KNEE OK, BUT KOEPKA’S GAME HURTING
A surgically repaired right knee wasn’t the problem Thursday for Brooks Koepka in the opening round of the Masters.
His swing was. Koepka never got clicking, his 2-over 74 putting him squarely in the middle of the pack. He started with six pars and then the adventure began — with just four more pars in his final 12 holes, including a five-hole stretch that went bogey-bogey-bogey-birdie-birdie.
“Just didn’t play good,” Koepka said.
The four-time major winner has a built-in excuse — if he wants one — this week, since he’s not even a month removed from surgery to repair a dislocated kneecap and some ligament damage. But Koepka steadfastly refuses to say that’s holding him back, other than not allowing him to bend normally and forcing him to change the way he reads putts.
“I just didn’t swing it great,” Koepka said. “It’s tired right now, I’m not going to lie. But, just got to play better.”
The 74 was Koepka’s worst round at Augusta National in his last 12 tries; he also shot a 74 in the opening round in 2017. It also snapped a streak of 10 consecutive under-par rounds for Koepka at the Masters; the record in that category is 11, by reigning champion
Dustin Johnson, and that also ended Thursday when Johnson made double bogey on the par-4 18th and shot 74.
Locals watch
Xander Schauffele is 27 and a bachelor, but Thursday he was in the same group as a pair of new dads, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. McIlroy’s daughter was born Aug. 31; Rahm’s son was born last week.
“I said congrats to both of them when they had their children or kid, and I think everyone is talking to them,” Schauffele said. “I try to stay away from it. Rory told me to enjoy my time while I don’t
have a kid, so I’m going to take his advice on that.”
Schauffele, who tied for second here in 2019 behind Tiger Woods, had three birdies and three bogeys in his round of even-par 72. He’s tied for 13th with six others, including Rahm.
Phil Mickelson, the only other San Diegan in the field, made four bogeys on the middle six holes and needed a birdie at 18 to finish at 3-over 75. He is tied for 52nd place; the top 50 and ties after today’s second round will make the cut.
Ancer’s penalty
On a day when it was
tough enough to go low, Abraham Ancer took another blow after he completed his round.
Augusta National officials ruled that Ancer unknowingly touched the sand with his club before taking his third stroke from a greenside bunker at the par-5 15th hole.
Ancer was assessed a two-stroke penalty, bumping his score on the hole from a 6 to a triple-bogey 8. His overall score increased to 3over 75, leaving him 10 shots behind leader Justin Rose.
Ancer tweeted that while he was “gutted, I can’t wait to get after it tomorrow.”
Ancer had already signed his scorecard and exited the scoring area when the committee reviewed video evidence of the incident.
Because the club touching the sand was deemed visible to the naked eye, officials decided to assess the penalty. If that had not been the case, the video evidence would have been disregarded.
Fleetwood’s ace
Tommy Fleetwood had no birdies in his openinground 74.
A hole-in-one made him smile anyway.
Fleetwood made an ace on the 170-yard 16th hole, the 32nd in Masters history. Of those, 23 have come on the 16th.
Spieth’s day
Jordan Spieth hit a tee shot into the trees, hit an approach off another tree and three-putted from inside of 10 feet.
Lucky for him, all those miscues came on the same hole.
Spieth had a triple-bogey 7 on No. 9, after spraying his tee shot into some trees, clunking his recovery try off another tree, eventually missing a bogey putt that just wouldn’t stop as it trickled past the hole — and missing the 5-footer that would have saved double as well.
The 2015 Masters champion shook it off quickly, made birdie on the next hole to get back on track and shot a 1-under 71.
Last shall be first
Brian Harman was the last player to get into the Masters. When he finished his opening round, his was the first name on the leaderboard.
Harman made three birdies over the last six holes for a 3-under 69. That matches his best score at Augusta National, though it’s a small sample size. This is just Harman’s third appearance in the Masters.
Only a month ago, Harman was at No. 95 in the world ranking. He tied for third at The Players Championship, and that got him into the Match Play. The Match Play was the final tournament for players to crack the top 50, and Harman reached the quarterfinals. That got him to No. 49, and he was on his way to the Masters.
Amateur perspective
U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci, who got to play the Masters because he holds that title, shot an 8over 80 on Thursday.
He would have obviously loved to play better. He also had the right perspective.
“Nothing really matters,” said Strafaci, the grandson of two-time Masters participant Frank Strafaci. “I’m an amateur playing at Augusta National and I’m the happiest kid in the world right now. I don’t care what I shot today.”