Masters day one wrap up

For the first time in five years, the weather at the Masters was what you’d expect in April in Georgia, and the 94 players in the field revelled in the calm and sunny conditions, producing a really spectacular day of golf.

Recent tournaments here have taken on the atmosphere of US Opens, with players grinding away with little enjoyment and coming off the 18th green looking tired and beaten up. Although the best round of the day was a 68 (from Justin Rose and Trevor Immelman), the roars in the dogwoods and azaleas were well and truly back.

This was especially true when England’s Ian Poulter hit his tee shot into the par-3 16th; and after bouncing on the top tier, his ball tracked down towards and into the hole to record his third hole-in-one in competition and his first at the Masters. It was the biggest roar of the day (Poulter recorded a 2-under-par 70) and even got the attention of the world number one, Tiger Woods, who had a rather hum-drum day by his standards, recording an even par 72.

In almost Faldoesque fashion, Tiger parred his first 12 holes, before going bogey, bogey, eagle on the 13th, 14th and 15th. Tiger has now played his last 34 holes without making a birdie, the longest no-birdie stretch of his career. He will need to improve on that tomorrow, if he is to have a chance of the fabled Grand Slam which many of the cognoscenti in the game are predicting and which the bookies have him at 9-2 to achieve.

“I didn’t really get anything going my way today,” said the world number one. “I played a lot better than what my score indicates. I hit my putts really well and nothing went in.”

England’s Justin Rose returned a 4-under-par 68, to lead the Masters for the second year in a row. He is ten times the player he was when he led here after 36 holes in 2004, and mentally now has the game to step up and win his first major.

“I’ve gone out there today in a very relaxed frame of mind,” he said, “and that’s what I’m going to try and recreate during the rest of the week. I was very positive and it paid off for me. Hopefully I’ve learnt that you can’t count your chickens, and that there are still 54 holes left. I know I’ve got to stay in the moment until the back nine on Sunday. Maybe then you see how you stack up and re-evaluate things.”

South African Trevor Immelman equalled Rose’s 68, with birdies on the 5th, 9th, 12th and 15th, and he was one of the few players all day not to drop a shot.

Among those who won’t be pleased with their days were the Australian, Geoff Ogilvy, who had a disappointing day with a 3-over-par 75, and local boy Charles Howell, who once more failed to produce, finishing with a 78. The German wonderkind, Martin Kaymer, had three bogeys in his first four holes, and eventually finished with a 76.