Masters 2015 Leaderboard: Dissecting Results, Standings from Thursday's Action
Plenty of hype surrounded 21-year-old phenom Jordan Spieth in the days leading up to the 2015 Masters Tournament, and he delivered in a big way.
The world No. 4 was absolutely on fire Thursday, firing an eight-under 64 to lead the field by three strokes through 18 holes. Spieth's score missed the course record at Augusta National and the low round for a major tournament by just one stroke.
Chasing Spieth is a quartet of golfers at five-under par, as Charley Hoffman, Justin Rose, Ernie Els and Jason Day each finished the first 18 holes with a 67. Although, they aren't the only ones in striking distance, as pristine Georgia weather provided some great scoring conditions, and the end result was 30 players under par after Round 1.
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Here's a look at the tournament's updated leaderboard following the Day 1 action:
While there were some impressive numbers posted Thursday, Spieth absolutely stole the show.
During his front nine, he was steady off the tee, his approach shots boasted pinpoint accuracy and he was surgical on the green. Those fine attributes led to four birdies and five pars to go out in 32. Spieth was just getting warmed up.
Following a pair of birdies to finish the front nine, Spieth continued his onslaught on Augusta National, recording birdies on four of his next five holes to reach eight under on the day. Unfortunately, struggles around the green at the par-five 15th led to a bogey, but Spieth rebounded with a birdie on 18 to get back to the eight-under mark.
After sinking nine birdies on the day, Spieth had this brief comment following his round, per PGATour.com: "I played well last year, but I never broke 70."
That's a very scary thought, as he played well enough to finish tied for second in 2014 with a final score of five under.
Rose found himself in the clubhouse as the Masters leader early in the day after shooting at brilliant 67. He began with a trio of birdies on the front nine and went on to record three more on the back side. He lost a stroke with a bogey at the par-four 11th, but he was solid overall.
After his round, the world No. 11 spoke of how playing with defending champion Bubba Watson—who shot one under on the day—helped his game:
The other three players tied with Rose at five under each had interesting elements to their rounds Thursday. Hoffman delighted onlookers with an eagle on the par-five 15th, going four under in his final four holes. Day began slowly with a streak of pars, but he rattled off five consecutive birdies on the back nine. Els produced a very solid round and proved he could still hang with the world's best at the age of 45.
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy got off to a nice start Thursday, shooting a one-under 71 to begin his quest for the career Grand Slam. He played a patient, conservative round, taking advantage of the player-friendly par fives on the back nine to help his round along.
McIlroy was solid off the tee, hitting 13 of a possible 14 fairways Thursday, but he did miss out on scoring opportunities from close range.
He elaborated during an interview with Brian Wacker of PGATour.com: "It was good to get into red numbers after day one, and I feel with the way I'm driving the ball, if I can keep doing that and just be a little more patient with my iron play and give myself more opportunities, I'll hope to be right there at the end of the week."
A former world No. 1 was also under the microscope Thursday, as Tiger Woods returned to action. He began with an ominous start, bogeying the par-four first; however, he bounced right back with a birdie on the par-five second. An up-and-down front nine concluded with a one-over 37, and following an even-par 36 on the back, he finished the day with a 73.
One-over par isn't a great start for Woods, but it could have been a lot worse considering his health issues, swing alterations and recent yips around the green. He could have posted a monster number Thursday but played within himself—his only major hiccup was a couple of errant shots on hole No. 9—and finished with a respectable score.
This is the point where things get interesting. If Woods was able to build his confidence during Round 1, he could begin to build momentum and make a run up the leaderboard—remember when that was a weekly occurrence?
According to Weather.com, scoring conditions could be nice again Friday, as the expected temperature is 88 degrees with just a 20 percent chance of showers and a 12 mph wind. If that's the case, players will have to go pretty low to stay above the cut line.
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