Sungjae Im - the pride of South Korea
What better way to start the first round at the Masters than a birdie at the first? Well a birdie at the first and second. Ok, what better way to start the first round at the Masters than a birdie at the first and second? Well a birdie at the first, second and third! That's exactly what the man from South Korea managed. Three under par after three holes, wow, what a start and he was not in the mood for giving any back on the front 9 either and actually added another one on the par 4 seventh with a great approach shot and another solid putt.
His round was not without issues though - few are at Augusta National, especially around Amen corner. A decent looking shot into the tenth green checked up with spin and rolled back off the green and then his fourth was underhit to leave a long par put which he missed, back to -3. The eleventh hole ended up biting the man from South Korea also, as he bailed out to the left to avoid the water and could not get up and down for the par, back to -2. Fear not though, the plucky Asian managed to repair the Amen corner damage at the 13th hole with a wonderful approach shot and short putt for eagle which set him off on a good trajectory once more. They say it is the par 5s that decide who wears the green jacket come Sunday, so Im's effort which included a par, 2 birdies and an eagle on the par 5s certainly sets the right precedent.
Cam Smith - The Birdie Machine
If you double bogey the first and last hole at Augusta National, realistically the best you can hope for is an even par 72, but more likely would be another peppering of bogeys and a round of 77, 78 or worse. Well it's a good job our friend Cam Smith from Brisbane in Australia doesn't read scripts, as the 28 year old nonchalantly shrugged off the early disappointment and set to work getting those shots back and more. His next 16 holes had an average of a birdie every second hole which is practically unheard of around the undulations of Augusta. Cam is no ordinary youngster though and can read and execute putts better than anybody on the tour today and putting really matters around Augusta. He is in a perfect place now to strike heading into Friday, but he has to watch those mistakes, as two doubles on day one is OK when you have 8 birdies, but there will be days when he may only have two birdies, so he needs to keep that card nice and clean to help his chances of making it to the Butlers cabin on Sunday evening for Mr. Matsuyama to put a jacket on his shoulders.
No doubt Cam has already visualised that very moment and I must say I can kind of see it now myself, his beaming smile and a greasy mullet hanging out the back of his cap while donning the jacket that every golfer in the world would love to have in their wardrobe. This may be one of his greatest chances to win the green jacket too, as he is still relatively new and has not really built up much negative scar tissue relating to Augusta like some other players may have done - think Rory's 2011 meltdown or Sergio's inexplicable 13 on the par 5 15th in 2018, the year after he won the Masters.
Scottie Scheffler - Pressure is for Tyres
The newly crowned world number one in golf showed us for 17 holes exactly why he is the world number one, a blemish on an otherwise flawless card came at the last hole where he took 5 shots to hole out on the par 4 18th hole. It would be very easy for a newly crowned world number one to buckle when facing his first Major as world number one, however Scottie's game has been on point with three wins from five recent starts, and he has brought that form up Magnolia Lane, with an excellent opening round 69, which has him in a tie for third, which is exactly where the American would like to be after his first round. He is patient and will continue to plot his way around trying his best to remain in contention until the back nine on Sunday evening when the real competition begins.
Tiger Woods - No words
Sometimes there are no words. Tiger has once again made an unbelievable comeback and after a workman like first round of 71, he is very much in contention to be the 2022 Masters winner. It is truly like a blockbuster movie watching him overcome the pain barrier to hit shots. He has not played a competitive round in seventeen months and comes back to shoot a gutsy -1 par round. Huge credit should be given to Tiger's mental strength and his backroom team who got him to this point and even if Tiger peters out today with a 77, then it doesn't matter, because for one day he made us all believe in miracles. What if he shoots a 67 instead, which based on how he played yesterday is by all means possible. Let's hope that he makes the cut at least, so that golf lovers all over the world can watch this tale unwind, could he possible win a 6th green jacket to equal Jack's record? My head says no, but my heart says yes - only time will tell.
@Ablaze's Five tipped players
I tipped the players below for the green jacket this week. Let's see how my tips have faired out so far.
Jon Rahm
John has not has his best ever round, but equally he has not had his worst ever round, but sitting on +2 is a very dangerous place to be going into round 2. Another round of 74 simply wont be good enough, so we need John to shoot under par, and a round of 68 or 69 would put him back in the picture.
Current Place: 43rd
Cameron Smith
Cam Smith continues his excellent form and there are few if any people on the planet who are more solid with a putter than Cameron is. He sits on 4 under par, even though he started and ended his round with double bogeys, but the 16 holes in between included 8 birdies, so he is sitting perfectly going into round 2 and given that he shot 4 rounds in the 60s last year, another round in the 60s today is very likely in my opinion, and I reckon he will match today's 68 with another one.
Current Place: 2nd
Collin Morikawa
Another player who did not bring his A game yesterday, yet is only 6 shots back and still very much in the tournament. Widely seen as the best iron player in the business, Collin had some uncharacteristic misses while hitting irons into greens yesterday. We are all capable of having an off day though, and hopefully Collin has gotten his off day out of the way and will bounce back with a round in the 60s today. Realistically he needs to be at least in the red heading into Saturday in order to feature, so he needs a round of 70 or better today and I think(read hope) that he will deliver.
Current Place: 31st
Xander Schauffele
Based on his previous visits to Augusta where he has finished 50th, 2nd, 17th and finally 3rd last year, Xander likes it here. That was not evident yesterday on his way to a very disappointing 74, which included not even one birdie or eagle. He bogeyed two holes and parred the remaining 16, so he never really got it going. Playing the par 5s in Augusta in +1 is just not good enough for a player of his caliber and he really needs find the birdies tomorrow and keep any blemishes at bay, a 69 or better required to get the young man from Hawaii back into contention for the coveted green jacket.
Current Place: 43rd
Tony Finau
Tony had a good day yesterday overall, hitting plenty of great golf shots on his way to a respectable 71 which leaves him sitting in a tie for tenth place on one under par. He will be happy with the par 5s, which he played in -3, but he gave them all back on the par 3s which he played in +3, including a disastrous double bogey on the fourth.
Tony likes Augusta and I expect to see him add a 69 or 70 today setting him up nicely for the weekend.
Current Place: 10th
That's it for today. Thanks for reading.
Peace Out.
I have Cameron Smith backed so fingers crossed.
Same here! I had a win bet on Smith, Rahm and small one on Rory. E/W on Finau/Hoge/Ancer. Man, I love the Masters!
I do well in the golf betting. Had lowry for the open and Garcia for three green jacket. My friend is cleaning up from missed cut betting. Did a sneaky fiver on lowry yesterday evening in the pub. Fingers crossed. We will all be heading to the Boars Head on Tuesday . 🤣
Love this line! Man, I told you in the previous comment, my money is on Smith! If Smith wins this I will be looking back at that comment and regret my decision not to start betting.
I know everyone is talking too much about Tiger, but man that swing looks good.
Again, well put!
Now I am going to pour a beer and watch some Masters. Best of luck to those you put money on!