After waiting 19 long months for the Masters to return on Thursday, Mother Nature made us wait a few hours more. Our patience was rewarded with an electric first round of play, even without the patrons on hand to add to the buzz.
But the opening round isn’t complete just yet. A number of players still have a full nine holes to play, including World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who posted a bogey-free 33 on his opening nine Thursday evening. He was able to get his tee shot off on the 10th hole, but decided to pick up in the fairway instead of finishing out after the horn sounded (it was the right move, by the way, as there was a huge chunk of mud on his ball).
Just ahead of Johnson at the 11th hole is Justin Thomas, who is on pace to match or beat Paul Casey’s first-round 65. Thomas turned in 32 and then birdied the 10th before his momentum was brought to a halt by the horn. Like Johnson, he was also able to get his tee shot off at No. 11, and he’ll face a 210-yard approach out of the rough when play resumes.
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First-round play is set to resume at 7:30 a.m. ET, with the second round getting underway at 9:35 a.m. The weather appears to be perfect on Friday morning, and more low scores are to be expected. Let’s get it on.
7:41 a.m.: Great recovery from Phil at the par-3 12th. He gets up and down with ease to save par, then takes a swig out of his gigantic Yeti with his logo on it. Peak Phil. Back at 10, Dustin Johnson grinds out a par after his birdie putt slipped a few feet past. Greens are looking a little bit slicker this morning. Love to see it.
7:36 a.m.: We’re off and running aaaaand, it’s a bit of a chop fest. Turns out, even for the pros it’s hard to roll out of bed and get warm by 7:30 a.m. Some lowlights: Phil Mickelson pulled his first shot badly at No. 12 but stayed dry, Dustin Johnson hit a not-so-great approach into No. 10 green, and Rickie Fowler tripled the 12th, though most of that was due to rinsing one yesterday. These guys will settle in, but it’s going to take a few swings first.