The Masters Roundup – Day One

The Masters Roundup – Day One

Spieth takes early Masters lead

Reigning champion Jordan Spieth took up where he left off last April with a commanding opening round at the 2016 Masters.
The American birdied the last for a six-under 66 to banish thoughts of his indifferent form this season to date with an authoritative statement of intent to the rest of the field.
Shane Lowry of Ireland shot a blistering outward half of 31 and although he dropped a shot on the 13th in a more sedate second nine, he is in joint second on four under alongside Danny Lee after the New Zealander took just 33 strokes to cover the back half.
Spieth enjoyed the calmer conditions at Augusta National thanks to his 0948 tee time, but capitalised in clinical fashion.
After getting up and down with dexterity at the 1st in one of the few occasions he was badly out of position, Spieth recorded birdies at the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th, 13th and 18th – and made no bogeys.
It was as if his return to the venue – where he cruised to his first Major 12 months by tying Tiger Woods’ 72-hole record – righted any slight wrongs in his game.
It also means the world No.2 has completed his last five laps of Augusta in 24 under.
The 22-year-old American was part of one of the hottest groups on the course, with playing partners Paul Casey of England and compatriot Bryson DeChambeau.
Casey is three adrift of the lead with amateur DeChambeau on level par having turned in one under.
Casey was later joined by two other Englishmen, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, on 69 – all three shooting 34-35 to be tucked in behind the leader.
Jason Day looked set to challenge Spieth for the lead as he reached the turn at five under, but he went 6, 6, 5 from the 15th to drop back to level par.
Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia grew into their rounds to augment what is a strong European flavour to the leaderboard, Soren Kjeldsen adding to the strength in depth after a strong finish on three under.
Garcia and Kjeldsen both came home in 32 after modest starts to their rounds and McIlroy looked to be doing the same when he got to four under with an eagle on the 13th and a birdie on 15.
But dropped shots on the short 16th and then at the last, after a pushed approach presented him with a plugged lie from which he was unable to save par, leave him four shots back of the man of the day, Spieth.
Danny Willett of England is also on that mark after bogeying the last owing to a missing a short par putt having flown the green.

Best of the Day One reaction

“I would have signed for the two under today without playing the round, knowing the conditions that were coming up. I think Bryson played, to his standards, an off-round and shot even par in tough conditions. Watch out for him.” – Jordan Spieth, 66.

“Golf’s not an easy game.” – Rickie Fowler, 80.

“The love for this place started with Lyle in 88. That was my first Emory of it on television. Sandy in that bunker, the little jig. As a young boy, being able to stay up late and watch the Masters was special.” – Paul Casey, 69.

“It’s the most breeze I’ve ever played in at Augusta. With the forecast the way it is over the next two days, it is going to dry out and become much more difficult.” Justin Rose, 69.

“I wasn’t nervous at all. I had some adrenaline going but I stepped up there and striped it down the left-centre on the 1st. To watch Mr Nicklaus and Mr Player stripe those shots, that’s a memory I will never forget.”

Diary from Augusta: Day One

► Augusta’s opening salvo
It doesn’t take long for Augusta to make itself known to the players again. The 1st, Tea Olive, is a sneakily-tough hole, due to the famously small landing area on Augusta’s greens. The green surface may be the size of a basketball court, but the ‘safe’ area is not larger than two car park bays side by side. Miss that area – and bear in mind it is 445 yards uphill, so even the pros have plenty of club – and your ball will bounce and slither off the green side mounds. That leaves you a daunting chip from below the surface, and so many failed to get up and down from there on day one that it ranked as the second hardest hole of the opening round.

► Not all pros are the same
You hear it said that you can walk up and down the range and barely tell who the really successful players are; they all hit it the same, apparently. They don’t. Stand on the tee of a par three for a couple of hours – let’s say the 6th at Augusta for instance – and that much is very clear. Rory, Sergio, Day, Cabrera, Kaymer…pure, pure, pure, pure, pure. The same can not be said of all the rest; just one shot as a sample size, but all pros do not strike it the same.

► Els’ gutsy comeback
Ernie Els’ 10 at the opening hole was too much for some patrons. While the crowd around the 1st mostly watched on in stunned silence from the patrons, some could not bear to watch the whole of his seven-putt episode. Can you imagine how he felt walking to the next green? He had 17 more greens on which to battle his demons – a deeply unappetising prospect. But he somehow dribbled the ball in the hole for a par on the 2nd and by the 3rd he looked mildly more comfortable with the flatstick. He turned in 42, and if you’d have offered him that on the 2nd green he surely would have snapped your hand off.

► Perhaps 13 does need tweaking
The talk during the week was of Augusta National being keen to buy more land from Augusta CC and extend the 13th. Spieth might not have picked up any shots there, but plenty others did on day one. It was the second easiest hole, giving up two birdies, 29 birdies and just eight bogeys.

► Changing face of visitors
Twenty years ago an army of journalists would fly out from Britain to cover the Masters, and a handful of British spectators. Now the opposite is true. While the British print media contingent has dwindled significantly, the amount of ‘tourists’ has multiplied considerably. Going to the Masters as a fan used to be a dream, now it is a reality (albeit a fairly expensive one). You can’t walk more than 100 yards on a hole without hearing a British accent – needless to say, all were having the time of their lives.

[Photos: Getty Images]