There’s Fred Couples en route to victory in 1992 and … er, that’s about it, isn’t it? Collin Morikawa’s ball somehow stays dry here, though, and he takes advantage of his huge break by getting up and down from the bank for par. An omen of glory to come? Perhaps! He remains at -1.
Heeeeeere’s Rory! An opening drive sent down the middle of Tea Olive. Ludvig Åberg crashes one down there as well. Finally the slight, willowy Akshay Bhatia – described by Butch Harmon on Sky as “like a 1-iron without a grip” – makes it three good ones out of three. Let’s see how this unfolds, then.
… but while Brian Harman was making birdie at 13, his playing partner, the leader Stephan Jaegar, was suffering real bad. His third lands pin high, but spins dramatically back into the creek. That leads to a double-bogey seven on the third-easiest hole on the course today, and suddenly the very top of the leaderboard has an extremely familiar look to it.
-3: Scheffler (10), Hatton (9), Rose (4)
-2: English (13), Harman (13), Jaeger (13), Niemann (11), Spieth (9), Canter (7), McCarty (5), Homa (4)
Michael Kim is back in the hutch with a one-under 71. Great to see the 31-year-old Texan return to form after years of struggle. Meanwhile on 13, Brian Harman rakes in a 50-footer for birdie to move to -2.
Min Woo Lee is down in Mize/Rai Country, the swale to the right of 11. He plays a high-tariff lob miles into the air, landing his ball softly on the edge of the green and letting it release to three feet. In goes the putt, and that’s one of the great up-and-downs. Nerves of steel and he remains at -1.
It’s three birdies in three holes for Justin Rose! What a start. Meanwhile in more good news for fans of English golfers, Tyrrell Hatton has birdied 8, while Harris picks up a stroke at 13. I’m here all week, try the pimento cheese.
-4: Jaeger (12)
-3: Scheffler (9), Hatton (8), Rose (3)
-2: English (13), Niemann (10), Spieth (8), Canter (6), McCarty (4), Homa (3)
Justin Rose has had his near misses here. He was in contention in 2007, when Zach Johnson won; in 2015 when Jordan Spieth broke through; and perhaps most famously lost a playoff in 2017 to Sergio Garcia. At 44, he’s enjoying a late-career resurgence in the majors, having finished in a tie for sixth at last year’s PGA, and a tie for second at the Open. Clearly not done yet, he’s opened his 20th Masters bid with two birdies. Speaking of Spieth, he’s just birdied 8 to move back to -2, alongside Rose and selected others.
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Laurie Canter is making his Masters debut at the age of 35. A late bloomer, he won his first DP World Tour event at last year’s European Open, and followed that up with his second title at the Bahrain Championship a couple of months ago. Now one of the top 50 players in the world as a result, he’s secured his invite to Augusta and looks in the mood to grab the opportunity with both hands. Birdies at 3 and now 6, the latter the reward for sending his tee shot at the par-three pin high. Just a couple off the lead at -2!
Aaron Rai’s promising round is unravelling at pace. His wedge into 13 sails over the flag and generates no spin, and he’s left with a tricky downhill putt from 43 feet. He tickles it down the green, pin high. The only problem is, he’s completely misread it, setting it six feet wide right and watching in horror as it fails to break towards the hole. He can’t make the par saver, and that’s three consecutive bogeys. He’s -1.
Scottie Scheffler makes his move. His second into the par-five 8th disappears down a swale and rests in a divot. But he punches up cleverly, pitching into the backstop behind the flag, and letting the camber take his ball back to 14 feet. In goes the birdie putt, and the defending champion is going along very nicely indeed.
-4: Jaeger (11)
-3: Scheffler (8)
-2: Rai (12), Niemann (9), Hatton (7), Campbell (4), McCarty (3)
We haven’t turned our attention to Nicolai Højgaard for a while. Since that double bogey at 12, he’s since carded pars at 13 and 14, bogeys at 16 and 17 … and an eagle at 15. Just the four pars on his card today. Three doubles. Four bogeys. Six birdies and an eagle. He’s +3. His twin Rasmus is out in a minute. Match that, brother.
Another bogey for Aaron Rai. He dunks his tee shot at the par-three 12th into the bunker guarding the front – better than the drink, at least – and can’t get up and down. Back-to-back bogeys, and suddenly Stephan Jaeger has a two-shot lead. Things change fast at the Masters.
-4: Jaeger (10)
-2: Rai (12), Niemann (8), Scheffler (7), Hatton (7), Campbell (4), McCarty (2)
The first match is back in the clubhouse. A disappointing end to Davis Riley’s up-and-down round: bogey-bogey and the Masters debutant, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, ends the day with a one-over 73. His playing partner Patton Kizzire never got going, and currently props up the entire leaderboard after shooting a seven-over 79.
Collin Morikawa’s second into the par-five 8th is a thing of beauty. A fairway wood that bounces off the camber to the right of the green and gathers into the heart of the playing surface. Two careful putts and that’s his first birdie of the day. He’s -1, and one of the pre-tournament favourites looks pretty pleased, having patiently waited for something to happen for him.
Aaron Rai looks to have played the treacherous 11th well. A drive down the middle. An approach into Larry Mize’s swale to the right of the green, taking the water on the left out of play and leaving a fairly basic (for these lads) uphill chip. But a weak chip dies off to the left, and he can’t make the dribbly four-footer that remains. A first bogey of the day out of nowhere.
-4: Jaeger (10)
-3: Rai (11)
-2: Niemann (8), Scheffler (7), Hatton (6)
Justin Thomas goes on walkabout again, this time up 7. Sort of up 7. He sends his tee shot to the left of the treeline down the left. Instead of chipping sideways to the fairway, he opts to knock his second up the 3rd, which runs parallel, to a spot between the 3rd tee and the 2nd green. From there, he wedges from 45 yards to ten feet, then strokes in the par saver. JT hanging on in there at +1.
Tyrrell Hatton suffers a rush of blood to the noggin. A lovely tee shot into the par-three 6th. Pin high, 15 feet to the right of the flag. A pretty straight putt. But he shoves it slightly, and gives it a rare old clack too. Six feet past. But while he can be notoriously rash, he’s a scrapper as well, and he makes the one coming back to salvage his par. He remains at -2.
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Stephan Jaeger grabs a share of the lead, hitting the turn in 32 after knocking his approach from 140 yards at the gentle dogleg-left 9th to ten feet. With Jordan Spieth dropping a shot at 4, there’s now a little bit of separation at the top.
-4: Rai (10), Jaeger (9)
-2: Niemann (7), Scheffler (6), Hatton (5)
Scottie Scheffler very nearly rakes in another monster, this time from the fringe at the par-three 6th. Just a tap-in par. Just! What Bob MacIntyre would have given for one of those. Meanwhile some good news for Jose Luis Ballester, who responds to that seven on 5 by clipping his tee shot at 6 to eight feet and walking in the birdie putt. That’s met with a warm, supportive cheer from the patrons. And it’s a strange par for the third member of the group, Justin Thomas, who mishits his tee shot, carving it right and way short of the green. He wedges close to remain at +1, having shipped a stroke at 5.
A mini-disaster for Robert MacIntyre on 7. His approach finds greenside sand, but he looks to have salvaged par by splashing out to three feet. However he sends the par putt three feet past, then does exactly the same thing with the one coming back. Three putts from three feet, and suddenly that’s a double bogey out of nowhere. He’s +1.
The amateurs are finding it tough. Evan Beck bogeys 1. Noah Kent, who briefly held a share of the lead at -2, has followed up bogeys at 7 and 8 with a three-putt double at 10; he’s +2. And Jose Luis Ballester comes up short with his second at 5, then sends his chip through the green into sand at the back. A triple-bogey seven and the young Spaniard crashes down to +5.
Par for Aaron Rai at 9. The Masters debutant turns in 32. Meanwhile the very early leader Davis Riley hauls himself back into contention with birdies at 11, 12 and 15 to move back into red figures. He’s -1 again.
Scottie Scheffler rakes one in from downtown on the par-three 4th! That’s an absurd birdie! An average tee shot by his standards into the heart of the green, 62 feet away from the back-right flag. He whistles a putt across a ridge and straight in, hitting the back of the cup and slam-dunking down. Ooo-wee, that was going at some speed! Had it not been bang on line, he’d have been faced with a 15-footer coming back, and staring bogey in the face. But that’s a two, and he acknowledges the gallery with a nonchalance that suggests he always knew that was going in. Champions do what champions do, plus a full ten out of ten for poker face. Birdies for Tyrrell Hatton and Jordan Spieth at 3, meanwhile, and this leaderboard already has a lovely look to it!
-4: Rai (8)
-3: Jaeger (7)
-2: Niemann (5), Scheffler (4), Spieth (3), Hatton (3)
The 67-year-old veteran Bernhard Langer hits the turn in a blemish-free 35. He’d be able to sell that for cash money to some of the young pretenders. On that subject, here’s Simon McMahon: “Am praying that Langer makes it to the weekend, getting goosebumps already at the thought of him walking up 18 on Sunday. He’ll be assured of a tremendous ovation from the punters patrons whatever happens, one of the game’s good guys. Would be almost as good as seeing Bob ‘Robert’ MacIntyre donning the green jacket while facetiming his buddies in the pub in Oban to tell them to get them in, he’ll be back for opening on Monday morning.”
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Trouble for Joaquin Niemann at 5. He carves his drive into the pine straw down the right, and is forced to take his medicine by chipping out. His third only just holds the fringe of the green, and two putts later the Chilean is dropping his first stroke of the day. Meanwhile a third birdie of the day for Stephan Jaeger: 2, 4 and now 7, and the 35-year-old German moves to -3. But he doesn’t get a share of the lead, because Aaron Rai booms two fine shots down the par-five 8th, and two putts later it’s his second back-to-back birdie burst of the day.
-4: Rai (8)
-3: Jaeger (7)
-2: Niemann (5)
-1: Kirk (10), Langer (9), Zalatoris (9), Poston (8), Harman (7), MacIntyre (5), Scheffler (3), Spieth (2), Hatton (2), McNealy (2), Eckroat (1)
The numbers already on Nicolai Højgaard’s card: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. All that’s left is 1. And so, on the storied short par-three 12th, he … clanks his tee shot into the Freddie Couples Bank†, the ball toppling back into Rae’s Creek. Oh my. That leads to a double bogey five. He’s +3 and has still only made one par today.
†: Not official Masters nomenclature
We have a new leading duo. Joaquin Niemann makes it three birdies in four after clipping his tee shot at the par-three 4th to nine feet, while Aaron Rai whip-cracks an iron from the centre of the 7th fairway from 152 yards to five feet. Just gloriously controlled golf. Meanwhile even Scottie Scheffler can’t reach the downhill par-five 2nd in two, but he screeches a chip to four feet and tidies up to move into the red in short order.
-3: Rai (7), Niemann (4)
-2: Kirk (9), Jaeger (6)
-1: M Kim (10), Z Johnson (9), Thompson (8), Langer (8), Harman (6), An (5), MacIntyre (4), Bradley (3), Scheffler (2), Spieth (1), Hatton (1)
Six players have played the notoriously difficult 10th so far. The stats: two pars, three bogeys, and a double. That double has been run up by Nicolai Højgaard, who flew the green from a bunker front right and paid the consequences. He’s played ten holes and has shot every number between two and seven, a sequence that features two doubles, two bogeys and five birdies. Just the one par. Marvellous entertainment, though I doubt the 24-year-old Dane would agree. He’s +1, and well, you’d follow him round, wouldn’t you?
Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas make their pars on 1. The amateur Jose Luis Ballester does not. A bogey after always finding himself just out of position. Meanwhile Bob MacIntyre, bidding to become the second Scot after 1988 champ Sandy Lyle to win the Tournament, birdies 2 and is -1 through 4. And a fast start for Jordan Spieth, who loves this place both because and despite of it all. The 2015 champion and 2016 fall guy opens with a birdie at Tea Olive. He’s slowly working his way back into form after a relatively quiet couple of years. What a popular winner he’d be, an entertainer and escapologist of almost Seve-esque proportions.
Another par for Collin Morikawa, this time at 3. Not the worst result in the end, his chip up from the bottom of the big slope at the front nearly toppling down the bank at the back. He nudges a fairway wood from the fringe to kick-in distance. The 2004 Open champion Todd Hamilton would surely approve. Morikawa remains at level par, as does Min-Woo Lee, who also pars the hole. Joaquin Niemann makes it three pars out of three in the group; he’s in a shrinking leading group at -2.
-2: Kirk (8), Rai (6), Jaeger (5), Niemann (3)
The 30-year-old Colombian Nicolas Echavarria is making his Masters debut. He won the Par Three Tournament yesterday, beating JJ Spaun on the second hole of a play-off. A lovely thing to have on your resumé, albeit a mixed blessing: since the Wednesday tourney was first played in 1960, nobody has won it and then claimed a Green Jacket the following Sunday. Bogeys at 6 and 7 suggest Echavarria won’t be breaking new ground this week; he’s +2. His moment of glory upstaged by Poppy McIlroy, and all.
Birdies at 2 for Joaquin Niemann and Min-Woo Lee. Another par for Collin Morikawa, who passes up a good opportunity on a hole that has already coughed 14 birdies, having dumped his second into the bunker guarding the front right of the green, the pin over on the left. Lee and Morikawa are level par, but Niemann joins the leading group, one that no longer features Nicolai Højgaard, who drops a stroke after flaying his tee shot at 9 into the pines down the right.
-2: Vegas (9), Z Johnson (7), Kirk (7), Kent -a- (6), Rai (6), Harman (4), Jaeger (4), Niemann (2)
The world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler arrives for work. He’s going for a third win in four years! “Hallelujah!” cries a preacher man as Scottie splits the fairway. Justin Thomas sends his tee shot into the trees down the right, while the third member of the group, the US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester finds the first cut on the left. Ballester, the first Spaniard to win the US Amateur, will surely be boosted by the record here of his countryfolk. Seve, Ollie, Sergio and Jon Rahm, of course … but also Carla Bernat Escuder, who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur last week with three consecutive rounds of 68 (two at Champions Retreat, one at Augusta National). No country, other than the USA, has a better record at this storied course.
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Joaquin Niemann is one of the hottest players on the LIV Tour right now. Some would argue he’s the most in-form golfer on the planet. The 26-year-old from Chile is living up to that billing, albeit with a data sample size of one hole. Birdie, having found the semi-rough down the right of the fairway, sending his second into the heart of the green, and stroking in the 20-footer that remains. His playing partner Collin Morikawa, another much-tipped player going into this week, makes a fuss-free par, but the third member of this group, Min-Woo Lee – who kept Scottie Scheffler at arm’s length, just, to win the recent Houston Open – bogeys, having hooked his opening drive into the pines down the left. Scottie very soon, by the way.
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Nicolai Højgaard continues apace with his spectacular repair job. His fourth birdie of the day on 7; his fifth on 8. The young Dane is absolutely flying, and we’d already be thinking about possible course-record tilts … were it not for that appalling bogey, double bogey start. But what a response. What mettle. What moxie! He joins a leading pack that now also features the latest PGA Tour winner Brian Harman. The 2023 Open champ landed the Texas Open last weekend in typical street-fighting style, and has opened this week’s work with birdies at 1 and 3.
-2: N Højgaard (8), Z Johnson (7), Kirk (6), Kent -a- (5), Rai (4), Harman (3)
Noah Kent qualified for this year’s Tournament by finishing runner-up at the US Amateur. One of five amateurs in this year’s field – along with US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester, NCAA individual title winner Hiroshi Tai, US Mid-Am champ Evan Beck and Latin American Amateur winner Justin Hastings – he’s made back-to-back birdies at 3 and 4, and like Davis Riley before him, can now always say he once led the Masters. A fast start for Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai on debut, too, with birdies at 2 and 3. Rai has yet to make a serious impression on any of the majors, but he broke his PGA Tour duck last year at the Wyndham, formerly the Greater Greensboro Open, so knows what it takes to enter the winners circle. Sandy Lyle’s first victory in the USA was at the Greater Greensboro, incidentally, for anyone interested in extremely tenuous omens.
-2: Z Johnson (5), Kirk (5), Kent -a- (4), Rai (3)
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The Honorary Starters. The dawn ceremony went strictly to plan. Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson – 140 Masters appearances and 11 Green Jackets between them – were love-bombed by the gallery. Of course they were. “The fairway gets a little more narrow every year,” cracked 1964, 1974 and 1976 winner Player, before teeing off and performing a high-kick, just because he can. They don’t call him Mr Fitness for nothing. “It got off the ground!” quipped 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975 and 1986 champion Nicklaus of his shot, but of course it did. “It’s hard for me to get down,” laughed 1977 and 1981 champ Watson when teeing it up, despite looking so very nimble for a 75-year-old. Flush, stripe, flush. Beloved heroes one and all.
Chris Kirk hasn’t got much of a record in the majors. A top-five finish at the 2022 PGA Championship and that’s it. But the 39-year-old from Knoxville is coming off the back of two consecutive top-25 finishes at the Masters, shooting a best-of-day third-round score of 68 last year, and he’s taking that form into this year’s Tournament. Birdies at 2 and 4, and he’s the joint leader now with his playing partner today, the 2007 champ Zach Johnson, who has picked up strokes at 2 and 3. Meanwhile birdies for the old boys: Bernhard Langer at 3 and 1992 hero Freddie Couples at 1. Five former champions on this early leaderboard!
-2: Z Johnson (4), Kirk (4)
-1: Vegas (6), Weir (5), M Kim (5), Willett (4), Thompson (3), Langer (3), Kent -a- (3), Poston (2), Rai (2), Couples (1), Harman (1)
Nicolai Højgaard clearly loves this place. A top-20 finish on debut last year, and he’s not letting that aforementioned cold start of bogey, double bogey get him down. He’s followed up his birdie at 3 by landing his tee shot at the 182-yard par-three 4th to six feet, then from trees down the left of 5, sending a draw through a gap from 194 yards to 14 feet, making the putt on both occasions. Three birdies in a row, and having now carded his first par of the round at 6, he’s level again. That’s some response after that horror start to his round.
The two-time champion Bernhard Langer is playing in his final Masters this year. The 1985 and 1993 winner eases his opening drive down the middle of Tea Olive, then finds the centre of the green en route to par. Langer is 67 years old and still looks as young and sprightly as he did in his pomp. The German made the cut here as recently as a 63-year-old in 2020, becoming the oldest player ever to do so. (See below.) “My knees are shot,” he sighed that year, so it’s nice to hear he’ll be chauffeured to and from the course this week in a bespoke Masters-themed Mercedes-Benz with green paint, his own signature on the upholstery, all the trimmings. A living legend who deserves his pimped ride.
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Erstwhile champions are out and about, and three of them have joined the leading pack with an early birdie. Mike Weir, who became the first left-handed player to win the Masters in 2003, has birdied 3, while the 2007 champion Zach Johnson and 2016 shock-winner Danny Willett pick up a stroke at 2. The early leader Davis Riley goes backwards, though, the first victim this week of those huge, deep bunkers down the left of the 5th fairway. Bogey, followed by another at the par-three 6th, the result of a weak chip from the bottom of the swale back left, and all of a sudden he’s +1. Welcome to Augusta National!
-1: Vegas (4), Weir (3), M Kim (3), Z Johnson (2), Kirk (2), Willett (2)
It’s cool early in the morning in Augusta, which explains the lack of early birdie action. (Only Jhonattan Vegas, at 3, and Michael Kim, at 2, have matched Davis Riley’s achievement of carding a red number so far.) Given that it should warm up later, and that there’s wind and possibly a thunderstorm expected tomorrow afternoon, today’s early starters appear to be on the wrong side of the draw. Good news for Rory McIlroy, then. In theory at least. Hopefully the thunderstorm will give Augusta National the bodyswerve tomorrow, and after that we should enjoy a sunny and dry weekend, if not a particularly warm one.
Nicolai Højgaard made his debut here last year, and on Thursday posted a magnificent 67. The young Dane ended the week in a very respectable tie for 16th, by some distance the best finish of his fledgeling major career. He’s making his presence felt this Thursday too, albeit in a more scattershot manner. He’s unable to get up and down from the bunker to the left of the 1st green, and follows that bogey by hooking wildly into the woods at 2, necessitating a reload, and leading to a double bogey. Birdie at the nearly drivable par-four 3rd takes him back up to +2, but the 24-year-old is currently propping up the current 14-player-strong leaderboard.
There are so many traditions to be observed at the beginning of each Masters. Arriving via Magnolia Lane. The Amateur Dinner. The Champions Dinner. Skipping the water at 16. The par-three contest. The Honorary Starters. And someone unexpected nearly always flies out of the traps early doors, able to say for ever more that they once led the Masters, and even though there were only a handful of fellow pros out on the course at the time, facts are facts and there isn’t anything anyone can ever do to rebut it. Step forward then Davis Riley, who took the opening shot of this year’s Tournament and followed a par at Tea Olive with birdie on the par-five 2nd, reward for wedging his approach to ten feet. The 28-year-old from Mississippi is on debut, so this is some introduction to life at golf’s most glamorous major. Great stuff, with the caveat that, unless Riley is to become the first debutant to win since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, the only way from here is down.
-1: Riley (3)
E: Vegas (2), Weir (10), M Kim (1), Young (1), Z Johnson (1), Kirk (1)
Preamble
Welcome, patrons, to the 89th staging of the Masters Tournament. The contestants are invited guests and should be treated with courtesy and respect. Although cheering and positive responses to great play are encouraged, unsolicited or consistent calls from the gallery are prohibited. Running is considered to be unacceptable behaviour. Prohibited items include Cell Phones, Beepers, Electronic devices, Tablets, any device with recording and/or transmission capability, Flags, Banners, Signs, Ladders, Periscopes and Weapons of any kind (regardless of permit). Pimento Cheese sandwiches are $1.50 and Iced Tea is two bucks. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is the favourite, all the tee times are below, and this is the famous CBS theme on a looooong loop to get you in the mood. It’s on! Masters fever is real; won’t someone please call Dr Golf?
First-round tee times (USA unless stated, all times BST)
12.40 Patton Kizzire, Davis Riley
12.51 Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den), Jhonattan Vegas (Ven), Chun-An Yu (Tai)
13.02 Michael Kim, Mike Weir (Can), Cameron Young
13.13 Joe Highsmith, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk
13.24 Nicolas Echavarria (Col), Davis Thompson, Danny Willett (Eng)
13.35 Noah Kent, Bernhard Langer (Ger), Will Zalatoris
13.52 J. T. Poston, Aaron Rai (Eng), Cameron Smith (Aus)
14.03 Fred Couples, Harris English, Taylor Pendrith (Can)
14.14 Corey Conners (Can), Brian Harman, Stephan Jaeger (Ger)
14.25 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Max Greyserman, Patrick Reed
14.36 Nick Dunlap, Billy Horschel, Robert MacIntyre (Sco)
14.47 Min-Woo Lee (Aus), Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
14.58 Keegan Bradley, Jason Day (Aus), Phil Mickelson
15.15 Jose Luis Ballester (Spa), Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas
15.26 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor), Jordan Spieth
15.37 Thomas Detry (Bel), Tony Finau, Maverick McNealy
15.48 Rafael Campos (Pur), Cameron Davis (Aus), Austin Eckroat
15.59 Angel Cabrera (Arg), Laurie Canter (Eng), Adam Schenk
16.10 Brian Campbell, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa), Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa)
16.21 Evan Beck, Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Bubba Watson
16.38 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty
16.49 Denny McCarthy, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Hiroshi Tai (Sgp)
17.00 Max Homa, Justin Rose (Eng), J. J. Spaun
17.11 Justin Hastings (Cay), Dustin Johnson, Nick Taylor (Can)
17.22 Daniel Berger, Sergio Garcia (Spa), Lucas Glover
17.33 Patrick Cantlay, Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den)
17.50 Russell Henley, Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Brooks Koepka
18.01 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott (Aus)
18.12 Ludvig Aaberg (Swe), Akshay Bhatia, Rory McIlroy (NIrl)
18.23 Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry (Irl), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
18.34 Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Jon Rahm (Spa)
18.45 Sam Burns, Sepp Straka (Aut), Sahith Theegala
