Spieth, Rose see fortunes falter
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The leader board at the 83rd Masters has so many of the names golf want to see: Phil Mickelson a shot back, Dustin Johnson two behind, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler and Tiger Woods all within four of co-leaders Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
But after Thursday’s first round, there are two striking absences: Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters champ, and Justin Rose, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, who both opened with out-of-character 75s.
The challenge now for both, sitting tied for 63rd, isn’t to win the green jacket. It’s to make it to the weekend.
“You want to make the cut, obviously, so get off to a good start,” said Rose, who shot 40 on the front and didn’t make a birdie until the 15th hole. “If I can get it back into the red for the tournament tomorrow, then you can build a weekend. I feel I can still get to 11 or 12 under, which you never know.”
Spieth’s mastery of Augusta National, which seemed legendary just a few years ago, now appears to be slipping. He opened his Masters career with nine straight rounds of par or better. But his game has deteriorated over the past two years, and he made an inexcusable double-bogey at the par-3 sixth en route to a 40 on the front and managed just two birdies all day.
McIlroy, Reed settle for 73s
Twenty-eight players broke par during the first round. Somehow, Rory McIlroy wasn’t among them.
The Northern Irishman, who needs only a Masters
Key hole
Yardage: 170.
Par: 3.
Stroke average: 2.91. Rank: 14.
Key fact: Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson both had kick-in birdies after nearly acing the 16th. Brooks Koepka was the only player in the top five who didn't birdie the hole.
title to become the sixth player to complete the career grand slam, posted a 1-over 73 that left him frustrated.
“I just made too many mistakes, and that was the problem,” McIlroy said. “I’m making them from pretty simple positions.”
Patrick Reed, the defending champion, joined McIlroy at 73, seven shots off the pace. No one has repeated as Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001-02.
No. 5 becomes tough birdie hole
The fifth hole at has long been considered one of Augusta National’s least distinctive stretches of real estate.
Tucked away in a farthest-from-the-clubhouse corner of the property, it was stretched out this year with the addition of a new tee box that made it a robust 495-yard par 4, guarded by fairway bunkers on the left.
The results, after one round of competition, were predictable.
No. 5 yielded the fewest birdies of any hole Thursday — just four. Though the 10th and 18th holes tied as the toughest during the first round, the expectation is that the fifth will settle in alongside the 505-yard, par-4 11th as the most difficult scoring hole on the course.