Masters day one: Justin Rose leads the way with superb 65

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Justin Rose made a mockery of treacherous conditions to card a remarkable 65 and claim a four-shot lead on the opening day of the 85th Masters.

While the majority of the field struggled with greens described as “like glass” by 1991 winner Ian Woosnam and “pretty crispy” by former Open champion Henrik Stenson, Rose overcame a slow start with a sensational burst of scoring at Augusta National.

After playing his first seven holes in two over par, the Olympic gold medallist covered the next 10 in nine under thanks to an eagle on the eighth and birdies on the ninth, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and American Brian Harman were the only other players to break 70 with rounds of 69, while defending champion Dustin Johnson shot 74 and Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau both shot 76.

Tweet of the day

Rory McIlroy did not sound overly sympathetic after hitting his father Gerry in the leg with an errant approach to the seventh during his opening 76.

Quote of the day

“That was the hardest part” – Jack Nicklaus joked with the spectators around the first tee after struggling to bend over sufficiently to get his tee in the ground.

Shot of the day

A fortnight after making a hole-in-one during the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Tommy Fleetwood was at it again on the 16th at Augusta National.

Worst shot of the day

American Robert Streb suffered a dreaded shank on the par-three 12th.

Round of the day

Two over par after seven holes, Justin Rose played the next 10 in nine under to card a remarkable 65.

Statistic of the day

Justin Rose looked to be playing a different golf course to everyone else with his brilliant 65.

Easiest hole

A generous pin position helped the par-five second hole play to average of 4.705, with 37 players making birdie.

Toughest hole

In contrast the par-four 11th yielded just three birdies and played to an average of 4.511.

Weather forecast

Mostly cloudy and more humid. A 40% chance for scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Low: 62F High: 82F Winds: S 10-15 mph.

Key tee times (all BST)

1436 – Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar
1554 – Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa
1836 – Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, Tyler Strafaci

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