MATT BLACK
English ace Fitz left raging as he blows lead at the last after brutal wind finally catches up with him
MATT FITZPATRICK threeputted the final hole for a double bogey to get blown off the top of the leaderboard on an opening day of high winds and higher scoring.
With gusts reaching up to 40mph, the tough conditions saw 15 players share the lead at one-under-par at one stage.
Sheffield star Fitzpatrick – who finished tied seventh on his second appearance here last year – burst clear of the pack with two superb iron shots to set up birdies at 14 and 15.
But on the 18th hole, he drove into the trees and could only reach the greenside bunker in two. He splashed out short and rolled his first putt to three feet but he missed the bogey putt to finish with a one-under 71 – the same as Andy Sullivan and Justin Rose.
American William McGirt was the only early starter to break 70 as he took the clubhouse lead with a three-under 69 on his Masters debut.
Russell Knox could only make one birdie in his 76 while Sandy Lyle shot 77.
Fitzpatrick, one of a record 11 Englishmen in the field, said: “It was tough. There’s no one going out there shooting a low score.
“You just got to be so patient and every shot you got to think about it.
“You’ve got to think about how you’re hitting it and how far you’re hitting it and you have got to always be switched on.
“At the last, I just didn’t really feel comfortable over the tee shot. My low one’s lower than everyone else’s so I can actually kill someone at head high, so I didn’t feel comfortable with people sort of poking their head round.
“I should have backed off it and got everyone to move. So I’ll do that the rest of the week.”
Sullivan, who missed the cut on his Masters debut last year, rolled in a long birdie putt at the last for his best ever score at Augusta.
He said: “It was brutal out there – it was definitely April winds. It was like the Open championship.
“I’m just buzzing to get round under par. I had a putt on 17 which was straight down hill and it almost blew back up.
“It’s so difficult to judge what is going to happen out there. You almost have to guess the gusts and try to hit it after or before.
“It was nice to finish with a birdie. I felt like I played well enough to shoot under par and it was nice to just cap the day off there by holing one on the last.
“To be honest, going up there I needed a pee so bad. I was literally trying to run up the hill. My stomach was bursting.”
Olympic champion Justin Rose also shared the lead at two-under par before bogeys at 16 and 17. He then hit an exquisite iron shot to eight feet at the last hole for a closing birdie.
Three-time champion Phil Mickelson, who also shot a 71, said: “Conditions are challenging but the greens are receptive.
“If you fly the ball to the greens, you can hold it. But anything at par or better is a phenomenal score. You have kept yourself in it.”
World No.23 Knox made his only birdie at the second but also carded two bogeys and a double bogey on 12.
He said: “I’m disappointed. It was so blowy out there. I was almost blown off my feet at 14.”
The 1988 champion Lyle said: “I played very good for the first nine.
“I thought I would get through Amen Corner and maybe birdie 13 I would be one under or level and very happy. It just frittered away. I had sloppy tee shots, and was out of position a few times.
“I took a penalty on 13 because I was out of position in the azaleas on the left. I hardly ever go there and I made six and I was blocked out on 14. So that was another shot gone and 16 I put it back of the green on the right which you don’t do.”
Tommy Fleetwood carded three bogey in his first four holes to take a 78 while British Amateur champion Scott Gregory carded a triple bogey on the first after he took two chips and three putts on his way to an 82.
My low tee shot is lower than everyone else’s so I can kill someone MATT FITZPATRICK