A former Masters champion that stole the show on the first day at Augusta National.
Jordan Spieth, who won the green jacket in 2015, is the leader after Day 1 of the Masters firing a 6-under par 66 to hold a two-shot lead. Spieth made five straight birdies on the back nine on Thursday and needed only 10 putts to complete the inward nine.
Spieth now leads the Masters for the eighth time in his last 13 rounds, which includes a green jacket and two runner-up finishes.
Spieth leads Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau by two strokes. Tiger Woods, making his first Masters appearance since 2015, finished 1-over par.
“I know as well as anybody that anything can happen at Augusta National,” Spieth said, according to ESPN. “It’s about riding momentum from last week and this round.”
Watch @JordanSpieth‘s first round in under three minutes. #themasters pic.twitter.com/4wji7Vnsoh
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 6, 2018
Woods, on the other hand, finished with a 73.
“I played in a major championship again, but I got myself back in this tournament and I could have easily let it slip away,” Woods said. “And I fought hard to get it back there, and I’m back in this championship. There’s a lot of holes to be played.”
Rory McIlroy shot a 69, the first time he broke 70 in the opening round at the Masters since 2011.
Perhaps the biggest comeback came from Finau, who dislocated his ankle yesterday celebrating a hole-in-one in the Par-3 Contest. He was cleared Thursday morning to play and managed to follow up the Par-3 mishap with a splendid debut round.
“I was just extremely happy that nothing was seriously wrong with my foot,” Finau told the Associated Press. “Quite honestly, it was a pretty cool moment followed by probably one of my most embarrassing moments and a scary moment at the same time. It was quite crazy, all the emotions that I dealt with overnight, but I was more than ecstatic to just be walking to that first tee and be playing in my first Masters.”
Things didn’t go so well for defending champion Sergio Garcia. Garcia posted an octuple-bogey 13 on the 15th hole, the worst score on the hole in Masters history, and put five balls into the water in a meltdown reminiscent of the movie “Tin Cup.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Garcia said. “It’s one of those things. It’s the first time in my career where I make a 13 without missing a shot. Simple as that. I felt like I hit a lot of good shots and unfortunately, the ball just didn’t stop. It’s one of those things. It’s just unfortunate, but that’s what it is.”
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