Augusta, Georgia – Even before the Masters kicked off, it was clear that the Augusta National Tournament in April was not the same as the one in November.
Justin Rose took the opportunity to score seven Birds and an Eagle in an excellent 10-hole series and climbed to the top of the tournament on Thursday.
Handed Rose a 65 (under 7) card, his best tour in Augusta National, and gave himself a comfortable four-stroke lead.
trick! One hole in the sixteenth for Fleetwood!
The streak began in the eighth hole, when the Englishman collided with an eagle. He made several short strokes to score his finches and even sent a ball straight to the bottom of the cup at the Twelfth Banner.
His turn 65 looked better than that, with only 12 players playing below par and the average score is 74.5.
“I didn’t know where my match would be until the tournament started,” said Rose, who had not played in a month. I worked hard. I could play in both tournaments, but I was really trying to prepare for the Masters. “
Rose, who finished second in Augusta twice, tied the Masters record by sharing the lead or progressing after a round for a fourth chance. Jack Nicklaus is the only other player to have achieved this feat.
Brian Harman was the last player to be accepted into the tournament and co-lead with Hideki for a long time. Both golfers completed their 69th round as Rose began to rush onto the field.
Harman had very little chance of hitting the fairways at the Augusta National this year. It ranked 95th in the world just a month ago, when it tied for third in the Players’ Championship.
This score propelled him to the World Hole Championship, where he made his way to the quarter-finals. All this was enough to make him rise to the forty-ninth place in the world, and receive an invitation to “masters”.
Among the players who tied for fourth place after the last seventies was former champion Patrick Reed.
Jordan Speth, returning from his first win since 2017, beat a triple cart in the ninth hole and leads a squad of five golfers who tied for eighth, at minus -1.
Masters champions Dustin Johnson dropped 74 cards and did not play with less than a par in the event for the first time since the first round of the 2018 tournament. Johnson had set a record in the tournament. Last year, by winning a cumulative score of minus 20.
“I feel sorry for the players who competed in their first Masters tournament in November and are walking on the field today wondering what is going on,” said Kevin Kissner, who played for 72.
There were no surprises, however. Augusta National hasn’t been in rain in over a week and players can’t remember the last time the Greens were so fast.
Matsuyama said, “It’s my tenth year in this tournament, but I haven’t watched the Greens so fast and so fast.” It was a new journey for me today. I was fortunate to do well. “
Canadians Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Konners managed to maintain a rather high position in the ranking. Hughes (72) tied for thirteenth place, while Konners (73) finished twentieth.
Canadian Mike Weir, who will still be able to reach the tournament due to his victory in 2003, has played 78 matches.