Clubhouse leader Bryson DeChambeau tees off at Augusta National’s 16th hole on day one of the 88th Masters Tournament on Thursday. Image courtesy Augusta National/Thomas Lovelock.
By Rahul Banerji
Bryson DeChambeau fired his way into the clubhouse lead of the 88th Masters at Augusta National on Thursday with a 7 under par 65 and 2022 winner and world number one Scottie Scheffler just one shot behind.
A storm front delayed proceedings at Augusta National Golf Club by over two hours, leaving 27 players out on the course with incomplete rounds including five-time winner Tiger Woods, who was 1 under par after 13 holes.
Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard was provisionally third on 5 under after 15 holes while Max Homa and Danny Willet shared fourth place on 4 under, the 2016 champion from England having carded a 68 while Homa still had five holes to go.
South Korea’s Byeong Hun An celebrated his return to the Masters Tournament with a battling 2-under 70 to share ninth place as he emerged as the leading Asian on Thursday, the PGA Tour said.
US Open winner in 2020 at Winged Foot, DeChambeau opened with three straight birdies and knocked in a further five in his final seven holes against a bogeyed ninth while Scheffler kept a clean card despite winds that gusted through the day.
“Winning at Winged Foot helped me understand how to win big tournaments,” DeChambeau, whose best Masters finish, a tie for 21st, came in 2016 when he was Low Amateur, said later on the event website.
Patient approach
“You need a lot of patience, especially on this course. You feel it’s gettable, you see it’s right in front of you, but it’s just tricky. As my game has progressed, I’ve tried to be a little bit smarter and not try to go for broke and go for every flag.”
On tackling the constantly changing conditions, the LIV Golf star said, “Trying to be a robot is always something I’ve tried to do, but it’s not feasible in a game that is ever-changing.
“It’s a lot of painting an image and trying to execute a shot out there, compared to just hitting the stock shot every time.”
Added Scheffler, the only one of the 62 competing the opening round who was bogey-free and won back to back tournaments coming into Augusta, “Limiting your mistakes is obviously a lot easier said than done. But it’s important, to kind of keep that momentum of the round going.
“Today, when I was in some challenging spots on some tough holes, I did a good job of pitching it up there nice and close. Over all, it was a pretty solid day. You cannot force yourself into making birdies around this course. It just doesn’t really lend itself to that, especially with the high winds.”
The 32-year-old An made seven birdies, including a hat-trick to start his round, against five bogeys at Augusta National, which posed a tricky test with winds swirling all day and gusting strongly at times.
Matsuyama struggles
Fellow Korean Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim was level par after 11 holes and one of the 27 players who did not finish the delayed first round. Si Woo Kim returned a 74 while 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyama struggled to a 76,
“Not bad. It was gusty out there. It wasn’t easy,” said An, who ended the day five strokes back of the clubhouse lead.
“I feel like I played great today, missed some short putts, but obviously it’s very gusty out there. It’s not easy to hit shots but also make some putts on slick greens like this. 2-under is not bad. I think it could have been a lot worse, but I also feel like it could have been a lot better.
“Hopefully the next three days, I’ll be playing a lot better than this.”
The best finish by a Korean at the Masters was a runner-up finish by Sungjae Im in 2020, and An, whose best finish in four previous starts was T33 in 2017, is hoping to enjoy the luck of the draw in hope of emulating, if not improving on Im’s result.
Im stood at 3-over through 14 holes when play was halted and will return Friday morning to complete his first round, before heading back out for his second round.
“Good to finish it today. That’s big,” said An. “It looks quite windy tomorrow, as well, I think, but I don’t think it’ll be as strong as this. We’ll see what it does this afternoon. But I think definitely I got one of the better draws than the worse. This is all the luck you need to get.”
World number two Rory McIlroy, seeking to win his first Masters to complete a career grand slam, opened with a 71.
Also read: Matsuyama eyes second Green Jacket as Tiger’s back at Augusta
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