Masters 2014 Round 1 wrap-up
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The first round of the Masters saw American Bill Haas lead after a 4-under-par 68. Haas has family pedigree, because two of his uncles played in the Masters, as well as his father Jay; and his great uncle, Bob Goalby, won a Green Jacket in 1968. But, the 31-year-old American is only a shot ahead of three major champions, Louis Oosthuizen (who has lost in a playoff here), Bubba Watson (who won two years ago) and last year’s champion, Adam Scott.
Haas sank a bunch of long putts, and there are not many people predicting he will stay in front, mainly because his record in major championships is not that great. His tied for 20th in last year’s Masters is his best finish here, and today was actually the first time he broke 70, in 17 rounds at Augusta National.
Of the chasing pack Scott looked the most impressive. One bad swing on the par-3 12th left him having to take a drop from the water, and finishing with a double-bogey; but other than that it was a masterclass from tee to green. In fact, the Australian had very makeable eagle putts on the two par-5s on the back nine, but managed to three-putt both with his long stick.
“I played really nicely today,” he said afterwards. “I was excited for this week to get started; and now I’m even more excited to be where I am. The Champions Dinner was so much fun on Tueday night. That was a surreal evening, and will be my highlight of the week – unless of course I win another Green Jacket.”
In the history of this Tournament, only three players have defended the title successfully, (Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods) so what Scott is attempting to do should not be taken lightly.
The pre-Tournament favourite, Rory McIlroy, made four birdies and three bogeys in a round of 71, on a day when only four players managed to shoot under 70, the lowest number since 2007.
“I think any score under par was a good round today,” said McIlroy. “They set the course up very difficult today. Some of the pin positions were very tough. The greens are firming up. The wind was all over the place. Everyone needed to stay patient. I’m a little disappointed I birdied the last, but I’m still right there.”
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson had two 7s on his card (at the 7th and 15th) in a 4-over par 76.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow just to make the cut,” he said afterwards. “It wasn’t like I hit a load of bad shots. I just made a bunch of bad mental errors, especially around the greens.”
Leaderboard
68 –4 Bill Haas
69 –3 Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson
70 –2 Kevin Stadler, Jonas Blixt, Gary Woodland, Jimmy Walker, K J Choi, Brandt Snedeker, Marc Leishman,
71 –1 Fred Couples, Rickie Fowler, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Matteo Manassero, Jordan Spieth, Rory Milroy, Stephen Gallacher, Francesco Molinari
72 L John Senden, Graeme McDowell, Steve Stricker, Kevin Streelman, Nick Watney, Sang moon Bae, Bernhard Langer
73 +1 Stewart Cink, Boo Weekley, Mike Weir, Roberto Castro, Jamie Donaldson, Charl Schwartzel, Patrick Reed, Thomas Bjorn, Matt Kuchar, Thongchai Jaidee, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Russell Henley
Others: 74 +2 Jose Maria Olazabal, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan, Victor Dubuisson
75 +3 Ernie Els
76 +4 Ian Poulter, Matthew Fitzpatrick (a), Sandy Lyle, Garrick Porteous (a), Phil Mickelson
77 +5 Luke Donald
