This PGA Tour star just recorded The Masters’ worst opening round score in 10 years

The PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year endured a wretched day at Augusta while, incredibly, avoiding a three-putt on some of the world’s trickiest greens.

When Nick Dunlap stood on Augusta’s 1st tee alongside Robert MacIntyre and Billy Horschel at 9.36am, he’d have had visions of a very different day.

Under cloudless blue skies, the 21-year-old would have been dreaming of a fast start. He bogeyed the par-4 before steadying the ship at the par-5 2^nd. And then things deteriorated. A bogey at the par-3 4^th was followed by a triple at the par-4 5^th. Three pars then offered brief respite before another bogey at the 9th as he went out in 43 (7-over).

There was a double at 11, another at 12, bogeys at 13 and 14, then a double at 16 where only a holed 18-footer saved him from another triple. A bogey at 17 was followed by a double at 18 to post 47 on the back nine (just two shots shy of the worst Masters back nine in history) and round out a wretched day for the American as he signed for a 90 (18-over). It was the highest first-round score since Ben Crenshaw’s 91 in 2015. Crenshaw was 63 and playing in his final Masters. Dunlap becomes just the 11^th player to fail to break 90 on Masters Thursday. For contrast, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence sits in the place above, ten shots better off.

Dunlap’s strokes gained stats do not make for pretty reading:
Off the tee: -4.85
Approach: -6.54
Around the green: -3.42
Putting: -1.39
Overall: -16.19

Besides Dunlap and Crenshaw, just two other players have opened with a 90 or worse since the turn of the century. Tommy Aaron was 63 years old when he shot 92 in 2000, with Doug Ford shooting 94 in the same year at age 77.

Dunlap, who became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991 when he lifted the 2024 American Express title and added a second PGA Tour title at the Barracuda Championship, has endured a wretched start to the 2025 season and headed to Augusta off the back of three straight missed cuts.

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Barring a miracle in round two, it will be four straight, and he’ll have failed to make the cut in his first six Major starts. This place is magical, but it would take David Blaine-esque trickery to ensure that doesn’t happen.

He could make more Masters history with a round of 68 or better, which, according to The Athletic‘s Justin Ray, would break Craig Wood’s long-standing record for the biggest improvement from round one to two. Wood improved by 21 strokes from the first round to the second in 1936.

A 61 would see Dunlap match last year’s total score when he shot 74-77 for a 151 (seven-over) to go home early. Unfortunately for the young star, the lowest round in Masters history is 63, by Nick Price in 1986 and matched by Greg Norman in 1996.

To help Dunlap sleep better tonight, his opening round score fell some way short of the worst in Masters history. That belongs to Charlie Kunkle, who shot 95 in 1956. The only other player to shoot at least 90 under the age of 50 was Frank Souchak, who shot a 90 in 1954. However, Dunlap shot 47 on the back nine, which is closer to the tournament’s worst back nine total of 49.

Amateur Frank Souchak was the first and youngest player to score 90 or worse in the first round. He was 39 years old when he shot 90 in the first round of the 1954 Masters Tournament.

Other first-round scores of 90 or more at Augusta include Horton Smith, the winner of the first and third Masters, who was in his 50s when he shot 91 in 1962 and 92 in 1963.

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Fred McLeod was 73 when he shot 91 at the 1955 Masters Tournament while Jock Hutchison was 71 when he shot 90 at the 1955 Masters Tournament. Amateur Chick Evans was in his late 60s when he shot 90 in 1959 and 91 in 1960.

The worst unofficial first-round score in Masters history belongs to Billy Casper, who shot 106 in the opening round of the 2005 Masters, but ensured it wouldn’t enter the record books when he chose not to sign his card.

Worst first-round scores in Masters Tournament history

94 – Doug Ford (2000)
92 – Tommy Aaron (2003)
92 – Horton Smith (1962)
91 – Ben Crenshaw (2015)
91 – Horton Smith (1963)
91 – Chick Evans* (1960)
91 – Fred McLeod (1955)
90 – Nick Dunlap (2025)
90 – Chick Evans* (1959)
90 – Jock Hutchison (1956)
90 – Frank Souchak* (1954)
* Indicates amateur status