Jordan Spieth grabbed the lead, Sergio Garcia dunked his chances into the water and a steady yet unspectacular start from the South Africans. WADE PRETORIUS runs through the best and worst parts of Thursday at The Masters.
Birdie: Spieth leads again
Backed as one to watch this year, Spieth was controlled throughout his opening round before going on one of the best runs of his career as he birdied five holes in a row from the 13th. That run helped him join Tony Finau at the top, before passing him and arriving at the 18th tee three in front of Finau and Matt Kuchar. Spieth’s touch of class on the 18th helped him save par where he took his punishment by pitching out of danger, following his only poor swing on the back nine.
Par: Steady Saffas need big Friday
Louis Oosthuizen regained his No 1 South African ranking before the start of the event and it proved that to be true as he leads the Saffas in Augusta. His 71 was probably a fair reflection on his day, even if he three-putted for a bogey on the 17th and missed a six-footer on the last for a birdie. After opening with three bogeys in his first seven holes, things were looking bleak, to put it mildly. He often points to The Masters as the one he wants the most and gathered all his strength to pull it around. He is one better than Charl Schwartzel and two better than Branden Grace, but all three will need a very good showing on Friday if they want to do more than make up numbers in the field.
Bogey: Garcia’s defence waterlogged
The defending champion lost the plot on Thursday as he dunked five balls into the water on the par-five 15th – a hole he eagled in the final round last year. His words afterwards seemed odd, considering he knew that any ball with spin would be coming back and down the slope into the hazard – the fact that he didn’t change his club and trajectory after say, the first two shots, speaks volumes about the space he found himself in. He won’t be around on the weekend unless he beats his opening round by more than 10 shots, so it’s going to be a long wait until Sunday when he places the Green Jacket on another player’s shoulders.
Shot of the day:
Our moment of Thursday #themasters pic.twitter.com/tSmL3JybZf
— Compleat Golfer (@CompleatGolfer) April 5, 2018
