Justin Rose alone at the helm of the Augusta Masters at the end of the first round signed a solid first round in 65 (-7), after posting 7 birdies and an eagle on 10 holes. The Englishman is four strokes ahead of a chasing duo, Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman (-3). Victor Perez, the only French competitor, is far behind with less success than in November (+ 6).

The Masters: Justin Rose leads -7 with four strokes ahead

Justin Rose - Photo: DR

Even before the Masters started, it was obvious that Augusta National in April had nothing to do with what it was in November. It was much less obvious which course Justin Rose was playing on Thursday.

Justin Rose had seven birdies and one eagle over 10 straight holes for a 65 (-7) score and a four-stroke lead, his lowest score at Augusta National in one of his toughest opening rounds.

His score of 65 looked even better on a complicated day where 12 players played over par, with an average score of 74,5.

"Listen, I didn't know where my game was until this week"said Justin Rose. " I worked hard. I could have played the last two tournaments, but I was really trying to prepare myself hard for this Masters. "

A two-time finalist, including a play-off loss to Sergio Garcia four years ago, Rose tied a Masters record by placing at least a co-lead in the first round for the fourth time. The other player to do this was Jack Nicklaus. The difference ? Nicklaus went on to win two of his six green jackets in that position.

Justin Rose likes to say he only had one arm in the jacket.


Brian Harman, the last player to enter the 88 field, and Hideki Matsuyama finished their round of 69 as Rose started out on a dry, crusty course, on greens so fast they showed brown spots.

Among those at 70 are former Masters champion Patrick Reed and newcomer Will Zalatoris. Jordan Spieth overcame a triple bogey from the trees at No.9 for a score of 71.

A large number of red numbers were missing from the leader board under such difficult conditions that Garcia said after a 76: “I feel like I'm stepping out of the ring with Evander Holyfield. "

Five months ago, at the first Masters held in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the turf was so soft that 53 players were under the par after the first round.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson, who set the record last year with a score of 268 (-20), failed to overtake par for the first time since his first appearance in 2018. He did three putts for a double bogey on the 18th for a score of 74.

"I feel sorry for the guys who took part in their first Masters in November and who are now wondering what is going on", said Kevin Kisner after a hard-won 72.

It wasn't a surprise. Augusta National hasn't had any rain in over a week, and players couldn't remember the last time the greens were this quick on practice laps, let alone with a scorecard in hand. Thursday.

"This is my 10th year, but I have never seen the greens so firm and fast", Matsuyama said. “So it was like a new course for me playing today, and I was lucky enough to get around it a lot. "

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To read our last article on the same subject :

US Masters 2021: everything you need to know about Augusta