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.
He handed Rose a 65 (-7) card, his best round in Augusta National, and gave himself a comfortable 4-stroke lead.
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.
Rose, who had not played in a month, explained I didn’t know where my game was until the tournament began. 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 49th 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, who is back from his first win since 2017, defeats a three buggy in the ninth hole and leads a battalion of five who tied for eighth at -1.
Dustin Johnson, the Masters champion, brought in a 74-card card and did not play in the event for the first time since the inaugural round of the 2018 tournament. Johnson had set a record in the tournament. Last year, by winning a cumulative score of -20.
I feel sorry for the players who played their first Masters tournament in November and who are walking on the field today and wondering what is going on
Said Kevin Kissner, who played 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 at this tournament, but I’ve never seen the Greens so strong and 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.