What's going on at Augusta? Day 1 at The Masters recap

By Matteo Ametrano

After March Madness, as we await playoff action in the NHL and NBA, all eyes around the sports world are focussed in on Augusta, Georgia, and The Masters, for one of the best golf weeks of the year.

Outright Leaders After Thursday

Sam Burns: -5, T-1

Burns is making his fifth start at the Masters, his best finish coming in 2023 with a T-29 finish. He came out strong with an eagle on two and a birdie on eight, but dropped a shot on six, for a front-nine 34. Burns had back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13, and birdied 15 as well to finish the back-nine bogey-free, for his -5 round to head to the clubhouse tied at the top of the leaderboard with the defending champion.

Rory McIlroy: -5, T-1

2025 Masters Champ, Rory McIlroy acknowledging the Patrons at Augusta National after sinking a putt. (Photo credit: @PGATour on Instagram, April 9, 2026)

It is safe to say defending champ, Rory McIlroy, is feeling good with his performance on and off the course thus far at The Masters. For only the third time in his career, he shot in the 60s in his opening round.  

Following his -5 round one on Thursday, Rory said to Scott Van Pelt, "I'll probably go up there right now and have a little drink and put on my green jacket and call it a day," as he looked forward to the perks of being able to utilize the Champions Locker room.

With Rory taking the 18-hole lead into Friday, we will see how he'll be able to deal with the pressure of defending his green jacket.

Rory took advantage of the par fives with great wedge shots, even though his driver was not as strong as it usually is. Rory only hit one fairway on the front nine. If he can find his power and accuracy in his driver this weekend, the rest of the field is in trouble, and we might be looking at a back-to-back champ.

Canadians

Corey Conners: +3, T-48

Conners has had success at Augusta throughout his career with four top ten finishes.

Highlighting Corey's round one was an eagle on eight as he sank a 31-foot putt, and a slam dunk chip-in for a birdie at 14.

Nick Taylor: -1, T-10

Taylor had a strong round one at Augusta in his fourth start at the Masters. Taylor did not record a bogey on his scorecard until the 17th hole.

He birdied two and ten, to finish his round one under par and in the mix heading into Friday.

Mike Weir: +9, T-86

Left-handed Canadian golf legend, Mike Weir, made his 27th start at the Masters. The 2003 winner finished round one nine over par. Even though he may not be in contention this year, the 55-year-old has become a staple of Canadian Golf at Augusta, being the country's only champion and representing Canada every year at the Masters.

Big Names From LIV Struggle, Risk of Missing the Cut

Bryson DeChambeau +4, T-56

After calling Augusta National 'a par-67' with his distance in November 2020, Bryson is at risk of missing the cut after a +4 round one on Thursday. DeChambeau finished his front-nine with a 36. A double bogey on the 11th hole really set his round back. He would go on to end with a bogey, birdie, bogey stretch on 16,17 and 18 to end his round four over par with a 76.

Jon Rham +6, T-73

The former Masters Champ had a tough day one in his return to Major competition. Rham won the LIV Golf Hong Kong event in March, finished second to DeChambeau in South Africa after losing in a playoff, and leads the league in points early on the 2026 season. However, the Spaniard struggled out of the gate this week and is in an uphill battle if he hopes to get inside the cutline for the weekend. Rham had four front-nine bogeys and a double on 13 for his six-over round one.

Vets in the mix

Jason Day: -3, T3

The always stylish, former world number one, 38-year-old Jason Day, took some time getting comfy on the course, bogeying hole two. However, He had three back-nine birdies to close his first round three under par for a 69.

Gary Woodland: -1 T-10

Possibly the story of the season has been 41-year-old Gary Woodland. After opening up about his struggles with PTSD and a win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Woodland continued his strong play with a 72 in round one at the Masters. Woodland had a bogey-free front-nine with three birdies. After two bogeys in his back-nine, Gary finished one under par and inside the top ten after Thursday.

Justin Rose: -2, T-6

One of the most consistent players at Augusta without a green jacket has been Justin Rose. Roses' consistency continued on Thursday with three birdies on the front-nine.

Unfortunately, back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18 surely left a sour taste in the mouth of Rose after being alone in second for a brief moment.

"I felt like anything under par I was going to be happy with, I really felt like I did a good job at managing things until the end," said Rose to ESPN's Michael Eaves, after an admittedly frustrating finish.

Adam Scott: Even, T-17

2013 Champion, 45-year-old Adam Scott, had trouble finding consistency throughout round one of his 25th Masters start. Scott tallied four bogeys, three birdies, and an eagle to finish his first round at even par.

Others

Scottie Scheffler:  -2, T-6

Tough to have a conversation at Augusta without bringing up world number one and two-time green jacket winner Scottie Scheffler. 

With Scottie having an uncharacteristic start to his season and a newborn, Remy, he took a couple of weekends off. Fans (sorry, patrons) were anxious to see how the world number one would be in his return to competition at The Masters. 

Scheffler did not miss a beat. He got an eagle on two and a birdie on three, to shoot 33 on the front-nine. No birdies and a bogey on the back-nine, however, left Scottie tied for sixth place.

Patrick Reed -3, T3 

Former Masters Champion Patrick Reed made it clear he had aspirations to come back to the PGA Tour after he left LIV in January. After competing on the DP World Tour, Reeds back in the mix at Augusta with a strong first round. Reed recorded two front-nine eagles, but dropped two shots on the back-nine with two bogeys on ten and 14.

Cam young +1, T35: 

The 2026 Players champion had an up-and-down Thursday. After winning at The Players, making it his second win in his last 11 starts, he didn’t play on tour again until The Masters, so this was his first competitive round back in a few weeks, and to be expected, he came out not looking his best. Cam bogeyed one, then had a stretch of three bogeys in a row at holes five through seven. He found his game a bit more on the back nine as he battled back to keep himself in contention.  Young had three birdies to shoot a +1, 73, and fought back into the potential cut line for the weekend.

Looking Ahead

Rory became only the seventh reigning champ at the Masters to lead after the first round.

With a crowded, star-packed leaderboard, the rest of the field will attempt to hunt down Burns and McIlroy, who hold a two-shot lead over the rest of their competition as Friday at Augusta looms.