Justin Rose storms into three-shot lead after stunning opening round at Augusta – as Rory McIlroy suffers late wobble to dent his hopes of finally ending his Masters drought
As a measure of the brilliance shown by an English veteran, there were times when it was almost possible to forget a Spanish amateur had urinated into Rae’s Creek. Such was the surreal nature of opening day at the Masters.
By its close, a leaderboard loaded with big beasts belonged to Justin Rose, whose loop of 65 has put him in a fabulous spot that he knows well and which we possibly assumed was now beyond him.
But there he is, 44 years old and setting the pace after the first round for the fifth time in his career.
That detail is uneclipsed in the history of this event, with the obvious kicker that he has never pushed on to seal the deal. But if speed from the gate counts for something, it is that this wise English head can still outthink the best of the young chargers and his swing remains timeless.
He was superb in his destruction of the course, carding a barely-believable 31 on the front nine and then threatening to break the first-round record of 63 after turning for home. Stepping onto the 18th, he at least had a chance to equal it, only to drive into the trees on his way to a bogey.
Justin Rose stormed into an early lead on day one of the 2025 Masters with an opening round of 65
Rose says he just needs some luck over the next few days and has played well here before
He was superb in his destruction of the course, carding a barely-believable 31 on the front nine
At seven-under-par, he presumably won’t lose too much sleep to that scenario. It left him three clear of two-time champion Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg and Corey Conners, and four ahead of Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton.
The latter’s 69 would suggest he has finally found a way of getting along with a course for which he has never felt any affection.
Rory McIlroy was on his way to joining the cohort at four under but succumbed to calamity with two double bogeys in his final four holes.
Every aspect of his relationship with this land is complicated and this collapse to a 72 was typically dramatic, with the lowest point coming on the 15th when he over-clubbed on his approach and went long of the green. Chipping back down the hill, his ball went on a doomed journey all the way to the water.
When he later fluffed a chip on 17, all the good work of his round was whipped away. If anyone on the grounds was feeling more conspicuous, then that would have been Jose Luis Ballester, the 21-year-old amateur who was caught short on the 13th and was then spotted relieving himself. Time will tell if the august chaps of Augusta National see the funny side.
As for Rose, beaten on a play-off here in 2017 and also runner-up in 2015, this was a superb day and a fine return to form after missing the cut at half of his tournaments this year.
He said: ‘This year I’ve been saying to people, my good is good. When I have been playing well, I feel like I have been competing at a high level. My consistency maybe has not been as high this year, but my good is good again. So I’m excited about that.’
Rose, who was second place in The Open last summer, added: ‘I feel like I’ve played well enough to win this tournament (in the past). I just feel like I don’t have the jacket to prove it. I’ve played a lot of good rounds of golf here. Ultimately, you want to be last man standing on Sunday. A little bit of Lady Luck here and there is always the difference here at times.
Rory McIlroy was on his way to joining the cohort at four under but succumbed to calamity with two double bogeys in his final four holes
McIlroy showed plenty of promise but by the time he reached the last his hopes were dented
Rose put himself three clear of two-time champion Scottie Scheffler – who finished on four under by the day’s end
‘You’ve got to be playing the golf to keep creating those opportunities, and obviously the only way to do that is to get your name on the leaderboard. I definitely don’t shy away from it.’
For all the depth of quality on the leaderboard, one name reverberates more than any. That would be Scheffler, whose 68 gave the impression of a man playing safely within his margins.
The two-time winner was steady and occasionally brilliant, most notably in draining monster putts from 62 and 42 feet at the fourth and 16th holes. When resilience was required, he showed that with sand saves on the seventh and 17th. Not one bogey made it onto his card, so there will be some trepidation among the field, especially as his recovery from hand surgery in December is evidently complete.
Scheffler, chasing his first title in 2025, said: ‘I felt pretty good. Anytime you can keep a card clean out here, it’s a really good thing. I struggled for two pars today, but other than that, I kept the ball in play and did a lot of really good things out there.’
Aaron Rai was another Englishman to enjoy an impressive first round at Augusta
Along with Hatton and Rose, a third Englishman made the top 10 – Aaron Rai, the world No 20. He carded 70 to sit two under, with the single regret that he crashed off Amen Corner on the back of a brilliant start. He was four under at the turn, having translated his imperious tee-to-green game from the PGA Tour to his Masters debut.
Alas, on each of the 11th, 12th and 13th holes which make up Augusta’s most famous stretch, he bogeyed. A birdie at the 17th enabled him to sign for 70.
‘That start was definitely beyond expectations,’ he said. ‘I tried not to get too far ahead of myself, but I knew there were some difficult holes coming up, especially around the midsection of this round. The course definitely called me out on that middle section.’
Matt Fitzpatrick, whose form has nosedived in the past year, shot 71, as Shane Lowry.
McIlroy, who was blemish-free through 14 holes on this latest edition of his Augusta quest, declined to speak to media after it all went so horribly wrong on the stretch.
