Blue, blue skies at Augusta National

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox made a great impression at Augusta National, Georgia on day one of the Masters (11-14 April).  The 37 year old Kiwi was 5-under par after nine holes and looked pretty certain to arrive in the clubhouse at the top of the leaderboard.  Despite the start of the Masters being delayed by two and a half hours due to heavy rainfall, the field finally enjoyed superb weather in Atlanta.  It was windy but pictured blue, blue skies.  In fact, sun, sun, sun, sun is forecast for the next few days.  And with the spectacular layout of the course at Augusta National, this year’s first Major is set to be a spectacle.

 

So who was the big contender for Fox?  Well, rather surprisingly, that was the American Bryson DeChambeau.  Playing in his eighth Masters, the 30 year old from California drew level with Ryan Fox on 4-under par after the ball from the Kiwi landed in the water in front of the 13th green.  Two holes later, the American, with the rather unorthodox swing, made a birdie at the 15th and the 16th to take the lead on 6-under.  On the 17th, he added another birdie to get to 7-under and so lead the Masters on day one with a 7-under par score of 65.

 

Englishman Danny Willett, former winner of the Masters in 2016, shot an impressive opening round of 68 to tie with Ryan Fox and Byeong Hun An from Korea on 4-under.

 

World’s top players

 

The World’s Number One and Two players, American Scottie Scheffler and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, were playing with Xander Schauffele (USA) in the same flight.  With four rounds to play in a Major, their opening rounds were a good investment in their desire to win the 88th US Masters tournament.

 

 

The World Number Three player and defending Masters Champion, Jon Rahm from Spain, seemed to be struggling in Atlanta leaving himself with a lot of extra work on day two after shooting an opening round of 73.

 

Playing in his first Masters since winning the PGA Championship in 2023 at the Pinehurst Resort & CC. in North Carolina, the American Wyndham Clark, got off to a good start with a level par 72.

 

Tiger Woods made his 26th Masters appearance at Augusta National.  And, despite his car accident injuries a few years ago, the 48 year old, who has won five Masters, managed to rustle up a one-over par 73 score on day one.

 

Day two at the sunny Masters

 

The second day at the Masters saw the greatest players in the world attack the impeccable undulating course on another windy day but with glorious sunshine again.  The blossom and twigs scattered around the fairways and greens at Augusta National adding yet another new challenge.

 

Yesterday’s late starters teed-off early today which saw leader Bryson DeChambeau still at the top of the leaderboard.  However, Bryson who stood at 7-under par after 17 holes was joined by fellow-American Scottie Scheffler who had gathered a few birdies to also get to 7-under after 10 holes.  American Max Homa played a solid 71 to get to 6-under for third spot with Nicolai Højgaard from Denmark who was also having a tremendous event scoring 67 and then 73 on day two for fourth position.

 

American Collin Morikawa closed out the second day with a 70 for fifth spot on 3-under.  However, this is all incidental because the early starters from day one are all set to challenge Augusta National in the afternoon.

 

Scheffler grabs the outright lead

 

On the 11th hole, Scottie Scheffler had grabbed the lead on his own while DeChambeau had a disappointing three-putt for bogey down the last hole.

 

The halfway cut is predicted at the moment at 5-over par which just goes to show how the slower greens after the rainfall on day one and the gusty winds have made the course even more testing than normal.

 

Scheffler’s second shot at the par 5 13th disappeared into the water before the green which resulted in a bogey for the American.  At the end of day two, he now shares the halfway lead with Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa on 6-under.

 

Tomorrow promises to be another day of blue, blue skies but, alas, the 88th edition of the Masters needs to wave goodbye to a number of players who missed the halfway cut which came at 7-over par.  Big names like multi-Major winners Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson all shot scores too high to survive the weekend.  Viktor Hovland from Norway and the defending Champion of the Open Brian Harman (USA) also had to pack their clubs and head home.

 

However, there were a few very happy players who will be teeing-up on Saturday.  Among them are a few 50-plus year olds such as the left-handed multi-Major winner Phil Mickelson from America (aged 53) who is looking to go one better than his shared second spot in last year’s Masters.  Twice former Masters winner from Spain José Maria Olazabal (aged 58) and Vijay Singh from the Fiji Islands (aged 61) complete the vintage line-up.

 

The Masters is set to thrill us again today.  So please sit back and enjoy the spectacle!

 

Wendy Hoad

Editor

 

 

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH:  Bryson DeChambeau on his way to leading the first round of the 2024 US Masters.  MINIS (l-r): Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.