Ryan Fox shakes hands with playing partner Billy Horschel on the 18th green after their first round at the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo / Getty
Ryan Fox shakes hands with playing partner Billy Horschel on the 18th green after their first round at the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo / Getty
Tiger Woods struggled in the first round at the Masters, but his playing partners on Friday sure didn’t.
Viktor Hovland, the No. 9 player in the world, shares the early lead after shooting a 7-under 65, just two shots off the tournament record shared by Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1996). The Norwegian shot 35 on the front nine and played a bogey-free round.
World number three Jon Rahm shares the lead with Hovland and Brooks Koepka despite opening the event with a double bogey. Rahm was flawless following the horror start, posting seven birdies and an eagle to form his own round of 65.
Rahm arrived at Augusta National as the world’s No. 3-ranked player, with three PGA Tour wins already already this season but looking to regain some momentum after a difficult March.
He withdrew from the Players Championship after the first round due to a stomach illness, and back-to-back 76s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational gave him his worst finish since last July.
Koepka, one of the best-known players to accept a lucrative offer from the Saudi-backed tour, opened with a 7-under 65.
Others in the LIV contingent included reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith, who started the Masters with a 70, and Patrick Reed with a 71. Then there was two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, who struggled to a 77.
Viktor Hovland, of Norway, shares the early lead at Augusta. Photo / AP
Ryan Fox makes impressive debut
Meanwhile Ryan Fox has made an impressive start in his debut Masters appearance.
A steady, even opening first nine that featured a birdie and bogey set him up nicely to land a few more shots as he made his way back towards the clubhouse.
Fox paired birdies on the 12th, 13th and 18th holes with a bogey on the 14th to finish at two-under for the day and a likely top-20 position by the time the full field concludes.
Woods recovers after rough start
Tiger Woods opened his 25th Masters with a par on the first hole while playing in front of a huge crowd, many stacked rows deep standing on tippy toes hoping to catch a glimpse of the generational star.
Even before Woods took to the course, fans flocked to see him on the practice tee.
The five-time champion admitted earlier this week he’s not sure how many more Masters tournaments he has in him.
Woods, who walks with noticeable limp at times, is still recovering from a car crash in suburban Los Angeles where he crushed bones so badly in his legs that doctors contemplated amputation.
Woods has only played in one PGA Tour event this year, the Genesis Invitational, where he finished tied for 45th place at 1-under 283. He last won the Masters in 2019.
The 47-year-old Woods struggled all day with his iron play but got back to 1 over after birdies at No. 15 and 16. However, the five-time Masters champion bogeyed the final hole and finished with a 74, leaving him nine shots behind Hovland.
Tiger Woods was the main attraction once again on day one of the Masters at Augusta National. Photo / AP
A modern Masters?
Augusta National took another surprising step toward modernisation: The Masters allowed for a walk-and-talk during the opening round when Rory McIlroy answered questions for the ESPN telecast while playing the ninth fairway.
CBS, which is producing the Masters, first broke out the technology at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Trevor Immelman was in the booth and held a Q-and-A with Max Homa as he played the 13th hole. Homa went on to win.
NBC also did the walk-and-talk with a player during the six weeks leading to the Masters.
But the Masters?
There was McIlroy, going so far as to tell viewers his yardage and what club he would be hitting into the ninth green. McIlroy signed off before attempting his long birdie putt.
“I’m happy to be the first one to do it,” he said.
Garcia lashes out over LIV mention
Sergio Garcia is tired of hearing about the tension between LIV and PGA Tour players at the Masters.
The former champion says it doesn’t exist.
Garcia, now a member of the LIV Tour, said things have been “totally normal” between the players from the two tours this week at Augusta National, before adding “You guys need to stop it. (The media) are making a big deal out of this.”
When challenged that it is not, Garcia doubled down, saying, “Yes, it is. I’ve had nothing but great things from every single player I talk to. So please stop it and talk about the Masters.”
Garcia shot 74 on Friday and is nine shots behind leader Viktor Hovland.
Zalatoris became the second golfer to withdraw from the tournament on Thursday after leaving the course minutes before his tee time. This time, it is due to a back injury.
He also withdrew from the WGC-Dell Match Play with a stomach bug and said he felt great heading into the Masters, even though he lost seven pounds due to the illness.
