Please use the following links:
Spieth in control with sizzling 64
McIlroy satisfied but seeks more
Tom Watson becomes oldest to break par at Masters
Tiger grinds out 73 in 'good day' Masters return
Spieth in control with sizzling 64
AUGUSTA, 9 Apr 2015 (AFP) - Jordan Spieth produced one of the greatest rounds of golf in major history on Thursday with a 64 to lead by three strokes after the first round of the 79th Masters.
The 21-year-old Texan at one stage looked in line to become the first player to shoot below 63 in a major -- a mark currently shared by 24 golfers -- but a poor approach shot to the 15th led to his only bogey and nudged the record agonizingly out of his grasp.
Still, Spieth closed with a 20-footer for an ninth birdie at the last to surpass fellow young gun Rory McIlroy as the youngest player to have led the Masters after the opening round and underlined once again his huge potential.
Tied for second on his debut last year, Spieth ended the day at Augusta National as sole leader, three shots clear of a rejuvinated South African veteran Ernie Els, England's Justin Rose, Australian Jason Day and American Charley Hoffman.
"It's nice to put myself in a position now where I can really stay patient, dig in and keep giving myself opportunities and not worry about anything else," Spieth said.
"I can pretty much control my own destiny from here. And pleased to be in that position here again.
"I was leading last year at one point by a couple of shots on Sunday, it didn't go my way.
"I know how many things can happen in a major championship and I try and learn from last year, and stay patient these next three rounds."
The superb performance by the young Texan eclipsed the two big storylines that were the talk of Augusta at the start of the day concerning Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
The 39-year-old Woods returned after two-month timeout he called on himself to try and piece back together his once domninant game.
But, after enjoying a promising buildup to the tournament, Woods once again struggled at times, especially early on, as he clattered a couple of drives into the trees, misjudged chips and then found the water of Rae's Creek at the 13th en route to a 73.
It could have been worse for him were it not for some desperate scrambling to repair the damage done by his wayward shots.
It was a step forward for him in some ways after his woeful performances earlier this year, but it still leaves him with a fight on his hands just to make the Masters cut, something he last failed to do in 1996 when he was still an amateur.
Woods was, however, upbeat over his showing, saying that the unusually soft Augusta greens had been his main problem.
"I felt good. I felt like I hit the ball well enough to shoot three-under par," he said.
"Our entire group was really struggling at the greens. We were talking about how slow they were today. We had a hard time hitting the putts hard enough."
World number one McIlroy, aiming to become just the sixth man in golfing history to complete a career Grand Slam of the four majors, settled for a quiet day.
His one-under 71, which contained three birdies and two bogeys, was largely without incident and he would have been even more handily placed if not for Spieth's late fireworks.
Still the 25-year-old, a four-time major winner, said he was content with his day's work.
"Yeah, I just kept telling myself to be patient out there today. It was a tricky day. The wind was swirling a little bit. Pin positions were tough. Anything under par I felt was a pretty good score," he said.
"It was nice to pick up a couple birdies on the back nine, on the par-fives there. Pretty satisfied with today's work."
Els, playing in his 21st Masters at the age of 45 and with two runner-up finishes to his name, rode an eagle on the 15th to record his best score at Augusta National since 2003.
He missed the cut last year after rounds of 75 and 74 that left him feeling hugely frustrated and in doubt over whether he could ever again compete for the top prize at Augusta.
"Kind of, you get fed up with yourself. Never with Augusta, you know, but yourself with the mistakes that you make," he said.
A stroke further back from Els, Rose, Day and Hoffman and tied for six were Spaniard Sergio Garcia and American Russell Henley.
Defending champion Bubba Watson was solid en route to a 71 -- the same as McIlroy and namesake Tom Watson, who at 65 became the oldest player in Masters history to break par.
Three-time winner Phil Mickelson was well-placed on 70 while 2012 winner Adam Scott settled for a level par 72.
Els makes best Masters start
AUGUSTA, 9 Apr 2015 (AFP) - Four-time major champion Ernie Els, hungry for the green jacket that has eluded him for decades, moved into Masters contention Thursday with a five-under par 67 opening round at Augusta National.
The 45-year-old South African broke 70 in the first round for the first time in 21 Masters appearances, five birdies and an eagle signaling another chance to win a green jacket after numerous near misses.
"There's a lot of golf to be played, but it's a really nice start," Els said. "We've been working hard on the game to get it into a better shape. It takes a bit more self belief and I think it's coming through with rounds like this. We'll keep grinding."
Els, a two-time winner at both the US and British Opens, is cautious about pondering his jacket size just yet.
"We'll see what happens. I still feel I can get something out of (my game)," Els said. "These guys are good but you've got to get the most out of it.
"Plenty of golf to be played. You can't even be dreaming about Sunday yet. There are some improvements I still can make. I still missed a couple of iron shots here and there, but for the most part I've just got to stay patient."
Two-time Masters runner-up Els, who has slid to 84th in the world rankings, missed the cut in four of his past six US starts.
"There has been no sign of any form so it has been very special," Els said, citing made cuts with more than 20 birdies at Bay Hill last month and Houston last week.
"I was trying to drag something positive out of those weeks," he said. "It has been kind of a rough ride this year. I've been tinkering with my game a little bit but I hadn't gotten any results.
"This is wonderful. To get something under par, hitting it solidly. It's a really nice start."
Els, who was second at Augusta National in 2000 and 2004, won the 2002 and 2012 British Opens and 1994 and 1997 US Opens.
Els admitted there was a lingering impact from his one-shot 2004 Masters loss that brought Phil Mickelson his first major victory.
"Definitely. I was trying to wipe it under the carpet that I wanted this one so badly for so many years," Els said. "There was something going on. You get fed up with yourself, with the mistakes that you make. I felt that I left shots out there in that span, that five-, six-year span, so a little frustration set in."
Els missed qualifying for the 2012 Masters but won the British Open to secure a trip back, yet he knows that without a green jacket, his days at Augusta might be numbered.
"We kind of are running out of time a little bit here, so we are really trying to enjoy what we've got left," Els said. "It has been 21 years coming to Augusta, It has been unbelievable, but nothing lasts forever."
On Thursday, Els birdied the par-5 second and par-4 third. After a bogey at seven, he birdied the par-5 eighth, 10 and the par-5 13th before his eagle at the par-5 15th briefly tied him for the lead before he closed with a bogey.
"I made two good birdies on two and three and that got me in the right flow," Els said. "I really felt comfortable over the putter and the driver. The game felt solid."
McIlroy satisfied but seeks more
AUGUSTA, 9 Apr 2015 (AFP) - Top-ranked Rory McIlroy was satisfied with a one-under par 71 start to the 79th Masters, but knows he can do better as he tries to complete a career Grand Slam.
The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland, seeking his third major victory in a row this week at Augusta National, was pleased with his patience and maturity to avoid what could have been a rough start in the year's first major.
"I just kept telling myself to be patient out there. It was a tricky day," McIlroy said. "The wind was swirling a little bit. Pin positions were tough. Anything under par, I felt, was a pretty good score.
"Today was a pretty good day. I feel like I can do better. But happy after day one and go out and just try and do a little bit better tomorrow."
McIlroy had been pointing toward this round ever since he won the British Open last July to put himself on the brink of becoming only the sixth player to have won all four majors in his career.
"It was nice to get out there and play," McIlroy said. "It was a long time coming. Glad to get started and pretty satisfied.
"I haven't put too much pressure on myself. Look, I obviously know what I can achieve this week, but I'm not letting myself think about it too much. Just trying to play it one round at a time."
McIlroy would join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan in completing the career Grand Slam with a Masters win.
Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, one of McIlroy's playing partners, called it "the softest I've ever seen the greens," but McIlroy could not capitalize fully.
"It was a solid start. It could have been better but it could have been worse," McIlroy said. "If I can hit a few iron shots closer and convert on a few of those opportunities, I'll be right there."
McIlroy made a bogey at the par-3 sixth but answered with a birdie on the next hole. After a bogey at the 11th, McIlroy birdied the par-5 13th and par-5 15th holes.
"It could have been a round that got away from me," McIlroy said. "I made bogey on 11 and I just stayed patient, realizing that it's a 72-hole golf tournament and not having to press too much.
"It was good to get into red numbers after day one and I feel with the way I'm driving the ball, if I can keep doing that and just be a little more patient with my iron play and give myself more opportunities, I'll be right there at the end of the week."
McIlroy wanted to play the par-five's better and he did, salvaging par at the par-five second after his tee shot went left and found a creek.
"It was nice to make those birdies on the par-fives," McIlroy said. "Pretty satisfied with the day's work."
Rose comes alive at Masters
AUGUSTA, 9 Apr 2015 (AFP) - Justin Rose's season coming into Augusta hardly gave him grounds for confidence, but the Englishman put that firmly behind him on Thursday with a pace-setting, five-under par 67 at the Masters.
The 2013 US Open champion missed three cuts in the six tournaments he played in the United States and his best finish was a tie for 37th at Houston last week.
Rose found himself in one of the first-round marquee groupings alongside defending champion Bubba Watson and he was able to feed off the excitement that surrounded them as they set off.
"Yeah, I haven't been in contention to have those feelings of late," Rose said. "The Florida Swing, which is a stretch of golf I've normally really played well in, and normally get myself into contention quite regularly through the Florida Swing, and that hasn't been the case this year.
"I guess just that little sort of feeling of the spotlight being on you and the pressure there, and you know, the crowd and the energy and atmosphere that you normally get later towards the back end of a golf tournament, I felt like I had that feeling early today.
"It was just a nice bit of energy or adrenaline to really kick start my game."
Key to his good start, Rose said, was grabbing three birdies in his first six holes and reaching the turn in 33, setting himself up for a good run at the relatively easier back nine.
"Yeah, the first seven holes, if you get through there even par, I think you'd probably take that and then try to build a score for the rest of the round," he said.
"But anything that you squeeze out of the golf course early, I think, is a bonus. Obviously today, that really set up my round and made me feel like I could put a good number together."
Rose's score of 67 equaled his best ever at Augusta National, shot in the first round in 2004, his second Masters campaign.
On that occasion, he followed up with a worst-ever 81 in the third round that wrecked his chances, but gave him a needy lesson in how to play the course.
"It reminded me of in 2004, when I led the tournament after two rounds and shot 81 Saturday," he said.
"I remember doing the same thing. Got off to sort of a nervy start (in third rouund), but then tried to chase it, tried to make birdies to all the wrong pins, and then tried to go at the par fives with five-woods and three‑woods, and just stuff that you shouldn't do.
"And you kind of learn; that was obviously a great learning experience for me, and sometimes you just have to learn the hard way."
Tom Watson becomes oldest to break par at Masters
AUGUSTA, 9 Apr 2015 (AFP) - Tom Watson became the oldest player with a sub-par round in Masters history Thursday, the 65-year-old American firing a one-under 71 in the opening round at Augusta National.
Watson broke the mark of the late Sam Snead, who fired a 71 in the last two rounds of the 1974 Masters at age 61.
"It's fun to be able to at least be in red figures at Augusta National," Watson said. "At my age, it's a minor miracle."
Watson, who won the Masters in 1977 and 1981, nearly became the oldest major winner in golf history at the 2009 British Open, losing a playoff to Stewart Cink at Turnberry at age 59 in an epic bid to claim a sixth Claret Jug.
Augusta National has proven tougher to handle for Watson, who has made the cut only four times in 20 years, most recently in 2010.
"Yeah I want to make the cut," Watson said. "I haven't done that for a few years."
Watson, who captained the losing US side in last year's Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, said containing his ego was as important as his experience to firing his best round since a 67 to start in 2010.
"Old age and treachery," Watson said. "I've played the golf course enough times to know where I'm supposed to hit it and where I'm not supposed to hit it.
"I struggled the last few years hitting it, trying to hit shots like I used to, when I know that I had to hit my best shot, and the ego gets involved. My ego got involved too much the last few years. Today I just kind of played within myself."
At 18, Watson struck a tree but found the fairway, hit a 3-wood approach over the green and then made a clutch eight-foot par putt.
"I was hoping I was going to break par," Watson said. "I was concentrating on that putt. I really wanted to make that."
Watson opened with a three-putt bogey but birdied the par-5 second and par-5 eighth before closing the front nine with a bogey.
"Nine's awfully tough for me to get the pin," Watson said. Kids are hitting 8- and 9-irons and I'm back there hitting 3-irons off the down slope. It's a hard shot for an old guy like me."
Watson began the back nine with a birdie and added another at the par-3 16th before taking a bogey at 17.
"My game is pretty good. I was happy with the way I played. Perfect conditions. No wind. Greens are very soft. It was there for the taking."
Tiger grinds out 73 in 'good day' Masters return
AUGUSTA, 9 Apr 2015 (AFP) - Tiger Woods showed an improved short game in grinding out a one-over par 73 start to the Masters on Thursday, his first competitive round at Augusta National since 2013.
Woods, a 14-time major champion and four-time Masters winner who missed last year after back surgery, made four bogeys and three birdies to finish nine strokes behind 21-year-old pace-setter Jordan Spieth after 18 holes.
"It was a good day. I felt good out there," Woods said. "I felt like I hit the ball well enough to shoot 3-under par."
The 39-year-old former world number one, who has fallen to 111th in the rankings, was coming off a two-month layoff to improve his form after woeful chipping led to a career-worst 82 at Phoenix and a withdrawal in February at Torrey Pines after only 11 holes.
Strong practice rounds sparked hope of a quick return to Masters glory for Woods, but such was not the case. But while he sprayed errant tee shots at times, Woods was solid with his short game.
"It's my strength again," Woods said. "That's why I've busted my butt. That's why I took time off. That's why I hit thousands and thousands of shots to make sure that it's back to being my strength.
"I tried to hole most of them, that's the thing. I'm back to hitting shots, making it hop, check on the second bounce, third bounce, I can figure those things out again."
Woods has not won a Masters since 2005 and has not won a major since the 2008 US Open. His last tourney win was the 2013 WGC at Firestone, which put him three shy of Sam Snead's all-time record of 82 PGA titles.
But Woods remains confident he can win this weekend.
"I'm still in it. I'm only nine back. And we have a long way to go," Woods said. "And we don't know what the Masters is going to do with the greens or the golf course. You know how they like to change things every now and then."
Woods said the greens were almost too welcoming, saying, "I couldn't believe they were as slow as they were," and lammented two "dumb mistakes" at the ninth hole that led to a bogey.
Woods opened with a bogey after hitting his first shot right into trees. His tee shot at the second sailed left into trees but he blasted out and put his third shot four feet from the cup to set up a birdie.
At the par-3 fourth, Woods found a bunker fronting the green, blasted 18 feet past the hole and took bogey.
But Woods birdied the par-5 eighth and appeared to be on solid ground as he strode to the ninth tee.
Instead, his tee shot sailed way left over pine trees into the adjacent first fairway. His second shot went into the trees and landed in pine straw at the bottom of the elevated green, Woods swinging his club in frustration after making contact.
Woods responded by punching his third shot onto the green and rolled a 49-foot putt inches from the cup for a tap-in bogey that could have been worse.
On the back nine, Woods took a bogey at the par-3 12th but answered with a birdie on the next hole.
Leading first round scores here on Thursday in the Masters over the par-72 Augusta National course:
64 - Jordan Spieth (USA)
67 - Charley Hoffman (USA), Justin Rose (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA), Jason Day (AUS)
68 - Sergio García (ESP), Russell Henley (USA)
69 - Ryan Palmer (USA), Bill Haas (USA), Webb Simpson (USA), Paul Casey (ENG)
70 - Phil Mickelson (USA), Billy Horschel (USA), Kevin Streelman (USA), Patrick Reed (USA), Dustin Johnson (USA), Noh Seung-Yul (KOR)
71 - Hideki Matsuyama (JPN), Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Anirban Lahiri (IND), John Senden (AUS), Cameron Tringale (USA), Danny Willett (ENG), Tom Watson (USA), Gary Woodland (USA), Keegan Bradley (USA), Bubba Watson (USA), Stephen Gallacher (SCO), Rory McIlroy (NIR), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
72 - Padraig Harrington (IRL), Angel Cabrera (ARG), Chris Kirk (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA), Zach Johnson (USA), Adam Scott (AUS), Camilo Villegas (COL), Thomas Bjorn (DEN), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Jonas Blixt (SWE)
73 - Henrik Stenson (SWE), Bernhard Langer (GER), Steve Stricker (USA), Erik Compton (USA), Matt Every (USA), Morgan Hoffmann (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Mark O'Meara (USA), James Hahn (USA), Jimmy Walker (USA), Tiger Woods (USA), Ian Poulter (ENG), Lee Westwood (ENG)
74 - Brooks Koepka (USA), Kevin Na (USA), Jason Dufner (USA), Ryan Moore (USA), Brandt Snedeker (USA), Byron Meth (USA), Ben Martin (USA), Jim Furyk (USA), Victor Dubuisson (FRA), Mikko Ilonen (FIN), Geoff Ogilvy (AUS), Bae Sang-Moon (KOR), Darren Clarke (NIR), Sandy Lyle (SCO), Jamie Donaldson (WAL)
75 - Ian Woosnam (WAL), Shane Lowry (IRL), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Vijay Singh (FIJ), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Branden Grace (RSA), Hunter Mahan (USA), Luke Donald (ENG)
76 - Brian Harman (USA), J.B. Holmes (USA), Scott Harvey (USA), Trevor Immelman (RSA), Joost Luiten (NED), Matías Domínguez (CHI), Martin Kaymer (GER)
77 - Kevin Stadler (USA)
78 - Larry Mize (USA), Miguel Ángel Jiménez (ESP), Antonio Murdaca (AUS), Bradley Neil (SCO)
79 - José María Olazábal (ESP), Ben Crane (USA), Fred Couples (USA)
80 - Brendon Todd (USA), Robert Streb (USA), Corey Conners (CAN)
82 - Mike Weir (CAN)
85 - Yang Gunn (KOR)
91 - Ben Crenshaw (USA)