Thursday At The Masters
Rahm, Koepka, Hovland lead in ideal conditions. Plus, Koepka caddie controversy, Quotables, television does two on-course chats, Honorary Starters speak, Sergio loses it, 13th plays easy and more.
Low Round (65): Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka
Round One Scoring Average: 72.337
Defending Champion: Scottie Scheffler, 68
Low Green Jacket Winner: Adam Scott, 68
Low Amateur: Sam Bennett, 68
Low Senior: 63-year-old Fred Couples, 71
High Round: Sandy Lyle, 81
Round One Scoring Average: 72.337
Toughest Hole: 11th (4.360, 4 birdies, 54 pars, 21 bogeys, 7 doubles)
Easiest Hole: 15th, 4.593, 4 eagles 38 birdies, 37 pars, 3 bogeys, 4 doubles)
Headlines: Three players shoot 65 — Jon Rahm opens with the lowest score in Masters history after opening with double bogey — Brooks Koepka and caddie cleared by committee on possible advice situation after 65 — Will Zalatoris WD’s before the first round citing injury — Tiger Woods opens with 74 — Rory McIlroy shoots 72 — Friday tee times moved up 30 minutes due to weather forecast and gates will open at 7 a.m.
A festive day at Augusta National saw the course stand down to 44 players finishing at par or better. A doozy of a leaderboard—stacked board in cool kids parlance—features 15 major winners in the top 25, including pre-tournament favorite Jon Rahm, four-time major winner Brooks Koepka and former U.S. Amateur champion Viktor Hovland.
A dicier-than-most weather forecast from here until Sunday makes some of the traditional Masters day one stats about likely winners as useful as a Gary Player’s membership card so let’s just power on to a wide range of items from Thursday, starting with some controversy surrounding co-leader Koepka.
Koepka Opens With 65, Caddie Cleared By Committee Of Violation
Brooks Koepka caddie Rickie Elliott was cleared of wrongdoing after being seen mouthing the world “five” twice to Gary Woodland caddie Thomas Little. The blatant rules violation came immediately after Koepka’s second shot into the 15th green. Koepka was oblivious to the activity taking place behind him but defended the indefensible.
“Yeah, we looked at it when we got back in,” Koepka said of a review with rules officials. “GW [Gary Woodland] and Butchie [Thomas Little] had no idea what we were hitting; they didn't even know because -- I know that fact because GW asked me what we hit walking off, when we were walking down. So that's all I can give you.”
The footage can be seen on the Masters.com leaderboard for Koepka’s 15th hole. Golf Channel’s “Live From” zoomed in on the club used and it was, lo and behold a 5-iron.
Perhaps Elliott was just mouthing “five” repeatedly to update his peer on his favorite lucky number. Or the time to meet at the Washington Road Starbucks for their daily confab about how LIV caddies share info all day long? Or maybe Elliott was simply caught redhanded which begs the question: was he returning a favor? What other information was shared during the round to benefit his man?
Had Elliott been deemed by the committee to be violating Rule 10-2a, Koepka would have been penalized two strokes.
Woodland made birdie four at the 15th.
Quotable - Leaders
Jon Rahm (65) on four-putting the first green. “It not like I had the right line and the right read and made a poor stroke. All of them felt good. That's always a lot easier. Then I remembered Seve's quote, I think it was here at the Masters, right, when he 4-putted. I just kept thinking to myself, ‘Well, I miss, I miss, I miss, I make.’ Move on to the next. I carried a little bit of that negative energy into the tee shot on 2, hit it about ten yards further than I usually do and moved on with my day.”
Rahm on the perception of a more forgiving course setup. “There isn't one hole location at Augusta National that can be described as easy, that's for sure. A lot of how this golf course plays is dictated by the weather, right. I don't think there were easy hole locations if we all go hole-by-hole.” (He then went 14 to make his point and he was not wrong!)
Brooks Koepka (65) on how he rises to the occasion at majors. “There's a difference in kind of my demeanor. Everybody on my team behind the scenes says they can see from the moment we land at a major, here at Augusta, I get kind of quiet. I'm very -- I'm not talking. I'm very focused, disciplined, driven. There's only really a couple things I care about, is going to work out and going to play golf and that's it when we're here, and nothing else really matters. It's full focus on this and trying to walk out of here with a green jacket.”
Viktor Hovland on the key to his 65. “I don't care how good you hit it out here, you have to chip the ball. You have to have a short game. And especially on that back nine when I hit a lot of bad shots, to be honest, but I managed to keep myself in it by hitting some really nice chips and making some really nice putts.
Hovland on his first round shirt: “I had nothing to do with it (laughter) I just wear what they tell me to wear. It's definitely a little bit out there, but I think I'd rather take these than the pink pants I had last year. So we're making progress.”
Cameron Young (67) on the difference for him in his second Masters after badly missing the cut last year. “I don't know that much golf course-wise honestly. I think comfort level is like the main thing. I was afraid to go hit the first tee shot last year, and this year it wasn't at all the same. I'm just a lot more comfortable.”
Xander Schauffele after an opening 68: “Felt like I was in control of the golf ball, moving it both ways. And, yeah, it's great when someone in your group shoots 7-under. You want it to be you every time, but he was the horse, so we're chasing.”
Adam Scott (68): “I did some pretty major like overhauling of my equipment, actually. I think that may not be a hundred percent comfortable, but it's certainly, I saw some benefit from doing that. I changed some shafts in my irons and my driver and my golf ball. So I've kind of winging it a little bit out there. It all feels pretty good. But I putted very nicely today and that's always helpful around here.”
Quotable - Others
Patrick Reed (71) on Augusta National Thursday. “The golf course is very gettable. The winds aren't blowing hard. The greens are very receptive, and because there's a little moisture on them, they're not as fiery and fast as you can get.”
Adam Scott (68): “I did some pretty major like overhauling of my equipment, actually. I think that may not be a hundred percent comfortable, but it's certainly, I saw some benefit from doing that. I changed some shafts in my irons and my driver and my golf ball. So I've kind of winging it a little bit out there. It all feels pretty good. But I putted very nicely today and that's always helpful around here.”
Phil Mickelson (71) on his slimmed down physique. “I stopped eating food, that was a big help. I lost 25 pounds. Then I had -- I also lost muscle, so I had to start lifting, and I've been lifting and slowly have been getting my speed and strength back to where I need it to be.”
Tiger Woods after his opening 74: “This is going to be an interesting finish to the tournament with the weather coming in. If I can just kind of hang in there, maybe kind of inch my way back, hopefully it will be positive towards the end.”
McIlroy Does First Masters In-Round Interview
Rory McIlroy agreed to do the first-ever Masters “walk and talk” during his ninth hole play Thursday. Arriving at the hole +1, McIlroy answered questions from Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman as he prepared his second shot while playing partners Tom Kim and Sam Burns played.
Immelman asked McIlroy to set up his second shot as a CBS cameraman employing the Sony FX6 delivered the almost three-dimensional depth-of-field images.
“Little 125 shot with my PW, should be perfect for that. Not a lot of wind out here at the moment.”
McIlroy kept one Apple Airpod in as he hit the uphill approach, coming up just short of the last tier in the green.
“Just eased off on it,” McIlroy said. “Probably pitched it 5-6 yards shorter than I wanted to.”
McIlroy and Immelman continued discussing the putt that Immelman surmised he could read by memory. McIlroy continued talking as he walked up the hill and onto the green, projecting hope of making and starting “the back nine afresh.” He then was thanked by Nantz for agreeing to be the first to do the new production element at the Masters before Nantz noted how the previous players who had chatted live with them enjoyed “quite a record” so far this year.
“I think that’s why I wanted to do it,” McIlroy said.
Later in the day Max Homa reprised his willingness to walk and talk, talking to Andrew Catalon and Trevor Immelman as he strolled off the 14th tee, the 13th in the background creating another of those too-surreal-to-be-true moments delivered by depth-of-field cameras.
“I just realized people are looking at me talking to myself,” Homa said before answering one of Immelman’s questions. Homa was typically self deprecating and agreeable, with CBS leaving the microphone open as he discussed with caddie Joe Greiner his options. A greenside camera zoomed in tight. Just fantastic stuff.
As with previous editions of this new coverage element, it’s the overall combination of the close-up shot with the discussion about the golf at hand when merged with technology and storytelling that’s delivering genuinely immersive coverage. While the discussion may not look scintillating in a transcript, it’s captivating to viewers.
Honorary Starters Kick Things Off In Style
A blissfully uneventful but traditionally dignified ceremony kicked things off a 7:40 a.m Thursday. Following a brief introduction by Chairman Fred Ridley where Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson’s Masters wins and places in the game were acknowledged, all three made solid contact to begin the 2023 Masters.
As is also tradition, a significant number of to watch as patrons surrounded the tee. (John Steinbreder wrote about the scene and you can also watch the full ceremony within the Masters.com story.)
After returning to the clubhouse to another ovation from club members, dignitaries and media convened under the Big Oak, Watson, Nicklaus and Player visited the press center. Highlights from their comments:
Jack Nicklaus on distance. “I think we are going to run out of land if we keep trying to fight the imbalance if it's there. I think that's what the USGA is trying to do where it gets back maybe more imbalance with the USGA and the R&A.
Gary Player ups his prediction to 500 yards. “What perturbs me is I said years back, I said on British television to Peter Alliss on BBC that players would hit the ball 400 yards, and he told me I was talking nonsense…and now what I know is a fact: They will be hitting the ball 500 yards. They hit the ball 474 at the long driving competition.”
Player on not enough rollback: “I know Tom, Jack and I, and a lot of players have spoken about it for years and years and years. 20 yards is not enough. If you look into the future, you have to cut it back for pros. Leave it for the amateurs as it is. But for the players, you have to cut it back 40 yards.”
Tom Watson supporting the proposed rollback. “Yes, the clubs themselves help you hit the ball a little bit longer, but the ball was the biggest factor. In 2001 when the Pro V1 came out, it put a huge boost to the distance you could hit the ball, and then all the other ball manufacturers went that route…I think it's a very good thing that the USGA and R&A are starting to move forward and say, all right, we have to create a golf ball that goes less.”
Watson explains changing his mind on two sets of rules. “The great term, ‘bifurcate.’ I was against that until recently when I said, you know, I think it's best to have a pro ball to play with and then let everybody else play with a longer ball. That's the way I look at it.”
Watson on the B word. “The other thing about bifurcation is that if you just went with one ball, what would happen in 2026 to the hundreds of millions of golf balls that were produced to be the long ball and all of a sudden by 2026, you say, you can't play with those balls anymore, the whole public. That's a billion dollars of losses. So these are the issues that the R&A and the USGA are struggling with, and I'm coming down, I think we ought to play with a pro ball. That's what I think we ought to do.”
Watson on the biggest change he’s seen at Augusta National. “Very simple, it's the greens. When I played here as an amateur in 1970, they were overseeded, over bermuda, so rye overseeded bermuda. 1981 they changed it to bentgrass. Frankly, that was the biggest change. They had a few issues with the bentgrass greens with the slopes of the greens the first year, and they rectified that.”