Scottie Scheffler’s quest to make history got off to a good start on Thursday.
The two-time Masters champion shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 opening round at Augusta National Golf Club. Scheffler made four birdies on the day, including a sensational 62-foot birdie putt on the Par 3 fourth hole.
Scheffler, with Lafayette’s Ted Scott on the bag, is looking to become only the fourth golfer to win the tournament back-to-back years, and only the second man to slip on the green jacket three times in four years. The only other man to do that was Jack Nicklaus.
Canadian Corey Conners, who also shot a 68 as he carded five birdies and one bogey, was tied for second with Scheffler. Conners has won twice on the PGA Tour, and his best finish at The Masters was a tie for sixth in 2022.
After bogeying No. 12, Bryson DeChambeau birdied three of the next four holes to get to 4-under par. The two-time U.S. Open champion (2020, 2024) gave a stroke back with a bogey on No. 17 and then carded a par on No. 18 to finish with a three-under 69, tied for fifth.
The trio trails Justin Rose, who sits atop the day one leaderboard as he shot a 7-under 65.
The 44-year-old Rose birdied his first three holes and carded eight birdies on the day. The only blemish was a bogey on the Par 4 Hole No. 18. The 2013 U.S. Open has finished second (2015) and tied for second (2017) at The Masters.
There were several other notable golfers who shot under par on Thursday. Jason Day at 2-under, Cameron Smith, Fred Couples, Patrick Reed, Min Woo Lee, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Bubba Watson all shot 1-under par. Collin Morikawa, Zach Johnson, Cameron Young, and Sergio Garcia are among a group that shot even par on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy appeared to be on the cusp of a strong first round as he tries to finally capture that elusive green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. McIlory had a four-under bogey-free round as he walked up to the No. 15 tee box. McIlroy would double bogey that hole and then card another double bogey on No. 17. He finished the round even par, tied for 26th.
Other notables were Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, all shot 1-over par, while Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, and Brooks Koepka shot 2-over par. The 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm struggled all day but did manage to par his last five holes to finish 3-over par for the opening round.