Key events
Justin Rose can’t save par at 18 but that’s still a wonderful first lap of Augusta National. His 65 puts him three clear in the clubhouse and all set to lead the first round of the Masters for a fifth time! He also set out with a 65 in 2021 when tied seventh. It’s no surprise to see him ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Putting but 5th for SG: Approach also tells you how well he hit his irons.
A quick head count and I make it 27 players are under par for the day so far. They include Rasmus Hojgaard, whose cards shows 14 pars and one birdie. His twin brother’s featured an eagle, five birdies, five bogeys, three doubles and four pars. Idea for TV show: Danish differences. Jet from Gladiators hosting.
McIlroy’s bid to move to 5-under and perhaps even reel in Rose takes a leap forward at 14 as he flights another superb approach to inside 10 feet. But his birdie try slips by on the right – “wow” says Rory – and he stays at 4-under. At 18, Rose has wedged out and then hit a safe third to the heart of the green. A bogey looks highly likely there.
How’s yer luck, Hideki? Answer: not good. The 2021 Masters winner wedges a lovely approach to the par-5 13th but it clatters the flag and flings back into Rae’s Creek. Gosh, that’s unlucky: worthy of an Oliver Hardy look to camera. He takes a very undeserved double-bogey 7. In a new section called ‘Back Nine Calamity Corner’, Patrick Cantlay has twice chipped into water at the other par 5 at 15. He has to roll in a testy putt for an 8 and, in a flash, goes from 1-under to 2-over on a hole he would have been expecting to birdie.
Sepp Straka was perhaps the hipster’s choice going into this 89th Masters but the Austrian has taken a triple-bogey 6 at 11 to slump to 6-over for the day. That’s a whopping 14 shots behind leader Justin Rose, who does indeed get up and down for par at 17. A ‘4’ on his card at the last will tie the course record. Here he goes with his tee-shot at 18 and … whoops … he’s carved into what Sir Nick describes as a “very mature Magnolia tree” down the right.
Ludvig Aberg, who has the look and air of a polite young man who worked in advertising in 60s America, birdies 13 and last year’s runner-up is definitely in the hunt here at -2. McIlroy is now two shots better and alongside Scheffler at -4 after two-putting 13 with minimum fuss.
Rory, from the light rough to the right-edge of the 13th, pulls the trigger with 7-iron from 197 and plonks his approach to inside 15 feet. What a shot! He’ll be putting for eagle again, just as he did at 8. Rose runs into trouble at 17 with a tee-shot that finds the trees. One lofty pine is straight in his line so he’ll have to hit a 30 to 40-yard fade to try and reach the green. He gets the necessary cut but comes up shy. Judging by his short-game prowess today, you’d back the five-time Masters first-round leader-elect to make par although that 62 is now looking somewhat remote.
Incredible! Justin Rose clenches his right fist and flashes another big smile as he drains his birdie putt from 19 feet at 16. He’s 8-under and leads The Masters by four shots! Let’s get thoroughly carried away by saying that if he finishes birdie-birdie he’ll break the course record and become the first player in history to shoot 62 at Augusta National. A 63 would match the previous best of 63 set by Nick Price and Greg Norman.
-8: Rose (16)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (F)
-3: Hatton (F), McCarty (17), McIlroy (12)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Day (F), McCarthy (16), Fitzpatrick (14)
While Rose makes hay, let’s look at a few players who aren’t at it today. Sorry to bring the mood down on what is a picture-perfect day at Augusta National. Two big names at 2-over – now nine back! – are Open champion Xander Schauffele (after 12) and Tommy Fleetwood (10). Even worse, Jon Rahm is +3 after 10 and shares that score with the players ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in the FedExCup standings this season, Russell Henley (13) and Sepp Straka (10). Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner, is +4 after 12.
Out on the course, Sky’s Wayne Riley says conditions are ideal and that Rory has a great chance to parlay his 3-under score to 5-under. We shall see. He’s safely aboard the dancefloor at 12 (Golden Bell) and he’ll be sniffing birdies on those par 5s at 13 (Azalea) and 15 (Firethorn). Up at that 15th hole, leader Justin Rose has gone long and right with his approach and has to chip delicately back onto the green. But he holes the 10-foot birdie putt and hits 7-under. As all the holes at Augusta take the name of flowers, perhaps they’ll have to re-name one ‘Rose’ if he wins this week. How about the 1st, Tea Olive, as that doesn’t sound very flowery to me. Note: I know nothing about flowers.
Jon Rahm has looked like an angry man about to uproot a tree for most of the day. The 2023 winner took six blows at the par-5 2nd hole and three more bogeys, the latest at 10, against a lone birdie have left him at +2 and stomping from tee-to-tee.
“Get me a pair of rollerblades and he can serve me a hamburger with that outfit,” quips Sir Nick Faldo in the commentary box as Sergio Garcia, resplendent in bright yellow trousers and red top (fun fact: he’s from Spain) holes a par putt at 15 to stay at +1. Sir Nick still mentally dining in the 80s there or perhaps there are lots of places around these days where burgers are served by some fella/girl on skates.
Great save from Rose at 14 after he leaves himself an up and down from around 100 feet after not making the green. He’ll now be chasing a birdie at 15 although a par would produce some nice symmetry given that his scorecard so far shows three birdies, four pars, three birdies and three pars. Shane Lowry adds birdie at 9 but gives it straight back at 10. Up at 11, Rory smashes a colossal tee-shot to leave himself an 8-iron in. He’s a little careful with it but finds the right edge and he should be able to two-putt from there. Should is always a risky to thing to say at Augusta National of course.
Let’s look at what some of the early finishers have been saying. And I’ll start with some expanded quotes from the naughty and incontinent Spanish amateur.
Jose Luis Ballester (76): “Well, I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box. I’m like, I really need to pee. Didn’t really know where to go, and since JT had an issue on the green, I’m like, I’m just going to sneak here in the river and probably people would not see me that much, and then they clapped for me. It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again.” Jeez, the man’s doubling down.
Scottie Scheffler (68): “I felt pretty good. Anytime you can keep a card clean out here, it’s a really good thing. Like you said, I struggled for what felt like two pars today. I had to make two really good up-and-downs. But other than that, the golf course was in front of me most of the day, kept the ball in play, did a lot of really good things out there.”
Tyrrell Hatton (69): “I don’t know if I’ve worked on my patience. I think it just depends what side of the bed I get out of, if I have a little bit or none. Obviously today was a good day. Drove the ball pretty well, which in years gone by is something that I’ve struggled with. Last year obviously was my best finish, and I said that week I felt like I couldn’t have driven the ball much better than what I did. It was nice to go out there today and play a pretty solid round.”
Well, this is quite a story. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go, I guess but, really! Not at Augusta. The Butler Cabin interview between Jim Nantz and the leading amateur is toe-curling as it is but imagine the awkardness if Jose Luis Ballester wins that honour this week after he chose to take a pee live on the course. I mean, he may already have been escorted off the property but this is what we know so far!
While I was in the grandstands overlooking the 13th green and 14th tee, Jose Luis Ballester had to take relief… but not for what you think.
Immediately after playing his 3rd shot, he sprinted toward the tributary and urinated about 60 yards short of the green and into the…
— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) April 10, 2025
We’ve not mentioned Shane Lowry yet but it’s positive news for the Irishman, who finished third behind Scheffler and McIlroy here in 2022 and has four top 25s in the last five Masters. The 2019 Open winner (it’s back at Portrush again this year, folks) dropped a shot at 3 but got one against the head with birdie at 4 and added another circle at 8 to move into red numbers for the day. Others at 1-under out on the course include two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson (15), Patrick Cantlay (11), Rasmus Hojgaard (11) and Bryson DeChambeau (8).
Rory McIlroy strokes in his putt at nine and that birdie-birdie finish to the front nine takes him out in 3-under 33. This is going very nicely. Tyrrell Hatton finishes on that same number with a par at 18. This place used to absolutely bamboozle him – his first four visits ended in MC-44-56-MC – but he broke 70 for the first time last year (R4) when finishing ninth and he’s added a second round in the 60s today. It’s his compatriot Rose who still leads the way though as we go over now to view the latest leaderboard.
-6: Rose (12)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (F)
-3: Hatton (F), McIlroy (9)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Day (F), McCarthy (10), Fitzpatrick (10), Matsuyama (8)
Depending on who you’re cheering on, it’s either great news or an absolute body blow to find out where previous Masters champions have sat after 18 holes. The stats are quite eyepopping. Every Augusta champion since 2006 ended round one no worse than 11th and the last five winners were all in the top three after day one. Snooze and you lose. If you want to delve even further back, only one winner this century was outside the top 15 after the first round. That was some fella called Tiger, who opened with a 74 in 2005 to lie 33rd following the opening lap. Rory’s doing a good job of putting himself in the top three (or 11 if you want some added leeway) by close of play as he’s just thrown up a wedge to four or so feet at 9 following a monster drive.
Hideki Matsuyama served one of the best Champions Dinners in 2022, a year on from his Masters win in 2021. He started this year by shooting a ridiculous 35-under to win The Sentry in Hawaii but his form rather plummeted afterwards and he arrived at Augusta this week on the back of two missed cuts. But the 33-year-old from Matsuyama (yes, really) is going nicely today, opening with six straight pars and finding a first birdie of the day at 7.
Scheffler looks tiny stood in the massive fairway bunker at 18, one of two great expanses of sand down the left waiting to gobble up stray drives. But he comes up big with his approach, his second shot catching the slope and leaving himself a good birdie chance. It slides by on the right but 4-under 68 is an excellent return, comprising 14 pars and four birdies. For the record, Scheffler opened with a 69 when winning in 2022 and a 66 when adding his second green jacket last year. Back at 8, Rory unleashes two mightly blows and sets up a 25-foot eagle putt. It doesn’t drop but tap-in birdies are always lovely and McIlroy nudges up to tied fifth. Official status: lurking. Tyrrell Hatton’s official status is ‘furious’ after he drops a shot at 17, his first bogey of the day, to return to -3.
The Strokes Gained: Putting stats are perhaps a hole behind but, nevertheless, they’re pretty informative so far. Rose is ranked 1st while Scheffler is 4th. And if Scheffler is putting well, look out! That said, you can’t just rely on the flatstick here and the defending champ has just pulled a second straight tee-shot, this one resulting in him finding a fairway bunker down 18. Scheffler would become a three-time winner if he gets it done this week and, talking of triple Masters champions, Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006 and 2010) has just signed for a 75. A pair of closing bogeys have taken the edge off a brave back-nine fightback.
Collin Morikawa, who started the Masters as third favourite behind Scheffler and McIlroy, had it going today but he’s been leaking oil coming home and signs off with a bogey at 18. That’s three dropped shots in his final four holes, turning a sub-70 round into an even-par 72. Frustrating. Meanwhile, Scheffler is having an adventure down 17. His tugged tee-shot leaves him blocked out by a tree which he decides to heave a gap iron over the top of. It comes up short but he chips to around eight feet and drains the par putt. “Putts like these, these define champions,” says Rich Beem in the Sky commentary box. Scheffler remains tied second alongside Conners (F) and Hatton, who does ever so well to make par at 16 after leaving himself at the top of the green but solving the puzzle with a tickling breaker and a steely par putt.
This is inspirational stuff from Justin Rose. The 9th and 10th are supposed to be consolidation holes but the Englishman has birdied them both. And let’s not forget he picked up another shot at 8 so that’s three par breakers on the spin. On he marches to 6-under, now two clear of the field. Can he keep it going? The tough 11th is a tough next hurdle but there are chances at 13 and 15. Meanwhile, Rory pars 7 but it’s only after a poor approach and some tidy short-game play. Current status: not firing but hanging in there well at -1.
Scheffler breaks a run of seven straight pars with an unlikely birdie-2 at 16. It’s a good shot to the classic Sunday pin down on the bottom tier but the flag in round one is much further along the green. No worries, Scheffler decides to drain a 42-footer for birdie, sparking one of those great Augusta roars! The official Masters scoreboard shuffles and the winner in 2022 and 2024 moves up to tied second, just one behind Rose. Justin Thomas follows Scheffler in with a lengthy putt of his own but that’s the two-time PGA Championship winner’s first birdie of a strangely lacklustre round. On the plus side, another red circle at 17 or 18 and he could be signing for a 72.
-6: Rose (10)
-4: Conners (F), Scheffler (16), Hatton (15)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Morikawa (15), Day (16), McCarthy (10), DeChambeau (6)
Pars for Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Rory will be happy with his three swishes at the 6th to stay at -1 but Scheffler may be just a little niggled that his has come at 15, meaning he’s failed to pick up a shot on both the back nine’s par 5s. Still, 12 pars and three birdies to start a Masters defence will do very nicely thankyou.
There seemed to be a run of Masters in the 2010s where Fred Couples was turning back the clock and making the dreamers believe he could add a second green jacket. They ended quite a while ago and his last six attempts here show five missed cuts and a 50th. But today he’s opened with a 1-under 71, the first time he’s broken par in round one in 11 years. That 71 has been matched by a, shall we say, less popular former winner, Patrick Reed. ‘Captain America’ has had four top 12 here since winning in 2018 so he’s definitely worthy of the ‘course horse’ tag.
My word. Justin Rose makes another birdie, the latest at 9 after a superb approach allows him to hole from five feet, and hits the front on his own at 5-under. That’s a scintillating outward half of 31. Of course, it’s no surprise to see him at the top of a Masters leaderboard on Thursday. He’s had a piece of the first-round lead at Augusta National no less than four times here (the most recent in 2021) and here he goes again.
Rory holes another testy par putt at 5 to remain 1-under and three off the pace. Now he’ll be hitting down to the par-3 6th green, a huge drop from the top of the hill where tee-shots sail over the heads of patrons sitting on the bank. They wouldn’t be sat there if I was teeing off, let me tell you. As for Rory, this was him speaking yesterday: “I’ve preached this the whole year, but just managing my game and minimizing my mistakes. If I get myself out of position, putting myself back in position. Just playing really smart and being really logical and rational about everything. If I can do that for four days, I feel like I’ll have a good chance.” So far, so good.
Thanks Scott. Enjoy your recreation of the Champions Dinner. What are ya serving? Anyway, I’ll start with a tale of two Højgaards. Nicolai scribbled just four pars on his card in a rollercoaster 76 today. But proving that twins don’t do everything the same, brother Rasmus has started with six straight pars. Perhaps no surprise to see Nicolai’s colourful card given that the Dane made more birdies than anyone (21) in last year’s Masters when he ended an excellent Augusta debut in tied 16th. He had 17 bogeys and two ‘others’ that week so he’s been a fun watch here.
… and with that, I’ll hand you over to David Tindall, who will take this baby home. See you again tomorrow!
Justin Rose joins his compatriot Tyrrell Hatton at the top! Birdie at the par-five 8th, his fourth of the day, takes him there. And how about this from the 33-year-old Canadian nearly-man Corey Conners, whose best result here was a tie for sixth in 2022, his third consecutive top-ten Masters finish? Birdies at 15, 17 and 18, and he signs for a best-of-day (so far) 68. Throw in bogey for Collin Morikawa at 15, the price of flying the green with his approach, and here’s what the all-new leaderboard looks like.
-4: Conners (F), Hatton (13), Rose (8)
-3: Scheffler (14)
-2: Rai (F), English (F), Morikawa (15), Day (14), McCarthy (8), Bhatia (4), DeChambeau (4)
