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As mentioned earlier, the pin position at 14 has fooled many today. Nick Faldo has talked of it being unusual which partly explains it. The putting surface has many swales and few have caught the right ones. Scottie Scheffler just has, however. He\u2019ll have about 15 feet for birdie shortly.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Andy Bull has written about Rory McIlroy\u2019s first round. In the past, it was \u201clike watching a man try to carry a Ming vase across a wet marble floor\u201d but now he\u2019s made it to the other side.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Rahm update. It\u2019s not good. Following those four front nine bogeys, he\u2019s added a double bogey-7 at 15. He\u2019s +6 through 14.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Wayne Riley has just said: \u201cWe\u2019re in for the greatest Masters ever on Sunday.\u201d He\u2019s talking of the difficulty that trio had playing 13 which is clearly firming up. Scheffler and MacIntyre putted close with their fourth shots, and Woodland scraped a five with a long par putt.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rose misses his par putt at 14. He exits the green with shoulders back and his head shaking.<\/p>\n Back at 13, both Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland left themselves short pitches over the creek to the green with their second shots. Neither one of them hold the green. Their playing partner Robert MacIntyre went for the green with his second and found it. But guess what? He can\u2019t keep his third short on the green either! The three of them are in the gully at the back of the putting surface.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.41 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s not often you see Justin Rose furious. But his experiences at 14 are getting to him. The chip he is faced with is a nasty one, needing to negotiate a steep front to the green and his ball only just climbs up it. He moves forward quickly to mark it, eyes narrowed, lips pursed.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Justin Rose found the fairway at 14. The pin is in an unusual position on the right and it fools the Augusta veteran. Nick Faldo suggests there is no wind, but the ball comes up short of the humped putting surface and Rose wanders down the fairway huffing and puffing to himself. With his shirt flapping in the breeze, Faldo admits he got it wrong.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n After his round Rory McIlroy talked of how he has learned to manage expectations.<\/p>\n \u201cI still have high expectations, but my expectations are more \u2018Did I make good decisions today? Was I committed? Was I trusting?\u2019 It wasn\u2019t, \u2018I\u2019m going to go out and shoot 65 and did I do it?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt took me a while to focus on the process and the little mini goals of not compounding errors. If I can live up to those expectations, then the scores and the results should take care of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Birdie putts coming up at 13. Jordan Spieth\u2019s stays up from 10 feet so he remains at -2. Now Justin Rose steps up. He\u2019s got 2-feet for his birdie and to hit -4, breaking the logjam at -3. He drains it and strides off to the 14th tee with his chin down and his \u201cconcentrating hard\u201d face on.<\/p>\n -5: Burns (F), McIlroy (F) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Augusta National is looking its very best right now. The light is crisp and clear. The 12th green is currently in the shadow of the canopy of one tree. Up above, drones provide views that only a few years ago we never had. It was actually quite strange how, for so long, we always had the same camera positions which provided somewhat limited coverage.<\/p>\n Up ahead, Justin Rose\u2019s pitch to 13, his third shot, leaves him a short birdie putt to creep closer to the pacesetters. He couldn\u2019t pinch the outright lead could he?!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ve hit a little bit of a flat spot. But the next hour will impact on many rounds – and with it potentially define the week for many. Justin Rose (-3), Jordan Spieth (-2) and Justin Thomas (-1) are playing the par-5 13th. Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland (both -2) will be on it soon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scheffler\u2019s attempt to save par at 11 fails. He drops back to -2. He\u2019ll feel confident about the coming stretch, however. Find the green at 12 and then he can chase birdies at the par-5 13th and 15th.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n There was so much chatter earlier this year that Scottie Scheffler had lost it. The stats men used stats. TV folk had footage of him fighting his swing on the range. Wayne Riley of Sky Sports was in a video comparing him to golfers of the past who wowed the world for a short period before dropping their high standards. Others looked at his results: 18 straight top 10s followed by an absolutely desperate run of T12-T24-T22.<\/p>\n Then, awaiting the birth of his second child, he hadn\u2019t played for three weeks. More grist for the doubter\u2019s mill. But maybe it was the best thing for him? Time will tell about that. What we know is that he\u2019s been very good so far today in playing the opening 10 holes in -3. He has, however, missed the 11th a long way to the right. Saving par will be tricky from there.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Scot Robert MacIntyre enjoyed success in the final two majors of 2025. He was second in the US Open and then T7 in the Open at Royal Portrush. Masters winners often drop big hints in the majors ahead of their win so MacIntyre had every reason to feel confident this week. But he\u2019s had a tough front nine. He made birdie at 3, but added bogeys at 5 and 6, and a double bogey at 9. A big curving birdie putt at 10 would have put wind in his sails, but it swings across the front of the hole.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s not been a turn to remember for Ludvig \u00c5berg. The Swedish tyro had opened his Masters account with two top 10 finishes and when he was -3 through the 8th he must have been feeling chipper. But he scratched a double bogey-6 on his card at 9 and has since then added bogeys at 10 and 11. A par at 12 has righted the ship, but he\u2019s now +1 and needs to take advantage of the par-5s to come.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Rahm, +4 through 10, has a birdie chance at 11 but misses it. He\u2019s cutting a downbeat figure and in the majors it has been going on a long time. Since winning the 2023 Masters he has only one top five finish in the championships that define a career \u2013 and even that was T2 behind the runaway winner of the 2024 Open, Brian Harman. At his best he was like a big angry wild Basque bear. Too often now he\u2019s like a sad bear in a bad zoo. We want roaring Rahm.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n After his round of 70 Shane Lowry talked about conditions. \u201cI think this could be the toughest Masters we\u2019ve played in a while,\u201d he said. \u201cYou look at the forecast. They can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend. Over the last few years we\u2019ve had a day every year where it\u2019s been raining or it\u2019s been heavy rains. It\u2019s kind of helped us a little bit, but I think before the week is out, it\u2019s going to get very, very crusty around here.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The lowlight of Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s opening 76 was a triple bogey-7 at the 11th. It took him three shots to leave the greenside bunker and his explanation was brief after the round: \u201cBunker was softer than I anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Exactly how much does Justin Rose enjoy a Masters Thursday? Consider this: he\u2019s played the tournament 20 times, and he\u2019s claimed three solo first round leads and two shared ones. He\u2019s also 9-for-20 at going sub-70 which is extraordinary. Rory McIlroy, by contrast, is now 3-for-17.<\/p>\n Photograph: Matt Slocum\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.19 EDT<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy on his opening round: \u201cI thought I would feel different, but then I put my ball on the tee and felt the same nerves. I\u2019m glad I felt that way. Something would be wrong if I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cI settled really quickly. I\u2019ve said all week there\u2019s a certain freedom now. If I hit it in the trees? Okay! I\u2019ve seen it all. I did that a bit on the front nine and found my game on the back. I swung freely and kept doing so even on the front nine. It\u2019s a great start but a long way to go. I\u2019m feeling good with where I\u2019m at, though.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A reminder that Tom Watson and Gary Player had plenty to say after they hit the honorary first drives earlier today \u2013 on Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, and also Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Rahm has had a terrible front nine. The 2023 champion entered this week in startlingly good form on LIV. His last nine starts there had reaped one win (in Hong Kong at the start of March), half a dozen seconds (three after extra holes) and a pair of fifths. But today? He\u2019s +4 through the turn. Back at the 8th, Scheffler misses his short birdie putt to stay at -3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Nathan Cain emails: \u201cIs this the first round of Justin Rose\u2019s march to the Green jacket?\u201d It could be. He\u2019s sneaked into a share of third with a typically neat and tidy first round. The three-time Masters runner-up is apparently ageless. Scottie Scheffler is in the same pack but has hit the par-5 8th green in two and has a lengthy eagle putt which he has left just outside gimme range.<\/p>\n -5: Burns (F), McIlroy (F) Share<\/a>Rory McIlroy ties the -5 clubhouse lead<\/p>\n A lovely lag putt secures his 67 and ties Sam Burns. It\u2019s the defending champion\u2019s second-best first round score (the best was a 65 in 2011 which had him tied at the top after 18 holes). Such a different departure from the green to the last time he was competitive at Augusta 12 months ago, but what a feeling today must have been. He was far from perfect. His driving was poor at times. You sense he played with a weight lifted from his shoulders.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a brilliant day for Rory McIlroy. Photograph: Petter Arvidson\/BILDBYR\u00c5N\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.09 EDT<\/p>\n The fairway bunkers on 18 are proving very popular. Is this a case of the fast-running conditions allowing balls to bound forward where previously they have held up? Rory McIlroy is the latest man to find them. Readers with long memories will recall Sandy Lyle playing a 7-iron from this sand. It was such a sensational shot it gave him the chance to win the tournament which he took and then danced a little Highland jig, arms above his head, sweaty armpits on show to the world and then swiftly covered up by his new Green Jacket.<\/p>\n How will McIlroy fare? No Green Jacket on the line today, but he\u2019d like to match the clubhouse lead of Sam Burns. He has 149 yards and it\u2019s solid. Very solid. Middle of the green solid.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A limp finish for Bryson DeChambeau. A bogey at 18 sees him complete a 76. It\u2019s the fifth time, in 10 starts, that he has failed to break 74 in the first round at the Masters. He\u2019ll need a strong fightback to avoid returning to old ways. In his first seven visits to Augusta he failed to record one top 20 then finished T6 and T5 in the last two years.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy hits a lovely shot into 17, giving himself about 15 feet for birdie and the solo lead. It is 10 years since a defending champion held the first round lead.<\/p>\n -5: Burns (F), McIlroy (17) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Aaron Rai continues to potter along nicely. In winning the Par-3 Contest yesterday he maintained an unlikely trend because he is, like Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam, a former Shropshire county player. Who would ever have thought such an unheralded county would enjoy such success at Augusta National? Could Rai match his two black gloves with a Green Jacket? He\u2019s currently -3 and has just made the turn.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Matthew Fitzpatrick and Bryson DeChambeau were both favoured by many as contenders this week. But both have laboured. The Englishman is level through 17, the American +3. Both find sand from the 18th tee. Fitzpatrick finds more of it near the green, DeChambeau doesn\u2019t even get that far and cries: \u201cHooking it! Every time!\u201d The third man in their group is Xander Schauffele. He also found the fairway bunker but makes the green and has 20-feet for birdie to get to -3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2018 champion Patrick Reed reaches the clubhouse on -3. He opened with a birdie and added two par-5 eagles on the front nine. On the way home, he only added two bogeys, but it could have been worse. His short game saved him time and again. Moreover, he putted well which is interesting because he left the course last year (when he finished third) saying: \u201cThe putter killed me this week. Really lost my opportunity to win a green jacket because of the putter.\u201d Playing partner Tommy Fleetwood finishes on -1. He was briefly -4 but couldn\u2019t hold his score together as Reed did.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy hits a nice shot into the par-3 16th. But he knew immediately that he wanted it to sit tight, ushering with his hand for it to hold. It landed on top of the ridge that runs through the green and didn\u2019t hold, instead sliding to the lower tier. He\u2019s not the first to suffer that fate today and he won\u2019t be the last. The putting surface is large enough, the target area is tiny.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Hello, hello \u2013 Rory McIlroy had tied the lead at -5! He curls his birdie putt in, letting it slip down the treacherous 15th green. He greets it with a trademark quiet, head high fist pump. The big question ahead of this week was \u201cWould winning the first Green Jacket would free him?\u201d We have an early indication. But it is only that. Let\u2019s not get carried away.<\/p>\n Just give him the Green Jacket now. Photograph: Brian Snyder\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.08 EDT<\/p>\n Sam Burns on his 67: \u201cYou need to be in the fairway. Driving the ball well was key. It\u2019s perfect out there. With the forecast \u2013 wind and no rain \u2013 it\u2019s only going to get faster and harder.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy is back on 15, scene of the sensational approach shot that revived his victory bid 12 months ago. After a neat birdie at 14 he is -4 and has the first round lead in his cross hairs. There\u2019s no repeat of last year, however. Then, he had one tree to bend his ball around. Now, he has a curtain of them in front of him. As with the 13th, earlier in the round, he bunts his ball forward. It\u2019s a good job he wasn\u2019t this sensible last April or we\u2019d have missed out on the drama of that final round.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.51 EDT<\/p>\n English debutant Marco Penge is in the last group out today. His life has changed significantly in recent times. 18 months ago, he had to hole a birdie putt on the final round of the final regular event on the 2024 DP World Tour to save his card. 12 months ago, he was watching the Masters on TV. Two weeks later, he won for the first time on the DP World Tour. Six months ago, he won for a third time in the season at the Open de Espana – and the victory came with an invite to Augusta. He also earned a PGA Tour<\/a> card and has made a solid start to his career in the States. All good. But he\u2019s made a triple bogey-8 at the 2nd. A tough start.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Sam Burns set a new and strong clubhouse target of -5.<\/p>\n A round of 67 for the 29-year-old. He averages 73.33 in the first round over his last three visits to Augusta National, but he\u2019s found a very quirky way to do it, carding rounds of 80, 73 and now 67. Remember, he led last year\u2019s US Open through 36 and 54 holes before tumbling away with a final round 78 for T7. Back on 3, his good friend Scottie Scheffler completes a two-putt birdie. He\u2019s -3. \u201cOminous start,\u201d says Rich Beem on TV.<\/p>\n A good day at the office for Sam Burns Photograph: Mike Blake\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.47 EDT<\/p>\n McIlroy drains the birdie putt at 13 and Reed misses his par putt at 15. We now have a seven-way tie for second. And Scheffler\u2019s drive at the short par-4 3rd has found the edge of the putting surface. Some start from the World No. 1.<\/p>\n -5: Burns (17) Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPretty straightforward shot, this,\u201d says on-course commentator Wayne Riley of the McIlroy pitch at 13. Riley does have a habit of setting McIlroy up for a prat fall, but he\u2019s spot on this time. McIlroy has about 12 feet for birdie. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler has opened his account with an eagle-3 at the 2nd.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy has seen a lot of the trees today and he\u2019s back in them on the par-5 13th. He\u2019s overshot the fairway and is in among the pine straw. He doesn\u2019t try anything fancy. A nice little bunt forward with draw spin into the fairway. It does, however, set up something of a repeat of the duffed pitch into water that threatened to derail his tournament challenge 12 months ago.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We have a new clubhouse leader. Kurt Kitayama ties up a par at 18 for a round of 69 and he\u2019ll take lunch on -3. It\u2019s his third Masters appearance and his best finish is T35 in 2024. Back on the par-5 15th, Patrick Reed hit a fairway wood into the green and he loved it. Full on club twirl, but it clattered through the green and found the water behind, rather than in front of, the putting surface.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The final group has left the first tee and it included Harris English who might better be known as \u2018The Nearly Man of Major Golf<\/a> in 2025\u2019. He was tied second at the PGA Championship and solo second at the Open – both times denied by the World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Did he miss his big chance last year? Or can he revive those memories? He was T12 at Augusta last year and he does hail from Georgia. He has quite a vibe, ambling along, chewing gum, giving very little away.<\/p>\n
-4: Rose (13)
-3: Kitayama (F), Day (F), Reed (F)<\/p>\n
-3: Kitayama (F), Day (F), Reed (F), Rose (9), Scheffler (7)<\/p>\n
-3: Kitayama (F), Day (F), Reed (F), Rai (9), \u00c5berg (8), Scheffler (6)<\/p>\n
-3: Kitayama (F), Lowry (17), Day (17), Reed (15), Fleetwood (15), McIlroy (13), Rai (6)<\/p>\n