Jordan Spieth always brings his best to Augusta National.
The defending champion, who had not played up to his standards recently, shot a bogey-free, 6-under-par 66 on Thursday to take two-stroke lead over Shane Lowry of Ireland and Danny Lee of New Zealand after one round of the 80th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
The 22-year-old Spieth, who won by four strokes last year in his second Masters start after tying for second in 2014, birdied four of the first 10 holes.
Spieth, who is ranked second the world, then played steady golf as the wind picked up on the back nine, making another birdie at No. 13 and holing a 10-foot birdie putt on the last hole.
“It was tough with these conditions, with the west wind and so many shots into the wind,” said Spieth, who opened with a 64 on his way to the Green Jacket last year. He has led the Masters after each of the last five rounds.
“The course played long today, and the chips and putts I had to save par were crucial. In my opinion, this was better than my first round last year because of the conditions.
“I got the most out of my round that I could today.”
Lee also sprinkled six birdies across his scorecard to offset bogeys on the third and seventh holes in his 68, while Lowry birdied four in a row through No. 5, had another on No. 8 and made his only bogey on the 12th hole.
“It got off to a good start, and it helped to make a few putts early so all the nerves went away,” said Lowry, who missed the cut in his first Masters last year. “I played well all day.”
Paul Casey of England played alongside Spieth and also had six birdies in his round, but he mixed in three bogeys, including one on the last hole that left him at 69. Casey is tied for fourth with Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark, Justin Rose of England, Sergio Garcia of Spain and Ian Poulter of England.
“I’ve played well at Augusta, and I always feel good when I come here,” said Rose, who tied for second behind Spieth last year. “It was a very tricky wind, and I am a little surprised there are so many low scores.
“To play bogey-free as Jordan did, that’s impeccable.”
Third-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, making his second bid to complete the Career Grand Slam, eagled the 13th hole but made bogeys on two of the last three to post a 70 . He is tied for ninth with Billy Horschel, Danny Willett of England and Scott Piercy.
“The conditions were consistent the whole day,” said McIlroy, who has won four major titles. “If you had given me a 70 on the first tee, I probably would have taken it, but I’m disappointed with the way I finished.”
Amateur Bryson DeChambeau, the final member of Spieth’s threesome, carded a 72 and is in a tie for 21st that includes top-ranked Jason Day of Australia, three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson of Sweden, Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland.
“I played really well today, but I could have scored better,” said Mickelson, a five-time major champion. “Anything par or better is a good score. It was tough, but I thought it was very fair.
“I had a good start, but I have to score better tomorrow.”
Day, who won six of his past 13 tournaments, including the PGA Championship, eagled the second hole while playing the front nine in 5-under 31 to get to within one stroke of Spieth.
However, he came home in 41, including a triple-bogey 6 on the 16th hole after hitting his tee shot in the water and made bogeys on the 15th and 17th.
“I played great until the 15th green, but I just got out of position on the last four holes,” said Day, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Match Play in his last two starts.
“I made a mess out of it. I’m frustrated, but not that disappointed. I’m only six strokes back and have to keep pushing forward. I have to play the way I did early over the next three days.”
Two-time Masters champion Tom Watson, who said he is playing in the tournament for the last time at age 66, made his only birdie on the second hole while posting a 74. He is tied for 43rd.
Watson, who has played in the tournament 43 times and every year since 1975, will try to make the cut for the first time since 2010.
Bubba Watson, another two-time champion, shot 41 on the back nine and is tied for 54th at 75, while 2013 champion Adam Scott of Australia started with a 76 and is tied for 59th.
Rickie Fowler, another one of the pre-tournament favorites, started with a double-bogey 6 on the first hole but seemingly righted the ship with birdies on three of the next four holes.
However, as it got windier on the back nine, he made a triple-bogey 8 on the 13th hole and a double-bogey 6 on the 16th while playing the back nine in 44. He probably is out of contention after starting with an 80 to tie for 81st in the 89-player field.
Ernie Els of South Africa, a four-time major champion but never a Masters winner, had even more trouble with the first hole. He missed a 3 1/2-foot putt for par and seemingly needed six more whacks to get the ball in the hole for what originally was scored as a 10. Later, the score was amended to a 9, and he also finished at 80.
–Story courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
