Justin Rose grabbed a piece of Masters history Thursday after an eight-birdie explosion propelled the 44-year-old to a 7-under 65 and the first-round lead at Augusta National.
The round marked the fifth time Rose has either held the lead or co-lead after 18 holes at the Masters, pushing him one clear of Jack Nicklaus to set the all-time mark.
That score was enough to hold a two-shot edge on defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg and Corey Conners. Rory McIlroy had it to 4-under after 14 but double-bogeyed the 15th and 17th holes to finish at even for the round.
Place
Player
Round 1 score
Total to par
1
Justin Rose
65
-7
T-2
Scottie Scheffler
68
-4
T-2
Corey Conners
68
-4
T-2
Ludvig Aberg
68
-4
T-5
Bryson DeChambeau
69
-3
T-5
Tyrrell Hatton
69
-3
T-7
Aaron Rai
70
-2
T-7
Harris English
70
-2
T-7
Jason Day
70
-2
T-7
Akshay Bhatia
70
-2
T-11
Patrick Reed
71
-1
T-11
Viktor Hovland
71
-1
T-11
Fred Couples
71
-1
T-11
Cam Smith
71
-1
T-11
Shane Lowry
71
-1
T-11
Min Woo Lee
71
-1
T-11
Bubba Watson
71
-1
T-11
9 others tied
71
-1
Rose – riding a red-hot putter – birdied the first three holes of the round for the first time in his career at the Masters. By the time the dust cleared, the veteran had gained more than 5 strokes on the greens for the round, more than two clear of the next man.
“Today was a great putting round,” Rose said afterward, according to ASAP Sports. “I’m sure statistically it was very, very strong. I holed a lot of medium- to long-range putts and took my chances when I hit great shots. When I hit the ball in tight, I made those 5-, 6-footers, which is exactly what you have to do.”
It’s no surprise who is right on Rose’s heels, as Scheffler once again finds himself in the mix at the Masters. The 27-year-old showed repeatedly Thursday that he’s got the blueprint for Augusta, going bogey-free around the iconic layout with the demeanor of someone out with his buddies and not playing in a major championship. The four-under 68 now gives Scheffler the all-time first-round scoring average record among players who have participated in at least five Masters.
If Scheffler has the blueprint, McIlroy appeared to be lost in the fire escape – at least over the final four holes. He appeared to be taking a giant step toward that elusive green jacket with zero bogeys and four birdies over his first 14 holes. Disaster struck on the par-5 15th after he just flew the green with his second shot. Many were thinking birdie for the 35-year-old with par representing the worst-case scenario. However, he pitched the ball too far onto the green and it raced into the water. He would eventually card a double-bogey 7 and drop back to 2-under.
While that took the wind out of his sails, the performance on the 17th was an unfortunate reminder why he’s gone major-less since 2014. He flew his 171-yard approach too deep into the green and it bounded well over to leave him a short-sided chip to a tight pin. He gave that too much gas and left himself 28 feet for par. A prompt three-putt would make it two double-bogeys in a three-hole span to send him crashing back to even.
If history holds true, McIlroy isn’t the only one who sits too far back to make a run. According to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, 18 of the past 19 winners at Augusta were within four shots of the lead after 18 holes. That would make this a six-man race for the green jacket this time around.
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