Justin Rose took a four-stroke lead on Thursday thanks to an excellent ninth full-back that allowed him to finish at seven under par.
Despite being twice ahead after seven holes, the Englishman hit an eagle on the eighth and seven birdies between the ninth and 17th to finish four strokes ahead of Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama, who finished second. achieved.
The first round also saw a number of candidates struggle before the tournament.
“I knew two-to-seven was not the end of the world, but I also knew you were going in the wrong direction,” Rose, the two-time Masters runner-up, told reporters about his slow start.
“You can not win the golf tournament today. Even with a 65 you can not win it today. You can probably only lose it today.
“I had not yet (after seven) pressed the panic button, but I had just reset it before and thought it would be a good day’s work if I got myself right again.
This is the fourth time Rose has led or led the Masters to the first round, a record he now shares with Jack Nicklaus.
The 40-year-old, who has played his first tournament since withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer invitation with a back injury last month, was one of only three players to finish under 70 under Harman and Matsuyama – quite a contrast to past year’s tournament when 24 players scored sub-70 scores in favorable conditions in November.
Rose’s only previous major triumph was during the 2013 U.S. Open; the closest he came to securing a Green Jacket at the Masters was in 2017 when he was beaten in a play-off by Sergio Garcia.
“I played this track many, many times, maybe it’s my 15th masters, and my best so far is 67,” Rose said.
‘I felt the conditions today were not the day to hit it off and have your personal best out there.
“It was pretty windy – windy enough to be annoying – and the greens were incredibly firm and fast, of course. The pin placements were fair, certainly not easy, but fair, and if you hit the right shot at the right time, you can benefit. ‘
As for those further up the standings, DeChambeau comes armed with a new driver and a lot of expectations in the Masters, but the big hit landed a number of shots from the highway in the first round.
His 76 included a double bow at the fourth and bogies on the fifth, eighth and 12th before his only birdie on the 15th.
McIlroy accompanied the DeChambeau on four innings, and the Northern Irishman finished six times in August National’s top-10, but never got a green jacket.
Johnson is well positioned on one bottom with three holes to play, hitting the 16th and hitting the 18th after his shot jumped out of the hole.
2018 champion Patrick Reed finished the day tied for fourth place at two-under, while Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm – second and third on the world rankings – finished at one-and-end points respectively.
CNN’s Ben Morse contributed to reporting.