AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose was runner-up at the Masters in 2015 and ’17.
Thursday, he was second to none.
Rose was as pristine at Augusta National as the postcard day, making birdie on his first three holes before collecting five more on his way to a seven-under-par 65 that put him atop the leaderboard.
“I feel like I’ve played well enough to win this tournament. I just feel like I don’t have the jacket to prove it,” said Rose, whose 65 matched his career-best round at the Masters.
Rose has finished among the top 25 in 14 of his first 18 appearances at the Masters.
History indicates finishing the first round in red numbers is important, as the last 19 Masters champions were under par in their Thursday rounds. Rose got to eight under before closing with a bogey on 18.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, looking to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win green jackets in consecutive years, shot 68.
Rain early in the week gave way to sunny skies, and Augusta responded accordingly.
“I had a feeling the golf course was going to get pretty firm,” Scheffler said. “The areas to hit your irons out here are pretty small and they get even smaller when the greens are firm, so there’s definitely some challenge to the golf course today, and I’m sure that’ll continue as the week goes on.”
Two-time champion Bernhard Langer, playing in his 41st and final Masters, shot 74 and was particularly pleased because he was hitting hybrids and long irons into holes where younger players were hitting 8 and 9 irons.
“The atmosphere was fantastic,” said Langer, 67. “I got lots of standing ovations all over the place, starting on No. 1 and many other holes. People seem to really appreciate that I’ve been here for 40-odd years and what I’ve achieved, not just here, but in my golf career. The patrons appreciate that, and it was nice to see.”
The shot of the day came on 14, when Fred Couples used a rescue club on his approach from 186 yards and watched it land softly and roll down a ridge in the middle of the green and into the cup.
“I thought I had enough to get over there and then they went crazy,” said Couples, 65, who shot a one-under par 71 to become the second-oldest man to shoot under par at the Masters.
Nick Dunlap had a lousy day. The 2024 PGA Tour rookie of the year made a triple-bogey seven on No. 5, and had double-bogeys on holes 11, 12, 16 and 18. He finished with a 90, the worst round at the Masters since Ben Crenshaw shot a 91 in 2015.
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