Masters 2015: Complete Analysis of Thursday Leaderboard
An action-packed Day 1 of the 2015 Masters is in the books as the sun sets on Thursday, and the low scores across the board could be a sign of things to come for the weekend.
As so many expected entering his second Masters, Jordan Spieth stuck his neck out in front early with a jaw-dropping round of 64. But viewers weren't at a shortage of spectacular early rounds, with 11 players shooting below 70 on the day and 30 golfers below par.
Here's a complete look at the Day 1 leaderboard:
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The opening round at Augusta National is often more than anything an opportunity for golfers to feel out the stage and the course while hoping to discover their game before the weekend. That showed, with many of the big stars finishing around the par line. But one competitor had no such plans.
Spieth began play looking intent to avenge his close second-place finish from a year ago, shooting a bogey-free four under for the front nine to finish three strokes ahead of the pack. He was off the mark on one hole—a par-five No. 15 he bogeyed—but preceded that with six birdies in seven holes. Take a look at his scorecard:
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 32 | |
| Total | -5 | -5 | -6 | -7 | -8 | -7 | -7 | -7 | -8 | -8 | |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 72 |
| Score | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 36 | 64 |
He failed to become the youngest Masters winner last year but is picking up some small accolades after Thursday, per ESPN Stats and Info:
With every passing shot from Spieth brought into viewers' minds the idea of him running away with this tournament, even from Day 1. Every shot bred conviction and expertise, knowing when to attack the flag stick or when to lay it up safely.
Amanda Balionis of PGAtour.com let in on a potential secret of Spieth's:
Of course, Spieth had plenty of company in the mid-60s on Thursday. A four-way tie followed him three strokes back, with Jason Day, Justin Rose, Charley Hoffman and Ernie Els filling the group who shot a 67 on the day.
Hoffman turned some heads early by emerging from the morning duo to the clubhouse lead, but it was short-lived after Els and others made their surges in the afternoon. It remains to be seen whether they'll stick around for the weekend, but Day's early success should be a sign of things to come, per Gary Williams of Golf Channel:
With due respect to the leaders, nobody's first round was followed quite like Tiger Woods as he returns for his first Masters in two years and his first competitive golf in nine weeks. And with the inevitably tempered expectations in mind, Woods showed flashes of his old self.
Tiger shot a one-over 73 for the day, constantly relying on his short game to save him from poor tee shots and errant swings—a reversal from his usual game. Every self-deprecating shot by Woods was followed by an approach shot that wowed the patrons, leaving Shane Bacon impressed:
He may be nine shots off Spieth's lead, but contending for his fifth green jacket was never expected of Woods. Simply seeing him playing to—or near—par is a welcomed sight and enough to believe he may make something of the weekend after all.
Another former Augusta great was able to get below par but not one most would expect. Tom Watson shot below par at the Masters for the first time since 2010, putting himself in position to make the cut for the first time since then as well.
ESPN's Jason Sobel made a creative tie between Watson and two of the stars of Thursday:
As for the big favorites, many were simply trying to avoid catastrophe and post a score that doesn't limit them moving forward. Rory McIlroy and two-time champion Bubba Watson both shot one under for the day, while Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson each got to two under with up-and-down rounds.
With months of pressure heaped upon him, McIlroy struggled to find his flow early on and didn't get below par until the 15th hole. If he's lucky, he'll be able to simply forget about what's at stake—winning a third straight major and completing the career Grand Slam—and just play, as he told The Guardian's Ewan Murray:
While McIlroy wasn't his usual self, Mickelson certainly was. In typical Lefty fashion, he made just four pars on the front nine and needed an eagle to offset three bogeys—which included a key save for bogey on No. 17 to avoid a costly late slip.
As he chases his fourth green jacket, Mickelson is right in his element and putted well through some wind in the afternoon. If he can keep that up and turn Friday's tee time with McIlroy into a birdie contest, then look out, leaderboard.
But if the 21-year-old American out of Texas doesn't slow down, anything that McIlroy or Mickelson or anyone else does may be all for naught.
In one round, Spieth reached the eight-under score that Watson won the entire tournament with last year. Different years breed different scores due to weather, but reaching that in one round is nonetheless jarring.
With no more than 20 percent chance of rain all weekend at Augusta and winds under 13 mph per Weather.com, Mother Nature doesn't figure to get in Spieth's way throughout the weekend.
Can anything else?
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