Day one of the Masters never disappoints but Thursday at Augusta seemed to have it all. Blue skies, barely a breath of wind with good scoring and drama in equal measure, here are the top five takeaways from day one at the Masters.
Defending Champ Sergio Garcia's Tin Cup Moment - Tiger Woods was the last golfer to win back-to-back Masters' tournaments way back in 2002 so it was always going to be a massive stretch for the Spaniard to back up his maiden major win twelve months ago this week. However, Garcia was hanging around on two over par playing the fifteenth hole before having his very own 'Tin Cup' moment. Garcia hit his second shot into the Par-5 short in the water. Dropping back in the fairway playing his fourth shot, he hit the green but spun back off the front of the green back into the water. To be fair to Garcia that was a bad break, there was very little wrong with that approach but Augusta can be a cruel mistress.
However, rather than playing his next shot safe to the back of the green, Garcia spun it back into the water again playing six and proceeded to hit it in the juice a further two times before eventually keeping the ball on the green and holing his nine footer for a 13. A 13!!! Eight dropped shots on one hole!!
To be fair to Garcia he bounced back with a birdie on the 16th hole but would finish his round nine over par and most probably out of the tournament.
Social media went crazy, understandably but probably the stand out moment was when Golf Channel presenter Rich Lerner tweeted - "Sergio won't be naming his next kid Firethorn". The tweet was in relation ti Sergio and wide Angela naming their firstborn Azalea after the name given to the 13th hole at Augusta National. You guessed it, Firethorn is the name given to the 15th hole. Pretty funny joke from Lerner to be fair, but Angela didn't see the funny side, tweeting:
"Hey @RichLernerGC, the next time you decide to tweet about my future child why don't you use your brain and not do it? Don't be an idiot."
Lerner would go onto apologise but the general consensus was that it was a total over-reaction from Garcia's wife.
WATCH the moment Sergio Garcia takes 13 shots on one hole.
Amateur Doug Ghim Takes Home The Crystal - There's a tradition at the Masters tournament that if you eagle a hole, you get a nice crystal glass to take home for your achievment. Well amateur Doug Guim will be taking not one, but two crystal glasses home with him after eagling the par-5 thirteenth hole in three, the senior at the University of Texas holed his approach at the 18th hole to get an eagle two (see below).
Ghim became on the sixth person in history to eagle the 18th at Augusta and finished the day in a tie for 21st, the top amateur.
- Masters: Debut
- Eagles: 2
- Person to Eagle the 18th hole in history: 6th
- Caddie: His dad
- Finishes: Even Par
#TheMasters
Beware the injured golfer! Tony Finau was in the news on Wednesday for dislocating his ankle and then popping it back in during the Par 3 Contest when celebrating a hole in one.
The American limped off the course and had an MRI scan before his round on Thursday which revealed a high ankle sprain. With the ankle taped up, Finau, the longest hitter on the PGA Tour wasn't expected to trouble the leaderboard but he wasn't having any of it.
Watch the moment Tony Finau dislocates his ankle.
Despite dropping a shot on the the first hole, Finau would go on to record six birdies and a bogey to card a four under total of 68 for the first round, enough for a tie of second place with Matt Kuchar.
Beer. Ball. Bogey - It wasn't the best of days for Australian Jason Day, who shot a three over par total of 75 which leaves him in a tie for 55th, nine shots off the lead.
There was a bizarre incident during his round however, where his tee shot landed in a patron's beer! The man then downed the beer and gave Day his ball back and he would go on and get a bogey for the hole.
Spieth back where he belongs - Jordan Spieth LOVES Augusta. The American won a Green Jacket in just his second start at Augusta and has another two runner-up finishes to his name in just four trips to the Masters.
A reasonably quiet season for Spieth so far, he built on his third place finish in Houston last week by firing out of the blocks on Thursday birdying two of his first three holes. He'd bogey the 5th and 7th before going back under par with an eagle three on the 8th. Pars followed on 10, 11 and 12 before things got interesting.
Birdies on the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th propelled Spieth to the top of the leaderboard, five consecutive birdies his best run of birdies in a major championship. He'd bogey the 18th to slip back to six under par and a two shot lead, but even that was a a good bogey after pulling his drive into the trees.
Spieth won the 2015 Masters leading from pillar to post, can he do the same this week?
Follow all the action this week via the Sportsman.
