Justin Rose raced into a four-shot lead on Thursday due to an outstanding again 9 that noticed him end on seven-under par.
Despite being two-over after seven holes, the Englishman rallied and hit an eagle on the eighth and 7 birdies between the ninth and 17th to shut 4 photographs forward of second-placed Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama.
The first spherical additionally noticed quite a few pre-tournament contenders battle.
“I knew two-over through seven is not the end of the world, but also knew you’re going in the wrong direction,” Rose, twice a runner-up at the Masters, informed reporters of his gradual begin.
“You can’t win the golf tournament today. Even with a 65, you can’t win it today. You can only probably lose it today.
“I did not hit the panic button but (after seven), however I reset simply previous to that and thought if I can get myself again round even par, that may be a superb day’s work.”
It’s the fourth time that Rose has led or co-led the Masters after the first round, a record he now shares with Jack Nicklaus.
The 40-year-old, playing his first tournament since withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month with a back injury, was one of only three players to finish under 70 alongside Harman and Matsuyama — quite the contrast to last year’s tournament when 24 players shot sub-70 scores in favorable November conditions.
Rose’s solely earlier main triumph got here at the 2013 US Open; the closest he has come to securing a Green Jacket at the Masters was in 2017 when he was overwhelmed in a playoff by Sergio Garcia.
“I’ve performed this course many, many occasions, it is my 15th Masters, possibly, and my finest to this point is 67,” Rose said.
“I felt like the circumstances at present weren’t the day to go hit them and have your private finest on the market.
“It was pretty windy — windy enough to be tricky — and obviously the greens are incredibly firm and fast. The pin placements were fair, certainly not easy, but fair, and if you did hit the right shot at the right time, you could take advantage.”
As for these additional down the leaderboard, DeChambeau got here into the Masters armed with a brand new driver and many expectations, however the big-hitter landed quite a few tee photographs off the fairway in the first spherical.
His 76 included a double bogey at the fourth and bogeys on the fifth, eighth and 12th earlier than his sole birdie on the 15th.
DeChambeau was joined by McIlroy on four-over, the Northern Irishman having completed in the high 10 at August National on six earlier events however by no means securing a Green Jacket.
Well-positioned on one-under with three holes to play, Johnson bogeyed the 16th and double bogeyed the 18th after his putt lipped out of the gap.
2018 champion Patrick Reed ended the day tied for fourth on two-under, whereas Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm — second and third in the world rankings — completed on one-over and par respectively.
CNN’s Ben Morse contributed to reporting.
