Masters Cut Line 2018: Latest Projections After Thursday's Leaderboard Analysis

One round doesn't often say a lot about the Masters or any of the other major golf tournaments, but one thing that became quite obvious is that defending champion Sergio Garcia is in big trouble.

Garcia took a 13 on the par-five 15th hole of the opening round, as he hit five balls into the water. The 2017 champion found himself nine over par after shooting an 81 in the first round. His chances of making the cut are slim.

The players with the 50 best scores—ties included—continue playing into the third round. Additionally, any player within 10 strokes of the lead is also allowed to play on. 

It's surprising to see Garcia near the bottom of the scoreboard, but it's not surprising to see Jordan Spieth sitting alone in first place.

Spieth had a scintillating back nine that saw him make five birdies in a row from the 13th hole on, allowing him to get to seven under par, but he had difficulty on the 18th and gave a stroke back. He shot an opening round of 66, marking the ninth time he has led at the Masters at the end of a round.

Here's a link to the leaderboard after the first round.

Tony Finau and Matt Kuchar both shot four-under 68s, and it's surprising to see Finau at that figure after a serious mishap Wednesday.

Finau hit a hole-in-one in the par-three contest Wednesday, and as he celebrated his good fortune by running down the fairway, he dislocated his ankle.

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He put it back into place himself, but there were questions about whether he would be be able to play in the tournament. He tested it out during his practice time, and he seemed to cut down on his swing a bit and performed brilliantly with a four-under 68.

Finau spoke with Scott Van Pelt of ESPN in a televised interview following his round, and he said the pain was "at a 10" on a 1-10 scale when the injury happened. However, after an MRI on Thursday morning, he got the news he was good to go.

"I was able to stay in the moment because of my foot," Finau said. "I had to be aware of it on every swing, and that kept the pressure of playing in the Masters from being a problem."

All of the golfers who are two over par or better fall into the top 50-and-ties requirement, and there are 15 golfers who are not within 10 strokes of the leaders.

However, with another round to go before the cuts are made, the 10-stroke rule isn't too much of a factor.

That's because Spieth and the other contenders could go low again, and it's not unreasonable to think the second-round leader could be at eight or nine under at the end of 36 holes.

If the leader gets to eight under par, the 10-stroke rule would mean all golfers who are not at two over or better would miss the cut if they are not in the top 50.

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Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman and rookie Haotong Li are among the golfers at three under who are close to Spieth. Stenson is one of the biggest hitters and strongest finishers on the tour, while Reed is hungering for his first major championship.

Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Marc Leishman and Phil Mickelson are among the top golfers at two under.

Golfers who are at even par or at one over could go either way. They are still close enough to the lead they could play their way into contention, but if they slip up, they could easily fall outside the line if the leaders get to seven or eight under.

Louis Oosthuizen, Fred Couples and Xander Schauffele are at one under, while Kevin Kisner, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose are at even par.

Tiger Woods is among those at one over par. Woods slipped to three over with a bogey on 12, and if he had not made a challenging putt, he would have slipped to four over. He picked up his game after that, and played the last six holes in two under.

Woods is tied for 29th with Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Jimmy Walker and Hideki Matsuyama.

Those in the critical group at two over include FedEx Cup points leader Justin Thomas, Martin Kaymer and Jon Rahm.