Spieth says the Masters is his favorite golf tournament because it requires him to use his imagination, and he picked up Thursday right where he left off last April, when he opened with a 64, followed by rounds of 66, 70 and 70 for a total of 270, tying Tiger’s 1997 performance for the lowest score in Masters history.
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(AP Photo/Matt Slocum). Shane Lowry, of Ireland, walks off the 18th the hole after putting out during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Augusta, Ga.
In the first round of the 80th Masters on Thursday, Johnson finished 2-over on the par 5s.
“He’s very, very comfortable here”, McIlroy said of defending champion Spieth.
Woods, of course, is sitting out this year’s Masters while he recovers from back surgery.
Despite a bogey at the last following a trip into a greenside bunker, McIlroy was happy with his position going into Friday’s second round, when he will tee off at 4:05pm Irish time.
“Yeah, I definitely could make that argument”, Spieth said. There are going to be a lot of different birdies, bogeys and everything in between.
Asked if the 66 was a statement to anyone questioning the state of his game, Spieth said, “If we continue what we’re doing right now and it goes our way, then that would be a fantastic statement to have made”. The conditions to which the Texan referred, with winds gusting in increasing strength through the day, meant nobody in the afternoon wave was likely to head him.
The battle among the modern “Big Three” and other top players expected to contend did not take shape.
Rickie Fowler’s pursuit of his first major title got off to a rocky start, with a drive into the trees leading to a double-bogey at No. 1.
Day’s troubles began when he three-putted for bogey on the par-5 15th, pulled his tee shot into the water on the par-3 16th for a triple bogey and then sailed the green on the 17th and dropped another shot.
Danny Lee, of New Zealand, reacts after missing a birdie putt on the 13th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Augusta, Ga.
“It could happen to anyone”, Day said. The par threes were tough but I played the par fives the way I wanted to.
“I wouldn’t be too concerned about me outdriving you too much, ” Player replied, “because you did it to me for 50 damn years”.
Four-times major champion McIlroy needs only the Masters to complete the career grand slam of all four majors.
“It was one of my better starts at Augusta”.
“If someone had given me 70 on the first tee I probably would have taken it”, said McIlroy, who was seven behind Spieth after an opening 71 previous year. “It’s a place that just as soon as I get inside the gates, I enjoy”.
Day put a similarly courageous face on his back nine of 41 after his hopes of a second major title and third win in succession suffered a massive blow.
Fowler is one stroke behind early leader Bernd Wiesberger of Austria and part of a group that also includes 66-year-old Tom Watson, playing in his final Masters.
His sextuple bogey is the worst score on the first hole at the Masters, beating the old mark by two strokes. Or that he was hearing questions about what was wrong with his game from not having seriously contended in the last two months.
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“That was a flawless round of golf”, said Paul Casey, who played with Spieth and posted a solid 69. “I really tried to focus on my routine and I did a great job today”.
