Thanks for reading and join us again for round two.Rory McIlroy has the opportunity to join a very elite club this week because only three men have successfully defended the Green Jacket.The three current members of that club are Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.What an incentive and what a prospect.Here’s Ewan Murray’s report of the first round.

And that’s it for the first round of the 90th Masters,Rory McIlroy chose the appetizers, starters, main and dessert for Tuesday night’s Champion’s Dinner – and on Thursday he had all but Sam Burns for afters,Only 16 golfers beat par today,That figure might matter because last year Rory McIlroy was the first Masters winner since Tiger Woods in 2005 to not break par in the first round (McIlroy equalled par with a 72, Woods needed 74 blows),And, in all, 25 of the last 30 Masters winners broke 72 in round one.

The difficult conditions today might impact on that trend but, if not, there are now only 16 golfers who can win the Green Jacket this week.-5: Burns (F), McIlroy (F) -3: Kitayama (F), Day (F), Reed (F) -2: Lowry (F), Schauffele (F), Rose (F), Scheffler (17) -1: Li (F), Taylor (F), Fleetwood (F), Campbell (F), Rai (F), Bridgeman (F), Woodland (F)The pair set the pace early in the afternoon with 67s and no-one could catch them.In fact, they are two shots clear of the field.The course dried up throughout the day and it is predicted to continue doing so as the week goes on.Gary Woodland completes a round of 71.

A popular effort for the man who had a brain tumour in 2024 and has suffered PTSD subsequently.Playing partner Robert MacIntyre can only manage a painful 80, but Scottie Scheffler has carded a solid 70.Justin Rose on his round of 70: “I’m a little hot right now, but I’ll look at the bigger picture.I was staying patient, but the course was getting harder and I got the wind wrong a few times.A few miscues, but that’s the nature of the beast here.

Small margins.Overall, a good start to the tournament.There is no real lesson (from the three second placed finishes he has made).I just know I can win here and you just can’t force it.”Scottie Scheffler makes par at 17 to stay at -2.

His approach shot was excellent, but the birdie putt was less assured and only dribbled towards, and not quite to, the hole.He heads to the funnel that is the 18th tee, now entirely in shadow, but for the exact spot Scheffler stands.Like so many others, he drives into sand.Jon Rahm was understandably downbeat after his 78.“It’s a hard golf course,” he said.

“Some of the players might have been able to manage a respectable round, but when you have no feel with the swing whatsoever, it’s just not an easy one.“It sucks to be in this position, to need a Herculean effort the next two days to give myself the sniff of a chance to win.It’s just frustrating.”After the bogey at 17 Justin Rose doesn’t want to drop another shot at 18.But he facing that prospect.

His third shot from under the scoreboard found the front of the green.Unfortunately, the hole has been cut at the back of it.The distant par effort pulls up short and left of the target.It’s not quite a gimme yet he knocks it in.A day of promise ends with him on -2.

Still in it, but he probably thinks it could have been so much better.Justin Rose joins the long list of those who have found the fairway bunkers at 18.His escape shot has flared wide right and settled near the scoreboard.You don’t often see anyone play shots from over there and it will be tricky to save par.Talking of bad scores.

Jon Rahm’s round today was his 37th at Augusta National and his worst (78),A 74 for Ludvig Åberg and guess what? It’s his ninth round at Augusta National and the first time he’s needed that many strokes,Scottie Scheffler’s birdie putt at 15 was a little longer than it first appeared,More like eight feet and it didn’t drop,He remains -2 and three back of the lead.

Rose also misses his putt on 17, but his was for par.-5: Burns (F), McIlroy (F) -3: Kitayama (F), Day (F), Reed (F), Rose (17) -2: Lowry (F), Schauffele (F), Scheffler (15)Justin Rose lines up his approach to 17.He does so in classic Rose fashion, standing behind the ball, one eye closed, using his club to identify that line.The shot itself comes up short of the green and his chip leaves him another testy par putt.Back at 15 Robert MacIntyre, who is +3, has dumped two balls in the water.

He’s so beaten up, he’s stopped grunting naughty words the commentators have to apologise for.His playing partner Scottie Scheffler shows short game skills to set up a six foot birdie try.Playing in the last group, Harris English is on a mini-charge.After a double bogey-6 at the 7th he was +3 for his round, but he’s made five birdies since then, including three in a row at 12, 13 and 14.He’s now -1 with the par-5 15th to come.

Justin Rose needs to dig deep,His tee shot at the par-3 16th found the lower tier and his first putt comes up 6 feet short,On commentary Rich Beem and Andrew Coltart noticed that a zip line camera cast a shadow across him as he was preparing to hit that first putt but there was no reaction from Rose,There are big cheers from elsewhere on the course as Rose lines up the tricky par putt but he holes it,Two nasty putts.

Two potential distractions.All of them negotiated.Chest out, shoulders back, on to the next tee.Let’s have a little reminder of how impressive Justin Rose has been in recent major championships.He was sixth in the 2024 PGA Championship when he spent much of the weekend within two or three shots of the lead.

Two months later, he was tied second in the Open, putting in a performance that would have won other majors, but which was topped by Xander Schauffele.Many thought that was his last hurrah.But no, he led after 18 holes at Augusta last year and then fell back.Again, he was doubted.Again, he bounced back, setting a 72-hole target no-one bettered and only Rory McIlroy equalled.

And since then? He’s won twice on the PGA Tour and starred for Europe in the Ryder Cup.He’s 45 going on 30.Justin Rose has played two magnificent shots into the green at the par-5 15th.But his eagle putt is a nasty, sliding prospect and he can’t help but treat it like something unpleasant he’s found in the garden, all finger tips and nose scrunched up.It dribbles to the right of the hole and he mops up the birdie putt.

He’s back to -4 and has hit 13 of 15 greens in regulation today.As mentioned earlier, the pin position at 14 has fooled many today.Nick Faldo has talked of it being unusual which partly explains it.The putting surface has many swales and few have caught the right ones.Scottie Scheffler just has, however.

He’ll have about 15 feet for birdie shortly.Andy Bull has written about Rory McIlroy’s first round.In the past, it was “like watching a man try to carry a Ming vase across a wet marble floor” but now he’s made it to the other side.Jon Rahm update.It’s not good.

Following those four front nine bogeys, he’s added a double bogey-7 at 15.He’s +6 through 14.Wayne Riley has just said: “We’re in for the greatest Masters ever on Sunday.” He’s talking of the difficulty that trio had playing 13 which is clearly firming up.Scheffler and MacIntyre putted close with their fourth shots, and Woodland scraped a five with a long par putt.

Rose misses his par putt at 14.He exits the green with shoulders back and his head shaking.Back at 13, both Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland left themselves short pitches over the creek to the green with their second shots.Neither one of them hold the green.Their playing partner Robert MacIntyre went for the green with his second and found it.

But guess what? He can’t keep his third short on the green either! The three of them are in the gully at the back of the putting surface,It’s not often you see Justin Rose furious,But his experiences at 14 are getting to him,The chip he is faced with is a nasty one, needing to negotiate a steep front to the green and his ball only just climbs up it,He moves forward quickly to mark it, eyes narrowed, lips pursed.

Justin Rose found the fairway at 14.The pin is in an unusual position on the right and it fools the Augusta veteran.Nick Faldo suggests there is no wind, but the ball comes up short of the humped putting surface and Rose wanders down the fairway huffing and puffing to himself.With his shirt flapping in the breeze, Faldo admits he got it wrong.After his round Rory McIlroy talked of how he has learned to manage expectations.

“I still have high expectations, but my expectations are more ‘Did I make good decisions today? Was I committed? Was I trusting?’ It wasn’t, ‘I’m going to go out and shoot 65 and did I do it?’“It took me a while to focus on the process and the little mini goals of not compounding errors.If I can live up to those expectations, then the scores and the results should take care of themselves.”Birdie putts coming up at 13.Jordan Spieth’s stays up from 10 feet so he remains at -2.Now Justin Rose steps up.

He’s got 2-feet for his birdie and to hit -4, breaking the logjam at -3,He drains it and strides off to the 14th tee with his chin down and his “concentrating hard” face on,-5: Burns (F), McIlroy (F) -4: Rose (13) -3: Kitayama (F), Day (F), Reed (F)Augusta National is looking its very best right now,The light is crisp and clear,The 12th green is currently in the shadow of the canopy of one tree