David Lynn's Hot Start Won't Lead to Masters Success

It isn't uncommon for a virtually unknown player to excel early in major tournaments, and that is once again the case at the 2013 Masters as David Lynn has burst out of the gates with a four-under-par first round. As great as it is to see someone different near the top of the leaderboard, Lynn's strong play won't hold up through the weekend.

While only the biggest golf fans are familiar with Lynn, he has actually been around for quite some time. According to his PGATour.com player page, the 39-year-old Lynn turned professional in 1995 and is currently 56th on the money list. 

It may come as a surprise to some that the Englishman actually finished second at last year's PGA Championship. Normally that type of accomplishment would be touted a bit more, but Rory McIlroy won the tournament by eight strokes, so Lloyd was never actually a factor despite his strong performance.

The 2012 PGA Championship was only Lynn's second major tournament appearance on the PGA Tour, but his strong showing ensured that he would qualify for this year's Masters. Lynn is still looking for his first career PGA Tour victory, although he did win the 2004 KLM Open on the European Tour. It's fair to say that breaking into the win column by nabbing the green jacket would be something special and unexpected.

As good as Lynn's first round was, he can't be expected to keep up the pace. Statistically speaking, Lynn doesn't really excel in any particular area. According to PGATour.com, he is 142nd in driving distance, 159th in greens in regulation percentage and 62nd in strokes gained with the putter. Lynn is basically an average player on the tour and he needs to maintain peripherals that are well above average.

It isn't unheard of for a player to perform beyond his means for an entire tournament, but golf fans have seen this story many times before. After the first or second round of a major, there is usually at least one uncommon name near the top. Sometimes that player even manages to remain in the hunt through three rounds, but it is pretty much inevitable that they're going to fall off at some point.

Every player on tour is capable of stringing one or two great rounds together, but it takes a pretty special player to do it for four straight days. Lynn is obviously an excellent, talented golfer because he's on the PGA Tour. In comparison to his counterparts, though, Lynn simply doesn't have the arsenal necessary to keep this run going.

Lynn entered the clubhouse as the lone leader at four-under par and that is nothing to sneeze at. There isn't much pressure attached to the first round, though, because it's difficult to win or lose a tournament on the first day. Lynn at least ensured that he'll be in the hunt through the first half of the tourney, but he didn't accomplish much more than that.

If Lynn is somehow able to stay near the top on Friday, it will be very interesting to see how he handles the weekend. He's a veteran golfer, but he isn't really used to the bright lights being on him. He could potentially be placed in a group with an elite-level star like Tiger Woods and there is no telling how he would react to something like that.

As great of a story as it would be to see Lynn remain in contention and challenge for a green jacket, logic dictates that it simply won't happen. Anything can technically happen in golf, but Lynn winning the Masters would easily be one of the biggest upsets in PGA Tour history.

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