Day 1 at The Masters and Tiger’s in Contention

Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA — November 12, 2020

For the first time ever, The Masters golf tournament is being played in November. A lot of firsts have occurred in 2020 due to the coronavirus. Moved from its original April setting in the hopes of having patrons in attendance at the latter date, unfortunately, did not help.

No roars from the crowds from key spots around the course, no grandstands packed with fans surrounding the greens, no azaleas in bloom, no pimento cheese sandwiches. Just the course and the world’s greatest golfers.

Honorary Starters

The Honorary Starters tradition had Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus arriving at the first tee before sunup to get the 84th Masters underway.

It was announced this week by Club Chairman Fred Ridley that Lee Elder, the first black golfer to play in The Masters, will be added as one of the Honorary Starters in 2021. It was decided to make the addition in April next year to allow invitees to be there and witness Elder’s debut in the tradition.

Early Scoring

The first two groups were to tee off #1 and #10 at 7:00 am. But heavy fog delayed what was going to be a tight window to play due to Daylight Savings Time. Shortly after the second trio of golfers began play, the skies opened up and drenched the course. The groups were recalled and the round was suspended for three hours as lightning, rain and gusty winds assailed the Augusta layout.

Golfers returned to the course at 10:20 am and play resumed. The delay pushed afternoon tee times to 2:02 pm meaning the first round would spill over into Friday morning. Between 10:30 and 11:00, several tournament favorites started their opening rounds on the 10th tee.

10:30 a.m. — Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen
10:41 a.m. — Patrick Reed, Paul Casey, Tony Finau
10:52 a.m. — Tiger Woods, Shane Lowry, Andy Ogletree
11:03 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland, Ian Poulter

Paul Casey birdied the 10th and added three more birdies on his opening nine. After making the turn, an eagle on the par 5-2nd hole and another birdie on #6 put Casey alone atop the leaderboard as darkness halted the round.

The big story of the day was defending champion Tiger Woods. Having not played much in 2020 and when he did Tiger has not played well. All eyes were on him to see how he would fare at the course where he has enjoyed so much success. Birdies on holes 13, 15, and 16 had Woods at -3 at the mid-point of the round. He birdied #1 and then ran off eight straight pars to finish at 4 under and in a solid position to contend.

Other notable morning starters posting low scores were tournament favorite Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Kuchar, Jason Day, Larry Mize in a group at 2 under tied for 21st. Jon Rahm and Rickie Fowler at 3 under. Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed, and Hideki Matsuyama joined Tiger at 4 under.

Webb Simpson and Xander Schauffele finished with scores of 67 and sit two strokes of the current lead at 5 under.

Late Chargers

Justin Thomas was -5 after 10 holes. Matthew Wolff, Adam Scott, Dylan Frittelli currently are 4 under. Rickie Fowler, Bernhard Langer, Justin Rose, and Dustin Johnson had all reached 3 under when play was suspended.

In Trouble

Conditions after the rain were ideal for posting low scores, soft greens accepted shots well, no wind allowed approach shots to be fired at the pins, putts rolled slightly slower and straighter than usual.

Jordan Speith concluded his round at 2 over par and will have to fight to make the cut. Those golfers left on the course when darkness fell may find less favorable conditions when play resumes on Friday.

The 84th Masters Championship from Augusta National Golf Club

First-round scores with anticipated tee times for Friday.

*Started on Back 9