Masters 2021: Justin Roses Surges into Lead with Opening-Round 65

Last November's COVID-delayed Masters Tournament lent itself to lower scores, with Dustin Johnson's 20 under setting a record for the best 72-hole performance at Augusta National.

With the event back in its traditional spring slot on the calendar, suffice it to say scores are going to be a bit more difficult to come by this time around. 

Except for perhaps Justin Rose.

The 40-year-old, who has twice finished second at the Masters, fired off a seven-under 65 to give him a four-stroke lead over the field after Thursday's first round. Blustery conditions and hard greens and fairways made low scores hard to come by, with only 12 golfers finishing under par in Round 1.

Rose had no such difficulty. After starting his first seven holes two over, Rose put together one of the best stretches of golf of his career. He went nine under over his next 10 holes before closing out with a par on No. 18. 

“I guess the good news is I don’t know what happened; that’s often when you play your best golf and get into the nice rhythm or flow,” Rose said on ESPN. "I didn’t panic being two over through seven. I knew this was a day not to play yourself out of the tournament; the course had a lot of teeth to it.

“The pins were relatively fair, so good golf shots could be rewarded, and to be nine under for my last 11, you can never quite see that coming here at Augusta National.”

This is Rose's fourth time holding the 18-hole lead at the Masters. This is his sixth time leading after a round overall at Augusta National, which is the most for any golfer who is yet to don a green jacket.

Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama are tied for second after shooting three-under 69s. Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Will Zalatoris are tied for fourth at two under. 

Johnson, who hasn't won on the PGA Tour since last year's Masters, continued his struggles with a two-over 74. The world No. 1 closed his day with a frustrating double bogey on No. 18 and said conditions were far more unfavorable than his 2020 victory. 

“Definitely a lot tougher just because, when the greens are firm and fast here, the golf course plays difficult,” Johnson told reporters. “Then you add the wind in today, it made it play really difficult.”

No golfer has won consecutive Masters since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002. 

World No. 2 Justin Thomas is in a tie for 20th place after shooting one over. The 27-year-old finished fourth behind Johnson in 2020, his first top-10 at Augusta. 

Jordan Spieth, who came into the week fresh off his first win since 2017 and seemingly primed for another run at a green jacket, shot one under. After four top-fives in his first five Masters appearances, Spieth has been outside the top 20 each of the last two years.  

Resident Tour masher Bryson DeChambeau saw his long-ball strategy backfire on a day when precision was the name of the game, finishing at four over. DeChambeau will need a solid second round to make the cut.

Phil Mickelson (+3), Rory McIlroy (+4) and Sergio Garcia (+4) will also head into Friday straddling the cut line. McIlroy's most notable shot of the day came when he hit his own father with an errant shot on No. 7, one of his six bogeys on the round to finish at 76.