Masters Leaderboard 2025 Review of Top Scorecards and Player Stats on Day 1
Justin Rose knows how to find his way to the top of the leaderboard at The Masters.
The Englishman earned the first-round lead at Augusta National Golf Club with a seven-under 65.
Rose has now been in the lead for eight rounds at Augusta, more than 11 different multi-time winners at the Masters, per golf analyst Justin Ray.
Rose rolled in eight birdies and gave just one shot back to the course on the 18th hole to finish three shots ahead of Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg.
Other notable names didn't have great days at Augusta, especially Rory McIlroy, who fell apart on the back nine to finish at even-par.
Masters Leaderboard
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Justin Rose (-7)
Scottie Scheffler (-4)
Ludvig Aberg (-4)
Corey Conners (-4)
Tyrrell Hatton (-3)
Bryson DeChambeau (-3)
Aaron Rai (-2)
Harris English (-2)
Jason Day (-2)
Akshay Bhatia (-2)
Full leaderboard can be found on Masters.com.
Justin Rose Owns Three Shot Lead
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Rose shot in the 60s for the fourth time in the last six first rounds at Augusta.
The opening-round 65 matched Rose's best Thursday score from 2021.
The Englishman has to hope his weekend at Augusta goes much better than it did in 2021, when he shot the next three rounds in the 70s.
A regression is likely, though, based on Rose's history. He didn't shoot another round in the 60s after the last three openers that produced a score in the 60s.
That trend can be broken if Rose continues to roll in birdies, like he did on Thursday.
Rose dominated the front nine with birdies on the first three holes as well as Nos. 8 and 9. He added birdies on the 10th, 15th and 16th holes before he dropped a shot at the 18th.
A strong second round is needed from Rose so that he can fend off the impending challenge from reigning champion Scottie Scheffler and last year's second-place finisher Ludvig Aberg.
Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg Keep Up Augusta Momentum
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Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg might do battle on Sunday for the second straight year.
Scheffler and Aberg both shot four-under 68s to create some separation from the rest of the field.
Scheffler, the two-time Masters champion, produced four birdies and 14 pars at the start of his second title defense at Augusta.
Aberg joined Scheffler and Corey Conners at four-under with a birdie on the 18th hole. The Swede rolled in four birdies on his last six holes.
Scheffler started in a similar fashion last year with a 66, but Aberg did not appear near the top of the leaderboard until the weekend.
The Swede improved five strokes in his first round compared to last year.
A few more rounds in the 60s for both players will put them at the top of the list of potential winners come Sunday.
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Rory Mcilroy Falls Apart Toward End of Round
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Rory McIlroy tumbled down the leaderboard with two horrendous holes on the back nine.
The Northern Irishman carded double bogeys on the par-five 15th and par-four 17th to drop from a tie for second down to tie for 26th.
McIlroy played well up until he found the water on the 15th hole, as he had four birdies and 10 pars across the first 14 holes.
McIlroy isn't out of contention for his first green jacket yet, but he needs a strong response on Friday to bounce back.
He is more than capable of going low ay Augusta. He has six rounds of 66 or lower at the course, including his final-round 64 from 2022 that landed him second place.
The one thing McIlroy can't afford is a continuation of Thursday's poor finish. That could put him in danger of missing the cut.
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