Masters TV Schedule 2015: Definitive Coverage and Live Stream Guide for Friday
Everything went Jordan Spieth's way during Round 1 of the 2015 Masters, but will that trend continue Friday?
Let's not take anything away from the 21-year-old phenom—he was absolutely brilliant Thursday. Although, some good fortune within Amen Corner certainly helped. After all, it's not every day a player blocks a tee shot on the 13th hole only for his ball to bounce off the pines and back into the fairway, setting up a birdie.
Golf is a tricky sport, and sometimes it takes a mixture of luck and skill to emerge victorious. Spieth had a perfect blend of that on Day 1, and the end result was an eight-under 64 and a three-stroke lead over the field. If he can repeat that performance Friday, a green jacket will be well within his grasp.
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As we await the second round of the year's first major to commence, let's take a look at the tournament's updated leaderboard and all of Friday's essential viewing information.
Updated Leaderboard
Friday's Viewing Information
Time: 3-7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Masters.com and CBSSports.com
Thursday Recap
We already touched on Spieth stealing the show Thursday, but looking at his stats from the day paints a picture of just how well-rounded a performance he put together. Through 18 holes, the phenom hit 10 of a possible 14 fairways, 15 greens in regulation and recorded just 26 putts. That's a winning formula.
Following his blistering round, Spieth had this to say about his good fortune during a press conference, via Mike McAllister of PGATour.com:
"The easiest thing to do is just to be OK and laugh [the lucky shots] off. The hardest thing to do is grind and try and take advantage of them and pick that next shot or that next putt that's going to take advantage and turn that into a birdie.
That's what we did a really good job of today.
"
So, with everything going Spieth's way, who played well enough to keep up?
A quartet of players reached the clubhouse at five under par for the day. Charley Hoffman, Justin Rose, Ernie Els and Jason Day each recorded a 67, while Russell Henley and Sergio Garcia finished one stroke behind that group with a four-under 68.
In fact, due to the pristine scoring conditions at Augusta National Thursday, a total of 30 players were able to finish Round 1 in the red. Among them was world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.
More hype than usual surrounded McIlroy on Day 1 of the Masters, as a win at Augusta this year would complete his career Grand Slam—a feat only six golfers had previously accomplished. The Northern Irishman played a smart, patient game Thursday, avoiding big risks and letting the birdie opportunities come to him. The end result was a one-under 71.
That was a solid start for McIlroy, as a 71 was enough to keep him in contention and provide some momentum and confidence going forward. With that nerve-racking opening round in the books, he can now aim for some lower numbers going forward.
One player who generated just as much hype as McIlroy on Day 1 of the Masters was former world No. 1 Tiger Woods. Making his return to action following a rash of injuries, swing changes and yips around the green, no one knew exactly what to expect from Woods in Round 1. The end result was a one-over 73.
Sure, that's not an impressive round for a player with Woods' talent level, but it was exactly what he needed to kick off the tournament. He was dealing with a bevy of pressure and handled it nicely, avoiding any huge hiccups—aside for some errant shots on the ninth hole—and keeping big numbers off his scorecard as a result.
Round 1 likely provided Woods with some additional confidence in his game, and we shouldn't be surprised if he builds upon that on Day 2, makes a move up the leaderboard and puts himself into contention heading into the weekend.
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