Augusta Bites Hard on Opening Round

👋 Hey Golf Fans,

Good Morning from Augusta. In case you missed our post-round coverage on Jack Nicklaus, Tyrrell Hatton, and Bryson DeChambeau, here you go. Today, taking a deep dive into round one, throwing the spotlight on pivotal moments and more.

Onward…

Before we start with today’s edition, let's kick things off with the stories that've been making waves.

Jordan Spieth explains what really made his caddie agitated. The incident transpired at the time the pro was lining up a putt.

Rory McIlroy drops ultimate Masters flex after Thursday round, and it has everything to do with the Champions Locker Room.

Patrick Reed responds to Tom Watson. The golf legend earlier berated the PGA Tour leadership for letting LIV golfers return.

The pros at the Masters are way above our level. But Augusta has a penchant for making everyone look like a first-timer trying to hack their way out. Yesterday, it was PGA Tour winner Aldrich Potgieter (+12/T90). On the opening hole, the 21-year-old was off the green after his second shot. His third, an attempt to pitch to the green, landed him in an even worse spot. If you’re having a bad day, just watch this and think of Potgieter’s misery.

Overall, though, Thursday at Augusta had more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Sam Burns (-5/T1) grabbed the early lead, courtesy of his lowest-ever Masters round. An hour later, Rory McIlroy (-5/T1) matched him, becoming the first defending champ since 2016 to lead or co-lead after 18 holes.

Kurt Kitayama fired a 3-under 69 with a field-high eight birdies or better for a T3. Jason Day tied him thanks to his third-ever Masters start in the 60s. Patrick Reed surged to T3 after a birdie-eagle start—just the sixth ever to pull it off.

Scottie Scheffler (-2/T6) hit 12 of the 14 fairways, but still couldn’t break 70 in the opening round for the sixth straight time. He's tied with Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Rose. Just one LIV golfer, Sergio Garcia (E/T17), cracked the top 20. Jon Rahm (+6/T73) and Bryson DeChambeau (+4/T56) are in a hole.

Whoever said “When it rains, it pours” was right.

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Anger: Robert MacIntyre (+8/T82) lost it on the 12th after missing his tee shot left, yelling expletives live on camera. Next hole, he missed the eagle putt, and more expletives followed. Just two holes later, his approach shot plunked into the pond. His next shot after taking a drop went straight back into the lake. The resulting quadruple-bogey 9, a first since 1998 on the 15th, crushed his soul. But what he did next left everyone aghast, and Augusta might have already taken disciplinary action against him. Check it out below.

Houdini: It’s now routine for Jordan Spieth (E/T17). On the 18th, Spieth bombed it left into the bushes under a Magnolia tree. And yet escaped unscathed with a par save. Just watch the recovery shot he pulled off—you can’t even spot Spieth hidden behind the overhanging branches.

Poor: What a day for Bryson DeChambeau (+4/T56). On the second, his tee shot went left into the bushes, resulting in a penalty drop en route to bogey. On the sixth, his drive nearly injured a patron. Then, on the 11th, he got stuck in the greenside bunker. Literally stuck. It took him THREE shots to escape. Watch the painful sequence here.

Saturday’s Result: 80.95% of you said legends should step away before time forces them out.

Here’s what the Masters looked like on the first day in numbers.

37: Jon Rahm had plenty of good stories to tell us about Augusta National before he began his first round. Little did he know that a Lovecraftian nightmare was waiting for him. He went birdie-less for a 6-over 78, his first ever, and worst in 37 Masters rounds. Rahm looked gutted, but he only had his putting to blame. Just look how badly he misjudged the putt, and you’ll understand what we mean.

7: Wyndham Clark made a hole-in-one on Wednesday on the par-3 seventh. However, any hopes of leniency vanished less than 24 hours later. Pampas played as the hardest hole on day one (+0.417). It allowed just two birdies, 30 bogeys, and 5 doubles or worse. The second-toughest hole was par-4 5th, Magnolia (+0.373), with 36 bogeys.

87: Kurt Kitayama shot 69 on Thursday to end the round at T3. He was 87th in SG: Around the Green (-2.39), evident by this chip that crossed the green to kiss the water. However, his elite putting (7th in SG: Putting) and iron play (1st in SG: Approach, 4th in GIR percentage) more than made up for his shabby short game. That lifted his SG: Tee to Green (16th) for a solid first round.

There is an original 2016 Masters Gnome model, which is expected to fetch over $10,000. Interestingly, this is probably the last time the famous old man with a beard is making an appearance at the concession shop. But not the rest of Augusta’s merch. Augusta makes roughly $75 million from merch sales, making up 45% of their total revenue.

Fans and patrons spend the better part of four days camped out to buy and bomb you with endless reels. It’s sparked a debate, with some opining that spectators are spending thousands on souvenirs instead of soaking in a walk around Augusta’s sacred grounds. Which side are you on?

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