The mystery of the early leaderboard
At the start of the day, and indeed for the first couple of hours of play, the following names were displayed on the Augusta leaderboards:
McIlroy
Howell
Spaun
Scheffler
Fang
Holtz
The reason? It’s another Masters tradition. Rory McIlroy is the reigning Masters champion, Mason Howell is the reigning US Amateur champion, JJ Spaun is the reigning US Open champion, Scottie Scheffler is the reigning Open and PGA champion, Ethan Fang is the reigning Amateur champion, and Brandon Holtz is the reigning US Mid-Amateur champion.
Masters legends conduct the opening ceremony
With a combined age of 252 and 11 Green Jackets to their name, Jack Nicklaus (86 and six), Gary Player (90 and three), and Tom Watson (76 and two) were again the honorary starters as dawn broke at Augusta.
On a distinctly chilly morning, it was Watson who hit the best drive of the three. Nicklaus, whose son Gary pegged his ball up for him, attempted to pick his tee up as a reflex before thinking better of it and making a dignified retreat. Player made his Masters debut in 1957.
Rory’s legendary support
The Masters champion is rarely short of support – apart from perhaps when the Ryder Cup is taking place in New York – and Thursday was no exception.
Among the patrons following his every move was tennis legend Rafa Nadal, with McIlroy clearly delighted to see his friend, who joined the action at the turn.
DeChambeau gets stuck in the sand
It is a rare occurrence for a two-time US Open champion to record a triple-bogey seven. Especially after a drive of over 300 yards down the middle of the fairway. Bryson DeChambeau’s seven did not even include any penalty shots – after finding the bunker to the right of the green, he required three attempts to escape and then a couple of putts.
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His opening round added up to 76.
Rai is well placed to lay par-3 curse to bed
It is famously regarded as bad luck to win the par-3 competition at Augusta ahead of the main event. Don’t tell Aaron Rai though – he followed up yesterday’s heroics on the short course with a fine opening round of 71.
Past champions thrive on opening day
While Rory McIlroy was front and centre, several of his fellow Green Jacket owners also enjoyed themselves on the first day. The 2018 champion Patrick Reed shot 69, with Jordan Spieth (2015) and Scottie Scheffler (2022 and 2024) a shot further back.
Even more admirably, Freddie Couples (1992) and Jose Maria Olazabal (1994 and 1999) were both under par for long parts of the day.
A word also for Sergio Garcia (2017), who has largely struggled here in the near-decade since his Augusta triumph. Remarkably, this is his 27th Masters and he has not missed one since making his debut in 1999.
Rose picks up where he left off
In the final round of the 2025 Masters, Justin Rose made 10 birdies, but it still wasn’t quite enough to deny McIlroy.
Seemingly undeterred, the Englishman has set off in similar form this time around. He posted a 70, with two late bogeys leaving a slight stain on a mostly happy return down Magnolia Lane.
It is now almost 13 years since his sole major victory to date, which came at the 2013 US Open at Merion. It is 28 years since he played in his first major, finishing fourth as a 17-year-old at Royal Birkdale in the Open.
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