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Adam Scott has given himself a shot at winning a second Masters a decade after his historic first after enjoying a career-best start at Augusta National.
Scott marked the 10th anniversary of his landmark 2013 triumph with a first-round four-under par 68 to sit three shots off the early lead in a tie for fifth.
He is the leading Australian during the opening round, with British Open champion Cameron Smith signing for a 70 to be also in the mix.
But young guns Min Woo Lee and amateur Harrison Crowe both have work to do to make the halfway cut following opening rounds of three-over 75.
Scott wound back the clock on Thursday with a vintage display of ball striking and could easily have shot even lower with a touch of luck.
After recording back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes, he reeled off 10 consecutive pars before bursting to life late on the back nine.
He birdied the par-4 14th, then eagled the par-5 15th after a breathtaking six-iron approach over the water.
Scott was desperately unlucky not to have aced the par-3 16th, his ball spinning back and missing the cup by centimetres.
Unfortunately, he missed the birdie putt then another short attempt on No.17 before making his only bogey of the day on the last.
Adam Scott of Australia looks on from the 18th hole during the first round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Still, the 42-year-old was well-placed ahead of what appears to be a wet and stop-start Masters.
He’s opened with 69s three times before, including when he won in 2013, but never carded a first-round 68.
“I have to be satisfied with that,” Scott said.
“But it was ideal conditions, still fairly soft out there with all the humidity and there were going to be low scores.
“There’s no wind. So it was nice to get started in the right direction.
“You want to put yourself in the right spot early – any week you want to get off to a good start – but we just don’t know what’s going to happen and how the weather might affect the rest of the week.
“So if you’re hanging around right from the start on a week like this it’s probably helpful.”
Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Spanish superstar Jon Rahm share the clubhouse lead following seven-under 65s.
Hovland upstaged playing partner Tiger Woods (74) with his bogey-free round while Rahm recovered brilliantly from a first-hole double bogey with seven birdies and an eagle three on the eighth.
American Cameron Young carded a five-under 67 to be third among the early starters.
Min Woo Lee is keeping cool despite crashing back to earth with an error-riddled three-over-par 75 in the opening round of the Masters.
In his first round since equalling Augusta National’s back-nine scoring record to finish joint-14th on debut last year, Lee is in danger of missing the cut second time around.
His dual major-winning sister Minjee was watching on as Lee overcame an extraordinary four-putt on the third hole on Thursday to claw his way back to level with the card through 11 holes, only to let it slip down the stretch.
He made bogey after finding Rae’s Creek on the par-5 13th then a double after also hitting into the water on No.14.
“It was a bit of a bag of emotions, some really good and then some bad,” Lee said.
“My whole life I’ve been trying to get away from those bogeys and doubles but, yeah, a few more birdies tomorrow and it should be okay.
“It’s obviously tough out there. It’s one of the toughest rounds I’ve played. I wasn’t familiar with some of these pins because there weren’t any like that last year. So it was a bit new to me.”
The horror four-putt, after a monster drive to the fringe of the 350-yard par-4, was the big talking point of Lee’s round.
He was sharing the early lead at that point and, adding to the 24-year-old’s woes, his par putt horseshoed around the hole and triggered a run of three successive bogeys.
“I just thought it was a really fast (first) putt and the last thing you want to do is race it that far past, and I just slowed down on it and hit it probably two feet from so it wasn’t great,” Lee said.
“Then obviously … it’s the Masters, it’s a really quick downhill putt and I just missed a short putt. So it gets you quickly. You’ve got to concentrate on those ones.”
Lee played with Australian amateur Harrison Crowe, who also posted a 75 on debut, and veteran former champion Larry Mize in the American’s 40th and final Masters.
Crowe said “it was awesome” but resisted the temptation to rib Mize (79) about upstaging him and exacting some small revenge for his famous chip-in playoff victory over Greg Norman 36 years ago.
“It was a lot of fun and cool to share with it with Min Woo. Definitely eased things a little bit, and the first time I met Larry. He’s a really great guy,” Crowe said.
“I didn’t ask him that question (about Norman) but I did mention to Min Woo that it’s quite amazing we got two Aussies considering he did beat an Aussie back in the day.”