Justin Rose leads Masters after first round; Scottie Scheffler right behind
Scottie Scheffler was expected to be near the top of the Masters leaderboard after the first round at Augusta National Golf Club.
But it was Justin Rose, the Englishman playing in his 20th Masters, who walked into the clubhouse with a three-stroke lead over the 2024 winner at 7-under after posting a miraculous first round Thursday.
Rose, whose only major win came in 2013 at the U.S. Open, matched his best round ever at Augusta National, and this marks his fifth time leading after the tournament’s first round.
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The 44-year-old sprinted out to a 3-under start after he birdied the first three holes. After doing the same on holes 8 and 9, he finished the first nine at 5-under. He birdied 10 before coming back down to earth with four straight pars before finding more red marks on holes 15 and 16 to sit at 8-under.
Rose was flirting with the best opening round in Masters history, Greg Norman’s 9-under in 1996. But Rose couldn’t find the fairway on the narrow 18th fairway, and he finished his round with a bogey.
However, he was all smiles after his great start. His best finishes at the Masters came in 2015 and 2017, when he finished second and tied for second, respectively.
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Scottie right behind
There were some questions about how Scheffler would fare this week in Augusta due to him missing a few tournaments to start the year with a freak hand injury he sustained while preparing Christmas dinner. And he admitted weeks before the tournament it’s still affecting his play.
Yet, he shot 4-under to set himself up for a good week to defend his 2024 Masters title.
And some theatrics came with it when he drained a 60-foot birdie on the par-3 fourth hole. He also knocked down a long putt on the par-3 16th that would be his final birdie of the day in a bogey-free round to begin his tournament.
However, he isn’t the only one in the clubhouse at 4-under, three strokes back of Rose. Canadian Corey Conners, picked by some as a dark horse candidate to win this week, birdied three of his final four holes to also sit 4-under heading into Friday.
Finally, Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg, who finished second in last year’s Masters behind Scheffler, had a strong second nine with four birdies to finish tied for second at 4-under.
Reckless Rory
It was looking like Rose could have some very close company, if not a tie for the lead, because Rory McIlroy was cruising in his opening round as he searches for that elusive career Grand Slam. He needs a Masters victory to complete that.
He was looking great at 4-under after 14 holes, but a costly error on the par-5 15th derailed what would’ve been a sparkling start to the tournament.
A beautiful drive started the hole, but after his second shot went through the green, McIlroy had to chip down to the hole, which sat at the front of the green on a downslope. It was a similar situation Patrick Cantlay faced earlier Thursday, and both of his attempts rolled off the green and into the water below for a disastrous turn of events.
McIlroy’s chip got a hard second bounce, and he watched as his ball rolled into the water. Instead of going back to the same spot like Cantlay, he opted for the drop zone and would need to chip again after it bounced just off the green into the fringe. McIlroy finished with a double bogey to fall to 2-under on the day, and it got worse from there.
He was able to par No. 16 but found trouble again with a double bogey on 17 to drop to even-par on the round. That’s where McIlroy finished, which isn’t terrible by any means.
However, after such a great start to the day, especially with all the expectations for him entering the week after two victories, McIlroy now needs to build momentum again Friday instead of riding high from it Thursday.
Ageless Couples
There is a 65-year-old tied within the top 10 at Augusta National, and it’s none other than 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, who posted a 1-under 71 first round Thursday.
It was a round for the Masters record books. It had been 42 years since he first broke par at Augusta National in 1983. The longest gap prior to that was Jack Nicklaus, who first broke par in 1960 before his last in 2000, a 40-year gap.
Tom Watson also had 40 years between his first and last, and both he and Nicklaus were honorary starters Thursday.
Couples, with his ever-so-sweet swing from the right side, is draining eagles from the fairway as he did Hole 14 with a hybrid from just under 200 yards out. His neon yellow ball hit the green perfectly in line, and it quickly turned the tide for Couples, who bogeyed two of his last three holes prior to that to go 1-over on the day.
Couples is usually aiming to make the cut each year so he can play into the weekend. This was a start to give him that opportunity.
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LEADERBOARD
Here’s the top 10 on the Masters leaderboard after Round 1:
1. Justin Rose: -7
T2. Corey Conners: -4
T2. Scottie Scheffler: -4
T2. Ludvig Åberg: -4
T5. Tyrell Hatton: -3
T5. Bryson DeChambeau: -3
T7. Aaron Rai: -2
T7. Harris English: -2
T7. Jason Day: -2
T7. Akshay Bhatia: -2
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