Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia secured the clubhouse lead during a thrilling first round at the US Masters on Thursday.
Marc Leishman: Secures clubhouse lead
Leishman raced to six under par earlier on in the day, with an astonishingly good performance on the back nine. He scored birdies on holes 10, 13, 14, 15 and 16. It was a tremendous response from Leishman, who actually hit a bogey on the first hole of the day.
On an afternoon where the underdogs seemed to thrive, Garcia erased doubts that he would be able to compete at August National. He joined Leishman at the top of the leaderboard, after producing a bogey-free round and a very impressive front nine.
Fred Couples, a former champion here at Augusta National, rolled back the years as he scored birdies on the second, fifth, eighth, 13th and 17th during his first round. His only blemishes on a beautiful afternoon were the bogeys on the par-three sixth and the 18th.
Couples proved once again that there is no substitute for experience on the fast greens at the Masters. After his younger playing partner Dustin Johnson misjudged his put at the par-four tenth, Couples just tapped the ball slightly to his left before allowing it to run down the green and into the hole.
Johnson got his campaign off to a sublime start with birdies at the first and second holes to announce his arrival at Augusta National. Johnson, who has the ideal game to succeed at the Masters, played aggressive golf
throughout and was handsomely rewarded for his efforts.
The highlight of his round came at the par-five 13th, where he holed a magnificent putt to take him to five under par for the day with five holes to play.
Fourteen-year-old Guan Tianlang showed maturity beyond his years at critical times during the day. He finished on one over par for the day, but he had several memorable moments. None more so than his birdie putt off the edge of the green at a packed 18th.
With veteran Ben Crenshaw and the spectators looking on anxiously, Guan read his putt to perfection on a green which troubles the experienced players in the game. Guan also hit a magnificent second shot on the par-four tenth, setting up another exceptional birdie for the young man.
It was also a memorable afternoon for former champion Trevor Immelman, who finished the round in a tie for sixth on four under par.
Immelman has faced considerable adversity since he won the Masters in 2008. However, he made his intentions clear in a bogey-free round on Thursday.
Matt Kuchar announced his candidacy for the Masters title, after he scored five birdies in eight holes midway through his round. He scored impressive birdies on holes seven, eight, nine, 13 and 14. Kuchar is often
associated with consistency and he proved why. At the time writing, his round had yet to be completed.
Also keeping themselves in contention on a low scoring first round were Ricky Fowler who finished on four under par alongside Immelman, Couples, David Lynn and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
Tiger Woods couldn't break into the top ten during his round, which he finished on two under par. Joining him in a tie for 13th are Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, K.J Choi, Tim Clark, Lee Westwood and David Toms.
Just one shot ahead of them in a tie for tenth are Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk and the Australian Adam Scott.
golf365.com