Masters 2012: Recapping Augusta's Opening-Round Action

Lee Westwood had the round of the day at Thursday’s first round of the 2012 Masters with a five-under 67. Louis Oosthuizen is right behind him at four under. After that there is a seven-way tie for third at three under.

The most cringe-worthy performance of the day belongs to Henrik Stenson. He was cruising towards a first-place finish, entering the 18^th at five under. A snowman (plus-eight) later, and he finished at only one under with a shattered sense of confidence to boot.

Nobody distanced themselves from the competition, and it looks like the weekend is going to offer plenty of drama.

How did the top three stars fare?

(Click here for full leaderboard)

T14. Rory McIlroy (-1)

The No. 2-ranked golfer on the planet got off to a nightmare start with a double bogey on No. 1. He quickly rebounded with a birdie on the next hole, but was playing catch-up for the majority of the day.

The 22-year-old remained focused on the task at hand and chipped away until he ended up under par for the day.

There is no question that Rory is right in the thick of things heading into Friday.

T30. Tiger Woods (E)

Woods used his putter to get out of trouble on multiple holes on the front nine, and was on his way to the top of the leaderboard before imploding on the last two holes. He bogeyed both as he snap-hooked both drives. He had two balls deemed unplayable on the day.

If anything, he should consider himself lucky to only be five strokes back with the lack of focus he displayed down the stretch.

T55. Phil Mickelson (+2)

Lefty was his typical self, taking huge risks all over the course, but the results were disastrous early on. After a triple bogey on 10, Mickelson was four over and in danger of missing the cut. But he birdied two of the final four holes to keep himself within striking distance.

Mickelson isn’t out of it, but Thursday was not the start he was looking for.   

Follow Eric Ball on Twitter.