Rose breezes to 65 on tough day at Augusta
On a day when it was tough to go low, Justin Rose made it look easy in the opening round of the Masters. The 40-year-old Englishman shot a 7-under 65, pushing him to a four-stroke lead at Augusta National.
Only a dozen players managed to break par in the opening round of the Masters on Thursday.
No one was close to Justin Rose.
The 40-year-old Englishman has a commanding fourstroke lead after a blistering 7-under 65. He began his surge with an eagle at No. 8 and played the final 11 holes at 9 under, shooting 30 on the back side.
Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama are the only other players in the 60s. Both posted 69 on a day when many top players struggled with the rockhard greens and a breeze that howled at times.
This is a familiar position for Rose, who has the firstround lead for the fourth time in his Masters career.
He’s never won the green jacket, settling for a pair of runner-up finishes.
“Even though I don’t have an arm in the jacket yet, I’ve been there to see what it’s all about,” Rose said. “I kind of want to keep things in perspective a little bit until
I can’t ignore it anymore.”
Bryson DeChambeau, the longest hitter on the PGA Tour struggled to a 4-over 76, extending the troubles he had in November at the first Masters held in the fall.
A double-bogey at the par-4 fourth was a sign of trouble to come, and three bogeys sent him tumbling down the leaderboard.
DeChambeau finally made his first — and only birdie — at the par-5 15th. But he finds himself a whopping 11 strokes behind Rose.
Struggling with the distance of his shots, DeChambeau posted his highest score in four appearances at Augusta as a professional. At least he’s got plenty of company: top players such as Rory McIlroy (76), Jason Day (77) and Patrick Cantlay (79) also struggled.
Dustin Johnson finished his first round as defending Masters champion with a double bogey for a 2-over 74. And so ends a record streak he owned at Augusta National.
Johnson had 11 consecutive rounds under par at the Masters. Even in tough conditions, he was in position to keep the streak going. He was 1 under until a bogey on the par-3 16th hole. And on the 18th, he went right into the trees, left of the green, chipped some 25 feet long and three-putted for a double bogey.
The last player to open with a 74 and win the Masters was Tiger Woods in 2005.
Harman had little reason to believe he would be at Augusta National this year. He was at No. 95 in the world a month ago when he tied for third at The Players Championship. That got him into the Match Play, where he reached the quarterfinals. And that was enough to get him to No. 49 in the world and into the Masters.
He had three birdies over his last six holes for a 3-under 69. Harman is making only his third start in the Masters.