Key moments
That’s all, folks
The horn has sounded, so that’s it for the day. It’s all set up for a fascinating second morning: Can Hojgaard draw level with Scheffler, or even DeChambeau? Will Hatton, Homa and Fleetwood close the gap? How will Woods close out his round? And that’s before we get on to round two.
We’ll be back at midday to bring you all the build-up and early action from Augusta National.
Rolling back the years
Tiger’s short game is in fine shape right now. After that exquisite chip to save par on 11, he shows deft touch to navigate a difficult up-and-down for another par at the 12th. He has made it through two very challenging holes unscathed despite the fading light and strong winds.
Fleetwood’s flurry of birdies
Tommy Fleetwood has caught fire, with three birdies in a row to end the front nine. That moves him to three under at the turn, one shot ahead of his Ryder Cup team-mate Ludvig Aberg. Another winner in Rome, Nicolai Hojgaard, had a long eagle putt to join Scheffler at six under but had to settle for a birdie to move to within two strokes of the lead — though a bogey soon followed.
The wind is really picking up, making things especially difficult on 11, where Tiger Woods is kicking off Amen Corner. After a beautiful chip, he taps in for par to stay at one under. Tiger’s looking good.
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The chasing pack
Some new contenders are emerging towards the top of the leaderboard, with Tyrrell Hatton and Cameron Davis moving to three under par.
Nicolai Hojgaard has struck upon a rich seam of form around the turn, with four birdies in his past six holes to move to four under, where he is joined by Max Homa. The American has reached the halfway point with four birdies and no blemishes on the scorecard.
They won’t have time to finish their rounds today but both will surely have Scheffler and DeChambeau in their sights tomorrow morning.
Scheffler looms large
A par at the last gives Scheffler a six-under-par 66, leaving him one shot off the lead heading into round two. The world No 1 and pre-tournament favourite didn’t hit a single bogey today and looks in ominous form for the rest of the week.
McIlroy tidies up for his own par on 18 to sign for a 71. It’s not a spectacular score, but it’s his first under-par opening round at The Masters since 2018. They say you can’t win a major on day one but you can lose it — well, Rory hasn’t lost it. He’s in the hunt.
Augusta’s academic
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There is an early frontrunner in the race to be the leading amateur at Augusta this week after Neal Shipley moved to two under par with a birdie at 13. Shipley is something of a boffin, it turns out, with a degree in quantitative finance and a Masters in data analytics from Ohio State University.
Two other amateurs, Christo Lamprecht and Santiago de la Fuente, both started well today but the back nine got the better of them.
Fading light
Because of the delayed start to play this morning, some of the later groups won’t finish their rounds today — including Tiger Woods’ group, who are through seven holes so far. They will get a few more in before the sun sets, then come back tomorrow morning to finish off the round. That will mean about 24 holes in one day for the 48-year-old, who has already said that the walking involved in a major tournament will be a serious physical test for him this week.
Scheffler closing in on DeChambeau
Scheffler has an eagle putt at 15 but it just slides past the left edge of the cup, so he settles for par to move to five under. On the next hole, a par 3, he plants his tee shot beside the pin — that should be another birdie, so only one shot behind DeChambeau now. The world No 1 hasn’t dropped a shot yet today.
Of the late starters, Mathieu Pavon is going well, moving to three under par through seven holes.
Here comes Rory
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McIlroy is starting to hit his rhythm at last. He birdied the par-3 12th to move into the red for the first time today, then produced a brilliant second shot at 14 to set up a birdie putt, which rolled into the cup. That’s two under with four holes to play — another birdie and he will feel pretty satisfied with this opening round, especially after a sticky start.
Scottie’s stroke of luck
Scottie Scheffler was going along nicely, moving to three under par after he chipped in from a bunker for birdie at the 12th, but he has just found Rae’s Creek at 13 after trying to attack the green with his second shot.
But wait… somehow his ball has stayed dry. It landed on the front face of the creek and didn’t fall back into the water. The world No 1 then almost chips in again. That should be a birdie and on to four under par, where Matt Fitzpatrick is also ticking along nicely.
Tiger’s in the woods
An eventful start for Tiger. After his birdie at the 1st, a wayward tee shot on the 2nd earned him an unfortunate lie — prompting this recovery shot:
Still, he got away with a par. Elsewhere, Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris have both moved to three under, the latter with an eagle at the par-5 13th.
On the way up
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Viktor Hovland is flying up the leaderboard. The European Ryder Cup hero has just finished the front nine with three birdies on the bounce to move to four under par and into a share of second place.
Oh, and Tiger has just opened up with a birdie.
It’s Tiger time
Huge cheers at the first tee as Tiger Woods steps up to play, before the 48-year-old sends nice, high fade into the heart of the fairway. Tiger said this week that he has one final Masters triumph in him: “If everything comes together, I think I can get one more.” His 2019 victory seemed miraculous, so another one would be ridiculous… right?
It’ll take some effort to catch DeChambeau at this rate anyway — he has just moved to seven under with one hole to play. Willett birdied the 8th, so he is in the clubhouse at four under par. Not bad at all.
New leader
So close to an eagle for DeChambeau at the par-5 15th. After a wayward drive he hits an incredible second from out of the trees and on to the green, but the eagle putt just lips out. Never mind, he is the new outright leader and immediately follows that with another birdie at 16.
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Over at the 8th, McIlroy also finds the green in two, so a two-putt earns him a birdie and he’s back to level par.
DeChambeau on a roll again
Bryson DeChambeau had a bit of a birdie drought, having reeled off three on the bounce to start his round, but he’s back at it now, picking up shots at 12 and 13 to move to four under. That’s only one shot behind the leader Ryan Fox, who then finds the trees at 13 on his way to a bogey.
DeChambeau once said that Augusta was like a par 67 for him, because of his mammoth driving, but he has missed the cut on his past two visits here. Well, he is joint leader now and a 67 is on the cards today.
Willett is back on board the birdie train too. After slipping back to one under, he rediscovers some form on 15 and 16 to move into a share of third place. It has been a remarkable round so far from a man who hasn’t played competitive golf since shoulder surgery in September.
Ever heard of ‘Dude Perfect’?
Owen Slot: Standing around the first tee, I know I’m supposed to be watching the golf but it’s hard not to engage in some celeb spotting too. I catch Josh Allen, the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills. Not content with that, I also find I’m standing a couple of metres away from Garrett from Dude Perfect. To those not up to speed with these things, Dude Perfect are a group of influencers. Anything else I can tell you about modern culture, feel free to ask.
Early trouble for McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is in a spot of bother at the 2nd hole. After a wayward drive into the pine trees, he tries to punch the ball out but ends up hooking it and almost hitting a caddie on the fairway. His approach shot then flies over the back of the green and he ends up missing a par putt to the left. Scottie Scheffler rolls in his birdie putt.
Meanwhile, Ryan Fox has leapt into the lead with an eagle at the par-5 8th. The New Zealander is five under par already. Who said the conditions were difficult out there?
What a difference a year makes
Owen Slot: I just watched Sergio Garcia and then Phil Mickelson on the first tee. To many golf watchers, these are players who haven’t been seen since the Open in Hoylake nine months ago. It was the same here this time last year when the LIV controversy was fresher and no one could quite believe that these players would dare arrive in Augusta decked out in their LIV uniforms. But even though the civil war still rages, time has done its work as a healer.
Both players were warmly applauded here, particularly Mickelson who strode on to the practice green with a real no-nonsense “I mean business” look about him, the gallery applauding him like a returning hero, arms outstretched for hopeful fist-bumps. He didn’t reward them, though, opening with a bogey; not a great start for the HyFlyers, whose logo was adorned on cap and shirt.
Brilliant Willett
What a shot from Danny Willett. He’s still some way off the putting surface after his second shot at seven but he gets the putter out and aims for a slither of fringe next to a greenside bunker. The ball has only just enough speed to slip on to the green, but quickly picks up pace after that before curving towards the cup and dropping in. An incredible shot for birdie to go back to two under.
Bryson flies out the blocks
Bryson DeChambeau is on fire. The 2020 US Open champion, who said this week that his mother “would probably have smacked me” if he had turned down the LIV Golf money, has birdied each of the first three holes to take an early lead. Willett is back to one under after a bogey at the fifth.
Gnomes in demand
Owen Slot: Today I bought a gnome in the main Masters shop and therein found myself part of a new cult that is fast growing in American golfing society. I hadn’t meant to buy a gnome but I was exiting the shop — sorry, the main merchandise centre — when an American colleague asked if I’d go back and buy him a gnome. He already had a gnome and explained that there’s a strict one-gnome-per-person rule. He needed another gnome for his mate.
They started making Masters gnomes in 2016 — a new face every year — and my colleague says he has five from previous years. There is now a frenzy first thing every day when the shop opens. Those in the know head straight for the gnomes. Every day, they are selling out fast.
This year’s gnome is an avuncular-looking bearded fellow in tartan trousers with a golf bag slung over his shoulder. He set me back $49.50, plus the $4.21 in tax — and if I’d been a bit more clued in, I now know that I could have sold him on eBay for about six times that amount. Next year I’m not handing my gnome to anyone.
Here we go
With the honorary tee shots done — courtesy of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson — we are ready to begin at last.
Erik van Rooyen finds the light rough on the right of the fairway before Jake Knapp’s Masters debut starts with a tee shot down the middle.
What is a good score in these conditions?
The course is draining nicely after the overnight rain, but strong winds show no sign of abating. “The wind has really kicked up,” Wayne Riley, Sky Sports’ man out on the course, said just now. “Expect 25mph winds gusting to 40 and when it gets high above those Georgia pines, the ball could go anywhere.”
Asked what constitutes a good score today in these conditions, he said: “If it stays like it is right now, anywhere under par — or par — is a fantastic score.” If the winds get higher, anyone heading to the scorer’s hut at two over could be happy.
Two-and-a-half-hour delay
Augusta has released revised tee times for today’s round, with a delay of 2½ hours. That means McIlroy and Scheffler will now begin their round at 6.12pm UK time, shortly after the reigning champion Jon Rahm. The first group will tee off at 3.30pm.
Click here to see when your favourite players are due off
