Altogether, the field averaged 74.5 strokes and of the 12 players who broke par, seven have never recorded a top-10 at the Masters.
The other 87 participants in the 2021 Masters Tournament were probably unsure what course Justin Rose played Thursday in the first round.
Surely, it was not Augusta National.
The Englishman scorched the layout in 65 strokes to open a four-shot lead. There are 54 holes remaining, but the former World No. 1 is in terrific shape to claim his second major championship title.
The scoring was much more difficult for everyone else. Altogether, the field averaged 74.5 strokes and of the 12 players who broke par, seven have never recorded a top-10 at the Masters. They’ll have to hope Rose fades or find a way to make a charge in an unrelenting, exacting examination.
Here are five things we observed during the opening round.
Justin Rose went on a blitz to finish his round Thursday at Augusta National to hold a four-shot lead.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Justin Rose was just another name in the middle of the leaderboard late on Thursday afternoon, his score of 2 over through seven holes as dull as the gray skies above.
Then the Englishman who has been so close to slipping on the green jacket lit up the famous white scoreboards with plenty of red numbers.
In a 10-hole stretch ignited by an eagle from short range on the par-5 eighth, Rose was 9 under on a firm and fast course that was causing fits for most everyone else and he soared to the lead after the first round of the 85th Masters.
Rose went eagle-birdie-birdie-par-birdie-birdie-par-birdie-birdie-birdie-par to finish his round of 7-under-par 65 and left the Augusta National Golf Club’s grounds with a four-shot lead.
It was his career best by two shots at Augusta National in 59 rounds and 9.5 shot better than the field average.
“I kind of knew 2 over through 7 is not the end of the world, but also knew you’re going in the wrong direction,” Rose said. “I didn’t hit the panic button, but I reset just prior to that and thought if I can get myself back around even-par, that would be a good day’s work.”
Well, it became a great day’s work.
“I just got on a great run and was just trying to stay out of my own way and just try to get it to the clubhouse and keep doing what I was doing,” he said. “I putted the ball beautifully and read the greens unbelievably well. If you had said to me walking up the eighth hole (I’d shoot 65), I’d have said no chance, this course is playing a little too tricky for that. But it’s incredible. It’s a good reminder that you just never know what can happen out there, just to stick with it on the golf course.”
Four shots back in second were Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama, who is trying to complete a Land of the Rising Sun major double at Augusta National. Last week, 17-year-old Tsubasa Kajitani of Japan defeated Emilia Migliaccio on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the second Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The 29-year-old Hideki Matsuyama, the best golfer from golf-crazy Japan who is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour and eight-time winner on the japan Golf Tour, could become the first male player from Japan to win a major.
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Two women from Japan have won majors – Hisako Higuchi (1977 LPGA Championship) and Hinako Shibuno (2019 Women’s British Open).
In at 70 and five shots back were 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, Will Zalatoris (who was ranked 483rd exactly one year ago), 2012 U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Defending champion and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who shattered scoring records en route to winning the Masters in November, opened with a 74.
Johnson was joined at 74 by four-time major winner Brooks Koepka and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson. Others over par included Lee Westwood (78), Jason Day (77), four-time major champ Rory McIlroy (76), reigning U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau (76) and 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia (76).
Rose, 40, who finished in a tie for second in 2015 and lost in a playoff to Garcia in 2017, took the first-round lead at the Masters for the fourth time. He did so on a windswept day when the scoring average was north of 74.5. And he did so in his first tournament since back spasms forced him to withdraw in the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational five weeks ago.
Rose has been struggling with his form since golf returned in June following a 13-week break due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. In 19 starts worldwide, he’s mustered just three top-10s. The 2013 U.S. Open winner at Merion, who has 10 PGA Tour titles and eight European Tour victories, has fallen to 41st in the official world golf rankings, his lowest mark since 2010.
Justin Rose hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the first round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
But he’s gone back to coach Sean Foley and there were few struggles in Thursday’s first round. In his 10-hole blitz, he made an eagle putt from 10 feet and birdie putts from four, 25, six, three, eight, 20 and four feet.
“I didn’t know where my game was coming into this week,” Rose said. “I’ve been working hard, seeing a lot of improvement on the range. The start was slow. But experience kicked in. I knew it was a tough day.”
Now he has to deal with having the lead, but his expectations will remain the same.
“That’s going to be the trick the rest of the week,” Rose said. “Hopefully you can just run off instinct a little bit. I’ve competed in these big tournaments quite a few times, and I’ve got one of them to my name, but we’re looking for more.
“I think to keep the expectations relatively low even in this situation is not a bad thing for me for the remainder of the week and just keep it one shot at a time, keep committing on this golf course.”
Hideki Matsuyama, ranked 25th in the world, is 0-for-31 in major championships as a professional and has not won anywhere in the world since 2017.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Land of the Rising Sun could pull a major double at Augusta National Golf Club.
Last week, 17-year-old Tsubasa Kajitani of Japan defeated Emilia Migliaccio on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the second Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Five days later, 29-year-old Hideki Matsuyama, the best golfer from golf-crazy Japan, grabbed a share of the lead among the early finishers in Thursday’s first round of the 85th Masters.
Matsuyama, a 5-time winner on the PGA Tour and 8-time winner on the japan Golf Tour, signed for a 3-under-par 69 to join Brian Harman at the top of the famous white scoreboards. Matsuyama eagled the eighth hole and birdied the 13th to reach 4 under but bogeyed the 17th.
He could become the first male player from Japan to win a major. Two women from Japan have won majors – Hisako Higuchi (1977 LPGA Championship) and Hinako Shibuno (2019 Women’s British Open).
“What she did was fantastic,” Matsuyama said of Kajitani’s victory. “I wish I could have seen it. I was playing down in Texas, so I wasn’t able to see her play, but hat’s off to her.
“Hopefully, I can follow in her footsteps and make Japan proud.”
In at 70 were 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, Will Zalatoris (who was ranked 483rd exactly one year ago), 2012 U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
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Defending champion and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who shattered scoring records en route to winning the Masters in November, opened with a 74.
“I felt like I played pretty well and got it around pretty well,” Johnson said. “I feel like I’m driving it good and putting it good. Just need to dial the irons in a little bit.”
Johnson was joined at 74 by four-time major winner Brooks Koepka and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson. Others over-par included Lee Westwood (78), Jason Day (77), four-time major champion Rory McIlroy (76) and 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia (76).
Matsuyama, ranked 25th in the world, is 0-for-31 in major championships as a professional and has not won anywhere in the world since 2017. He has seven top-10s in majors, including finishing fifth in the 2015 Masters and tying for seventh in 2016. He also tied for 11th in 2017 and tied for 13th in 2020.
The putter has been his nemesis – he took 29 putts and three-putted the 17th from 15 feet above the hole for his lone bogey. He hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation and 10 of 14 fairways in regulation.
“The greens were firm and fast,” he said. “It was very important to hit your second shot on the proper side of the pin, and I was able to do that. I felt very good about my round today.
“It’s my 10th year (at the Masters), but I’ve never seen the greens so firm and fast. So, it was like a new course for me playing today, and I was fortunate to get it around well.”
Harman tied for third in the Players and tied for fifth in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in his past two starts to earn an invitation to the Masters.
“I think there’s still plenty of room in the game for a guy like me,” Harman said. “I don’t make any bones about not being able to carry it 300, but I don’t think you have to.”
As Hideki Matsuyama found out during his final round at the Valero Texas Open, the most painful Texas golf obstacle of all is fire ants.
SAN ANTONIO — There are numerous nuances that make golf in Texas a little different than elsewhere.
Bermuda that can mess with the world’s best. Consistent breezes typically originating in the Gulf of Mexico. Knotty live oaks that reach far and wide through undulating Hill Country fairways.
And as Hideki Matsuyama found out during his final round on Sunday at the Valero Texas Open, the most painful obstacle of all — fire ants.
Matsuyama opened his final round on the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course with a pair of birdies on his first four holes to get back on the leaderboard. He gave one back on the sixth hole but looked in good position on the par-5 No. 8 when his second shot rolled into thick grass just off the green. Matsuyama, who at the time was 3 under for the tournament, chipped from 30 yards away, giving himself a nice look at birdie.
Hideki Matsuyama lines up a putt on the 12th hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Soon after, though, Matsuyama sprung from the grass, wiping the bottom of his white pants. He soon realized he’d been standing in a pile of fire ants, a hazard that can leave a lasting impression.
As Sung Kang chipped and Graeme McDowell putted, Matsuyama sat just off the green, trying mightily to wipe the ants away while pulling his shoes and socks off in the process.
After finally gathering himself, Matsuyama burned the edge on a 10-foot birdie putt and was tapped in for par. He followed with bogeys on each of the next two holes.
ICYMI: Hideki Matsuyama pulled off his shoes and socks after getting bitten by fire ants on No. 8. He missed his birdie putt and bogeyed the next two holes — likely with wet feet. @valerotxopenpic.twitter.com/EbY4OsSiTk
USGA Decision 23/5 specifically designates an ant hill as a loose impediment. That’s good news for players outside of penalty areas, who may remove loose impediments without penalty.
Under Rule 23-1, however, a player may neither touch nor remove any loose impediment in the same penalty area as the ball. If he does so, the penalty is loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play.
Ants on the Ball
Insects and insect-like animals, including ants, are also treated as loose impediments, according to Decision 23-1/5.
Within penalty areas, therefore, ants may not be touched or removed from the ball. Pursuant to Decision 23-1/5.5, however, a player may wave a hand or other item near the ball to try to get a crawling animal off of the ball. Whether such an action would cause an ant to leave the ball is questionable.
Abnormal Ground Conditions
When abnormal ground conditions interfere with a player’s ball he is permitted relief without penalty, even when the ball is in a penalty area. Although abnormal conditions may include a “hole, cast or runway … made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird,” ants and ant hills are not included within the definition abnormal ground conditions.
Local Rules
A player’s only hope of relief from ants or an ant hill in a penalty area is via a local rule. Decision 33-8/22 notes that certain ant hills are “conical in shape and hard,” in which case a local rule designating such areas as ground under repair may be appropriate. Ground under repair is a type of abnormal ground condition, allowing for relief without penalty.
The USGA decision also suggests that courses offer a local rule permitting relief from areas near fire ant holes. Because fire ant bites are painful and potentially serious, the ants’ appearance may be treated as a dangerous situation, allowing free relief pursuant to Decision 1-4/10.
We look at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open odds, and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions to win.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale will look quite different this year with only 5,000 fans allowed on the grounds per day due to COVID-19 protocols. Still, a star-studded field is in attendance during the week of Super Bowl LV. Below, we look at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open odds, and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions to win.
The field includes seven of the top-10 golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings, as Webb Simpson tries to defend his 2020 title. Dustin Johnson (No. 2) and Bryson DeChambeau (No. 5) are competing in the European Tour’s Saudi International.
2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open betting picks – Favorite
Matsuyama, who won here in 2016 and 2017, shares just the sixth-best odds this week. At No. 19, he’s the 12th-best golfer in the field by the measure of the Golfweek rankings. He finished just T-53 last week at the Farmers Insurance Open following a T-19 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Matsuyama struggled in all areas last week, but he’s averaging 1.51 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green through 29 measured rounds on the 2020-21 PGA Tour season. He has been undone by 0.47 strokes lost per round with the putter. A return to a venue where he has had considerable success on the greens presents a get-right spot.
Matsuyama leads those in the field with a minimum of five rounds played at TPC Scottsdale with 2.87 strokes gained on the field per round. He tied for 16th here last year with 1.93 SG: Tee-to-Green and 1.50 SG: Approach per round. He lost 0.21 strokes per round putting.
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2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open betting picks – Contender
Russell Henley (+6600)
Henley took last week off following a missed cut at the American Express in California. He previously tied for 11th at the Sony Open.
The 24th-ranked golfer in the Golfweek rankings played some of his best golf late last summer into the fall. Four of his six top-10 finishes in 2020 came between mid-August and late October. He’s 13th among all golfers with 1.69 SG: Tee-to-Green on the 2020-21 season.
The three-time PGA Tour winner missed the cut in four of the last seven runnings of this event, but he also has finishes of T-15 (2019) and T-16 (2017) mixed in. He has averaged 0.14 strokes gained on the field over 24 career rounds at TPC Scottsdale.
2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open betting picks – Long shot
Dylan Frittelli (+12500)
Frittelli is 96th in the Golfweek rankings following a T-53 finish last week. It was his first event of 2021 after he finished his 2020 schedule with a third-place finish in his home country’s South African Open three weeks after his surprise T-5 finish at the 2020 Masters.
He played this event for the first time last year and finished just T-63 with 1.81 strokes lost per round from tee-to-green and 1.34 strokes lost off-the-tee. He’s gaining strokes in both of those areas through 20 measured rounds (26 total) on the 2020-21 season.
His lone PGA Tour victory to date came at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run. The courses grade similarly with an emphasis on driving accuracy.
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Matsuyama is now T-10 after carding a 72 on Saturday: his highest score of the tournament by 4 strokes.
Going into Saturday’s action, Hideki Matsuyama had been cruising along with back-to-back 4-under 68s at Augusta National. His second-round effort on Friday was bogey-free. The same cannot be said of his third round.
Matsuyama committed four bogeys, all of them on par-4 holes (Nos. 5, 9, 10 and 17). These errors nullified his four birdies, leaving him T-10 with an even-par 72.
“Yeah, today I really didn’t play my best golf,” Matsuyama said. “I wasn’t in control of my game. But hopefully that’ll turn around tomorrow and I’ll do my best.”
The 28-year old finds himself in big-name company on the leaderboard, as he is tied with Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood. McIlroy in particular has been clawing up the rankings, scoring 66 and 67 after a disastrous opening-round 75. Time will tell if Matsuyama can return to form and make some kind of Sunday charge.
Carlos Ortiz held off Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama to win the Vivint Houston Open at Memorial Park on Sunday.
Consider 118 a lucky number for Carlos Ortiz.
The veteran from Guadalajara, Mexico, needed that many PGA Tour events to finally capture his first title, but it was a special one — his 65 on Sunday was enough to edge Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama and capture the Vivint Houston Open.
Ortiz, who played collegiately at North Texas, had been showing signs he was ready to break through, making three cuts in five starts this season, but hadn’t cracked the top 30 in any event. He came into Houston ranked 160th in the Official World Golf Ranking (and 136 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings), but looked surprisingly comfortable on the front as he fired a bogey-free 32 to pull ahead. He shot a 65 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 13 under.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s goal was to get his game in top gear with the Masters on the near horizon. Consider Johnson’s motor up and running.
The World No. 1 missed a few chances down the stretch, but he proved he’s ready to contend for his first green jacket next week. Johnson shot a 65, although he did miss chances on Nos. 16 and 17 that would have pulled him event with Ortiz.
Hideki Matsuyama didn’t look like he’d be a threat to break a long drought after posting two rounds of even-par to open the tournament, but after a 66 on Saturday, he was aggressive all Sunday in pulling into a tie for the lead.
Matsuyama, who last won at the 2017 WGC-FedEx St. Jude, barely missed a putt on No. 18 that would have forced the issue, but he still finished with a course-record 63 (one of three) to finish at 11 under.
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The tournament marked the first time the PGA Tour has played at Memorial Park since 1963. Architect Tom Doak was the front man for a $34 million renovation funded through a foundation headed by Houston Astros’ owner Jim Crane.
Brooks Koepka, who had helped with the renovation of the Memorial Park, made an early run with a 30 on the front, but he cooled just a tad on the back and posted a second straight 65 to finish the tournament at 8 under.
Meanwhile, 54-hold leader Sam Burns saw his hopes of capturing his first PGA Tour title dashed early. Burns opened the day with a bogey, then added a double on No. 4 to drop off the top of the leaderboard.
Well, at the end of the stormy Friday, he stood four shots behind Morikawa through 36 holes after signing for a bogey-free, 4-under-par 68 to move to 9 under. While he wasn’t outwardly happy with the round – he rarely shows any emotion and is a man of few words – he did hit 12 of 14 fairways in regulation and 17 of 18 greens in regulation.
“I was happy that we were able to finish today,” he said. “That was definitely a good thing that we were able to finish. The bad thing, everything other than my score, I can say it wasn’t too good. All in all, it was good, though.”
It helps that he likes the course. He won the Memorial here in 2014 in a playoff with Kevin Na. He also tied for fifth in 2015 and was sixth in 2019. Just don’t ask him to explain his affinity for the track.
“I don’t know why I like this course so much, but I do,” Matsuyama said.
So he’s in a good place to end a victory drought on the PGA Tour. Matsuyama’s most recent of five Tour wins – he has 14 worldwide victories – came in the 2017 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. The triumph moved him to No. 3 in the world but he’s fallen to No. 23.
“I think my ball-striking is getting there,” he said. “Now it’s just the putting that I need to work on, so hopefully that’ll get better.”
Heading into the weekend, Matsuyama said he doesn’t know what to expect – with the course or his putter or the weather. Whatever he’ll face, he’ll just put his head down and quietly do his best.
“I go out there and get adjusted,” he said. “We’ll see if they make (the course) any faster this weekend, but all in all, so far I feel comfortable.”
What we liked and didn’t like from the third round action at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
The wind kicked up just a touch, but the scores still kept falling on Saturday during the third round of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
No player put us on a 59 watch, but 21-year-old rising star Matthew Wolff gave everyone a lesson with his second straight round of 8-under 64, putting him at 19-under and atop the leaderboard entering Sunday’s final round. That gave the former Oklahoma State star a three-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau and Ryan Armour.
Wolff wasn’t the only player to make some noise on Saturday. Here are the hits and misses from the third round.
He put himself into contention with an early 65 that got him to 13 under. If you don’t know who Bryan is, you should. The 2017 RBC Heritage winner is the kind of fun player golf needs. He’s capable of epic smack talk during a round and he and his brother, George, have an awesome YouTube channel, Bryan Bros, where they perform crazy trick shots. It’ll be hard not to root for him.
Hit: Bryson DeChambeau
Clearly he was hurt by me assigning him a fake “miss” after the second round in order to spur him on. DeChambeau birdied two of his first four holes then went cold until he birdied the 13th and 14th. He almost drove the 399-yard green on the 13th. His second straight 67 wasn’t bad. At 16 under, he’s easily within striking distance of Wolff. But he could be running away with this thing. How a guy with this kind of power and talent doesn’t go full Tiger Woods on the field every week completely puzzles me.
Miss: Webb Simpson
The world’s sixth-ranked player shot 64 in the second round and was in position to take control of the tournament with a solid round on Saturday. But he struggled to a 1 under 71 on a day when 34 players were 3 under or better, even if there was a little wind. Simpson dropped out of a tie for the lead and is six shots back at 13 under.
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Hit: Ryan Armour
Great shooting by the — ugh — Ohio State graduate, who posted a 67 to put himself in prime position, tied with DeChambeau. Nice job by the … the … Buck … eye. Ugh. Hard to get that out. Wonder if he’ll refer to Detroit Golf Club as “that course up north” if he wins.
Miss: Brian Stuard
Brutal. The former Oakland University golfer from Jackson, Michigan started the round in great position at 9 under, just three shots back. He shot 73 and eliminated any chance of winning. His driver betrayed him. He made three bogeys and a killer double bogey on the par-5 10th hole, when he hit out of one fairway bunker into another. Golf is just mean sometimes.
Hit: Hideki Matsuyama
The world No. 23 had the move of the day when he shot up 42 spots into a tie for 13th when he fired a 65 to reach 12 under. Like world No. 17 Tony Finau, who shot 66, Matsuyama played early and took advantage of the smoother greens.
Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Hideki Matsuyama are among the top-ranked players who aren’t making the cut at the RBC Heritage.
What do Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, and Hideki Matsuyama all have in common? Well, in addition to being among the top 30 in the world, they all have the weekend off at the RBC Heritage.
Given that the field is stacked this week in Hilton Head, South Carolina, it goes to figure that some of the star power would exit stage left at the 36-hole cut. It took 4-under 138 to be among the 75 players to make it to the weekend.
Meanwhile, Collin Morikawa rallied with birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 to extend the Tour’s longest active cut streak to 23 events.
Fowler (67-72) missed his second straight cut for the first time since 2016, while Matsuyama (74-70), who tied the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course record the last time he played before the season was suspended, couldn’t pick up the magic where he left off. They weren’t alone.
World No. 19 Louis Ooshuizen (73-73), reigning British Open champion Shane Lowry (74-67), two-time major winner Zach Johnson (69-74) and former World No. 1 Jason Day (71-69) also were sent packing.
Perennial contenders at the RBC Heritage Kevin Kisner, a South Carolina native who lost a playoff to Jim Furyk in 2015, and Luke Donald, a four-time runner-up of the event, have a rare weekend off. Even golf’s iron man fell victim to a Pete Dye layout that has stood the test of time as FedEx Cup leader Sungjae Im (73-70) failed to earn a Saturday tee time.
Past champions Aaron Baddeley, Jim Furyk, Brian Gay, Graeme McDowell, Brandt Snedeker and five-time champion Davis Love III failed to find the good vibes of past glory this time at the famed seaside links.
A week ago, Xander Schauffele was a vicious lip out away from joining the playoff for the Charles Schwab Championship. On Friday, he birded the ninth, his final hole, to make the cut on the number.
Luke List, who won last week’s Korn Ferry Challenge, shot 69-73, leading to his trunk-slamming departure.
Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree (73-70), one of two amateurs in the field, missed the cut for the second straight week.
