Here’s how the leaderboard shakes out after Thursday’s Round 1 action at the 2017 Masters.
Belgium’s Thomas Pieters got off to the morning’s best start with four birdies on the front nine to take an early lead. Pieters would retain the lead until his final hole of the day, where he double-bogeyed to drop down to even, which was just good enough for 12th place.
One of the biggest stories of the early going was Jordan Spieth’s return to Augusta National after infamously collapsing on the back nine of his final round a year ago. The 2015 Masters champion looked to be the favorite after world No. 1 Dustin Johnson was forced to withdraw from a back injury and was cruising along at even until the par-5 15th, where he quadruple-bogeyed to fall well off the leaderboard.
Both Matthew Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler had a chance to end their rounds with the lead, but fell victim to double-bogeys on 18. With none of the world’s top players turning in a dominant round, Charley Hoffman was able to take advantage with four straight birdies on the back to open up a four-stroke advantage at -7 in the best round of the season so far.
Right behind Hoffman is Masters newcomer William McGirt at three-under par. Phil Mickelson enjoyed a strong front nine to remain in the mix at -1, while other familiar names like Lee Westwoord, Jason Dufner and Sergio Garcia all hanging around the top 10.
Here’s how the leaderboard stacks up after Round 1 of the 2017 Masters, with Hoffman enjoying a solid advantage.
1. Charley Hoffman -7
2. William McGirt -3
3. Lee Westwood -2
T4. Russel Henry -1
T4. Kevin Chappell -1
T4. Andy Sullivan -1
T4. Phil Mickelson -1
T4. Justin Rose -1
T4. Jason Day -1
T4. Sergio Garcia -1
Next: The Masters 2017: 5 best moments in history
Round 2 action begins early on Friday morning with the first group teeing off at 8:00 a.m. Eastern