Sergio Garcia shares the clubhouse lead with Marc Leishmann after Thursday
Davy Gorman | Staff Writer
The Masters is perfectly poised for an exciting weekend after a Thursday of low scoring, aided by a day of perfect scoring conditions. Augusta National, Georgia was in typically immaculate shape as the honorary starters, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus kicked off the 2013 Masters Tournament at 12.46 pm GMT.
Little-known Marc Leishman of Australia held the clubhouse lead for much of the day after a six under par 66 until he was joined at the top by Sergio Garcia of Spain; both one shot better than long-hitting Dustin Johnson, who sits alone in third after a five under par 67. A number of notable names lurk just behind the trio at four under including the always colourful Rickie Fowler, Masters veteran Fred Couples and the WGC Accenture Matchplay and Players Champion Matt Kuchar. Pre-tournament favourite and four time Masters Champion Tiger Woods got his quest to end a seven-year Masters drought off to a solid start with a two under par round of 70. Given the fact that Woods has always been a slow starter in the event means that the world number one is ominously placed to begin his traditional charge up the leaderboard on Friday and Saturday. “It’s a good start,” Woods said. “… I’m only four back and I’m right there.” Three-time Masters Champion Phil Mickelson opened with a one under par 71.
World number two Rory McIlroy had a disappointing, if not disastrous round of even par to sit six back of the lead. Despite some decent ball-striking, his round was littered with errors, carding five bogeys in total. In fact, it was a disappointing day for the Irish at Augusta overall. Padraig Harrington slumped to a six over par 78, Graeme McDowell shot a mediocre one over par 73 and fellow Portrush native and British Amateur Champion Alan Dunbar props the field after an eleven over par 83.
The story of the day however came from 14-year old Tianlang Guan of China, who became the youngest player to ever take part in a major championship. Written off by many as too young to compete, hitting fairway woods to holes that some of the professionals were hitting mid-irons to, the youngster holed a monster putt on the 18th hole to post a credible one over par 73, a remarkable feat for a player so young. Thursday at the Masters demonstrated the great universality of golf, playable among all ages with a 53 year old Fred Couples contending at the top of leaderboard sharing the stage with the Chinese amateur thirty-nine years his junior.
Much of today’s focus will be on whether the enigmatic Garcia can keep up the form that he showed today. The popular Spaniard has been a perennial bridesmaid at major championships with five top 3’s in majors to date without managing to secure that all important maiden win. He will at least be encouraged by a solid putting display today; the putter has often been Garcia’s Achilles heel in the past. The laid-back Dustin Johnson also impressed as he excited the crowds with a rip-roaring driving display. The old adage still reigns true ‘you can’t win a major in the first day, but you can lose it’. Very few of the big names lost it today which leaves day two to be as intriguing and as open as day one was.
