Masters Scores 2012: Most Disappointing Rounds by Top Players

Every player heads in the Masters with high hopes. It's all about winning the Green Jacket, and all it takes to get it is four rounds of solid golf.

The downside is that these hopes can be dashed very quickly. All it takes is one really bad round.

A lot of players can tell you all about that after the first full day of action at the Masters. Some of them don't bear big names, but quite a few of them do. For a variety of reasons, a lot of big-name players struggled at Augusta National on Thursday.

Here's a rundown of the most disappointing performances from day one at the Masters.

Adam Scott

First-Round Score: +3

This time last year, Adam Scott was sitting on a first-round 72 at the Masters. Little did any of us know that he was going to get hot and ultimately make a run at winning the Green Jacket.

Scott probably won't be doing that again this year. He was a trendy sleeper pick to win the Masters at the outset of the tournament, but he dug himself a hole by bogeying five of his first nine holes. Had it not been for an eagle on the par-five eighth, the first half of his day would have been a total disaster.

Scott did well to save face after that, as he parred each of the last nine holes. Even still, he's going to have to get hot to get under par on Friday and he could end up missing the cut if he comes out cold again.

One way or another, Scott will not be finished tied for second again. That ship sailed on Thursday.

Luke Donald

First-Round Score: +3

One of these days, Luke Donald is going to win a major. There's a reason he's No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings, and it's because he's a great golfer.

But a three-over 75? Come on now, Luke. You're better than that.

Donald just couldn't get in any kind of groove on Thursday, as he reached only seven greens in regulation and he struggled with his putting at times. He definitely didn't play like the top golfer in the world.

Donald's day could have been worse. At one point it looked like he was going to be disqualified, but the scare turned out to be due to a fax machine error. Bob Harig of ESPN.com has all the details.

Donald may as well have gotten disqualified. He's not winning the Masters this year. So it goes.

Jason Day

First-Round Score: +4

Just like his countryman, Adam Scott, Jason Day opened the Masters with an even 72 and then got hot in the final three rounds to make a serious run at the Green Jacket.

I had high hopes for Day coming into this year's tournament, but a four-over 76 is not going to get it done. 

To be fair, Day is battling an injury. The word from The Sydney Morning Herald is that he has a strained peroneus longus tendon, which apparently is somewhere between your ankle and your foot. It needs several weeks to heal, but he's playing through it anyway.

Well, at this rate Day is going to be able to rest up pretty soon. He's very much in danger of missing the cut.

K.J. Choi

First-Round Score: +5

K.J. Choi finished in the top 10 at the Masters in both 2010 and 2011, so you had to like his chances of making a solid run at another high finish.

That's not going to happen. Choi's putting was all over the place on Thursday, and he ultimately finished his day with a couple bogeys and a double-bogey in his last five holes. 

In the end, Choi finished tied for 83rd on day one.

Choi's first round on Thursday was the exact opposite of his first round in 2011, when he shot a five-under 67. That was the high point of his four days at Augusta, but at least he lasted four days. That's not going to happen this year.