After a few years of attritional golf, the first day of the 2009 Masters was a welcome return to exciting action. A perfect day for golf ,coupled with receptive greens and generous pin positions helped a record 38 players beat par. Foremost among them was Chad Campbell, who build on his record breaking five birdie start to reach -9 after 16 holes. With at least a share of the course record in sight, Campbell unfortunately stumbled on the final two holes to fall back to "only" a 65. It was still good enough for the outright lead, by one shot from the blemish free Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan, who also bogeyed the last.
Elsewhere, Tiger Woods also finished with a dropped shot to keep his record of never breaking 70 on the opening day intact. He's well in contention on -2, as is Padraig Harrington who is one shot better off after a promising 69. Not so good for Paul Casey (72), Phil Mickelson (73) or Sergio Garcia (73), none of whom were happy in their post-round interviews. The round of the day was arguably veteran Larry Mize who turned back the clock with a splendid 67. Many former champions acquitted themselves well, including, thankfully, Gary Player who finished with a respectable 78. Considering that huge hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros (Garcia) shot the same score, it was a sterling effort from the diminutive South African legend.
More information on the first day's play (including real time coverage) is available on the Golf Predictor Twitter feed (see panel on the right) and you can see highlights here:
Friday 10 April 2009
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