Justin Rose shot a seven-under-par 65 to establish a three-shot lead on day one of The Masters at Augusta National.
Two-time runner-up Rose equalled his lowest round at Augusta National to hold a three-shot lead over defending champion Scottie Scheffler, 2024 runner-up Ludvig Åberg and Canada’s Corey Conners, with Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau another shot back.
Former US Open winner Rose had the course record of 63 in his sights after picking up his eighth birdie of the day on the 16th, but had to scramble for par on the next and bogeyed the last.
A 65 ensured the 44-year-old ended the first round in the lead for the fifth time in his career, breaking the record he had shared with six-time champion Jack Nicklaus since also shooting 65 in 2021.
“Typically day one they set the course up quite difficult so I went out there trying to be patient and just got off to a flyer,” said Rose, who birdied the first three holes, made another hat-trick of gains from the eighth and also birdied the 15th and 16th.
“From that moment I felt I was definitely on the front foot. The ball was going exactly where I was looking and began to feel there was a good round in me. Just 18 I guess came unstuck but for the most part it was a great day.”
Rose, who lost a play-off to Sergio Garcia in 2017, will be well aware that Scheffler had earlier made an ominous start to his bid for a third Masters title in four years courtesy of a bogey-free 68.
“I would have felt pretty good about it,” Scheffler said when asked if he would have taken a 68 before teeing off.
“I had a feeling the golf course was going to get pretty firm. The areas to hit your irons out here are pretty small and they get even smaller when the greens are firm.”
Åberg was level par after 11 holes but birdied four of his last seven to move into contention for the second year running.
"I felt like we played a very disciplined round of golf today," the Swede said. "When you execute the shots, it makes it a whole lot easier, obviously, but I felt like we managed sort of the shots where we were in between clubs in the right way and didn't try to force anything, laid up on a couple of par fives where I could have probably gone for it if I was aggressive.
"Proud of the way that I finished and looking forward to tomorrow."
Hatton, who recorded four birdies and a solitary bogey on the 17th in a 69, branded Augusta National “unfair at times” after weekend rounds of 79 and 80 in 2022, but was ninth last year and was asked if he was starting to warm to the course.
“Do I like any golf course?” he joked. “It’s just so hard. It’s like, you love being here and it’s very special, but at any moment you can just hit a shot and it just does your head in. I just need to keep hitting perfect shots.”
