The Masters: Round 1 Review
Credit: PGA Tour
Thursday, April 6th 2023
It was a cloudy start at the 87th Masters Tournament with the World No. 9 Viktor Hovland, FedExCup leader Jon Rahm and four-time major champion Brooks Koepka sharing the 18-hole lead.
Viktor Hovland, marks 7-under (65) which his lowest score in a major championship (previous: 66, four times; most recent: R3, 2022 Open Championship) and his first career 18-hole lead/co-lead in an individual stroke-play event on TOUR. The last time Hovland was co-leading a major he held a share of the 54-hole lead at the 2022 Open Championship and went on to finish T4, his only career top-10 in a major.
John Rahm made a double bogey at No. 1 and played Nos. 2-18 in 9-under for a 7-under 65. This is the lowest score in a major among players that made a double bogey or worse at the opening hole since the TOUR began tracking starting-hole information in 2003. It’s his 12th career 18-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR, the most of any player since Rahm’s PGA TOUR debut at the 2014 World Wide Technology Championship.
Credit: PGA Tour
The four-time major champion (2017 U.S. Open, 2018 U.S. Open, 2018 PGA Championship, 2019 PGA Championship) Brooks Koepka who resides on the controversial LIV Golf League makes this his fourth career 18-hole lead/co-lead in major championships and second at the Masters. This is his lowest first-round score (65) in a major since the 2019 PGA Championship, which he lead from beginning to end.
Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett cards a bogey-free 4-under 68, the lowest score by an amateur in a major championship since Viktor Hovland in the final round of the 2019 U.S. Open (67).
Credit: PGA Tour
The 82-time PGA TOUR winner and five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods cards a 2-over 74, his fourth consecutive over-par score at the Masters; Woods, T54, has made 22 consecutive cuts at the Masters, fans will be hoping for a solid Friday from Tiger to make sure he makes the weekend.
Defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler cards a 4-under 68, his seventh consecutive under-par score at the Masters (longest active streak). Scheffler’s 68 is the lowest first-round score by a defending champion at the Masters since Tiger Woods in 2020 (68).
Fred Couples must have found his groove again as he posts a 1-under 71. The 63-year-old becomes the oldest player to record an under-par score at the Masters since Tom Watson in 2015 (71/R1).
Unfortunately, Kevin Na withdrew during the first round due to illness & Will Zalatoris withdrew prior to the start of his round due to injury.
Friday tee times have been moved up 30 minutes due to potential inclement weather and the first second-round starting time is now 7:30 a.m. ET (7:30 p.m HKT).
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