Tiger Woods faced the prospect of completing 23 holes in one day as he looked to keep his hopes of a record-equalling sixth Masters title alive on Friday.
Woods was among the 27 players who were unable to finish their first rounds on Thursday at Augusta National after bad weather meant the start of play had been delayed by two-and-a-half hours.
The 15-time major winner managed to complete 13 holes in one under par to lie six shots off the pace set by former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, with pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler just a shot behind following a flawless 66.
Scheffler came into the week with form figures of 1-1-2 and the biggest obstacle to a third win in four starts would appear to be his wife Meredith going into labour with their first child.
“The nursery is not quite ready and we’ve had some issues at our house the last few weeks,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s the exciting part. I think we are definitely underprepared to be parents.
“As far as her going into labour, I wouldn’t say I’m very concerned. We haven’t seen any of the early signs. But pregnancy is weird. It can happen at any time.
“Yeah, [we have] open lines of communication and she can get a hold of me if she needs to. I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
DeChambeau put on a clinic of power and putting, always a good recipe at Augusta National.
“I'm just in a place where I'm repeating a motion, trying to do the same thing over and over again," he said.
He ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, including a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th when his risky shot under a pine tree cleared the water fronting the green and left him 40 feet away.
“It clipped the tree. I hit four pine needles rather than five, and it worked out perfectly,” said DeChambeau.
DeChambeau dropped only one shot, a long three-putt to a back pin on No. 9, and otherwise was flawless. He nearly drove the short par-4 third hole, leaving him a chip-and-putt birdie. He took care of three of the par 5s and got a bonus at the end when he holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.
DeChambeau feels he has settled in with his new life on Saudi-funded LIV Golf, with his equipment and his swing. He is not chasing swing speed like he once did, though he still has it when needed. He says his swing has been the same since that 61-58 weekend he had at LIV Golf Greenbrier last summer.
“He’s always been one of the best putters in the world. When he drives it like he did today – I mean, he drove it really good – and he makes putts, he’s obviously very good,” said Gary Woodland, who played alongside him. “It was a clinic. It was impressive. He didn’t get out of position hardly at all, and he rolled it very, very nice.”
Defending champion Jon Rahm never got any momentum and bogeys on his last two holes sent him to a 73, leaving him eight shots behind.
“Those are some seriously good rounds in conditions like today,” Rahm said. “I haven't made it easy for myself. I'm going to have to start making up ground quickly.”
Rory McIlroy at least didn't shoot himself out of the tournament after one round. In his 10th bid for the final leg of the career Grand Slam, he saved par with a chip from behind the 18th green for a 71, the first time he has opened the Masters with a round under par since 2018.
“I held it together well. It was a little scrappy," McIlroy said. “Probably turned a 3-under into a 1-under there at the end. But overall, still not a bad score. And obviously a lot of golf left to play.”
