Staff Reporter.
@Augusta.com.
| Masters first-round leaderboard |
|---|
| -7 J Rose (Eng); -3 B Harman (US), H Matsuyama (Jpn); -2 P Reed (US), W Zalatoris (US), W Simpson (US), C Bezuidenhout (SA) |
| Selected others: -1 T Hatton (Eng), J Spieth (US); +1 P Casey (Eng), J Thomas (US);+2 D Johnson (US), T Fleetwood (Eng), R MacIntyre (Sco), I Poulter (Eng); +4 R McIlroy (NI), B DeChambeau (US); +6 L Westwood (Eng) |
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England’s Justin Rose hit a sensational seven-under-par 65 to open a four-shot lead on the opening day of the Masters.
Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman had set the early pace at three under par as the only other players to break 70.
Patrick Reed, the 2018 winner, shot a 70, while defending champion and world number one Dustin Johnson is two over.
Only 12 players shot under par on the opening day, with England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Ireland’s reigning Open champion Shane Lowry at one under.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Lee Westwood were among those who struggled to tame the iconic Georgia course, finishing on four over and six over, respectively.
Tommy Fleetwood was also having a tough round but he had a hole-in-one on the par-three 16th, having also made an ace at the WGC Matchplay last time out, on his way to a two-over 74
Rose has history at Augusta. He finished tied for second in 2015 and was beaten in a play-off by Sergio Garcia in 2017.
He arrived this week having not played since withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational a month ago with a back problem.
The world number 41 made a bogey start and followed with another dropped shot at seven, before an eagle at the par-five eighth saw the 2013 US Open champion burst into life.
Rose, who has recently reunited with swing coach Sean Foley, birdied the following two holes, saved par on 11 and continued his momentum with five more birdies in his final seven holes to post his best score in 59 rounds at the Masters.
It is a familiar position for the 2016 Olympic champion, who has now held the first-round lead at Augusta National on four occasions, a joint record with six-time winner Jack Nicklaus.
“I guess the good news is I don’t know what happened and that’s when you play your best golf and get into the nice rhythm,” he said.
“Even though I saw red numbers on the board I didn’t panic when I was two over through seven, that’s the most important thing.
“I knew it was a day not to play yourself out of the tournament, the course had a lot of teeth to it.
“The pins were relatively fair so good golf shots could be rewarded and to be nine under for my last 11, you can never quite see that coming here at Augusta National.”
Last week Jordan Spieth won the Texas Open to end a losing run that stretched back to his win at the 2017 Open Championship, and the 2015 Masters champion did not go under the radar on Thursday.