Chad Campbell ran off five straight birdies — the best start ever in the Masters — and Jim Furyk charged up the crowd with four straight birdies late in his round. Even that notoriously slow starter, Tiger Woods, got in on the action.
Anyone worried that Augusta National had lost its excitement only had to listen to the sweetest of sounds on Thursday: the roars returned to the Masters.
Campbell led an assault on the record book with nine birdies in 15 holes before two late mistakes made him settle for a seven-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Furyk and Hunter Mahan.
PHOTO: AP
The cheers came from all corners for 11 hours of golf that produced six eagles and 354 birdies. There were 19 rounds in the 60s, the most ever for the first round, and only four fewer than the entire tournament last year.
It was so easy that Woods nearly broke 70 in the opening round for the first time in his career.
It was his first time breaking par in the first round of the Masters since 2002, one of four years he’s won a green jacket.
Greg Norman played for the first time since 2002 and the 54-year-old Shark was shocked by all the changes. Even more shocking was that he shot a 70 and was mildly disappointed.
“Really could have shot a nice, mid-60s score today,” Norman said. “I’m not complaining.”
The average score was 72.25, nearly two shots easier than a year ago and the lowest since it was 72.06 in 1992.
Larry Mize, in his rookie year on the Champions Tour, became only the second player over 50 to shoot a 67. The other was Jack Nicklaus, who did it twice.
Shingo Katayama also had a 67, while the group at 68 included 48-year-old Kenny Perry, former Masters champion Mike Weir, Sean O’Hair and former US Open champion Angel Cabrera.
British Open and US PGA champion Padraig Harrington opened with a 69, a strong start in his bid to join Woods and Ben Hogan as the only players to win three successive majors.
That’s what made Phil Mickelson so disgusted.
The two-time Masters champion, who has a chance to go to No. 1 in the world with a victory, failed to take advantage of the easier hole locations and made only two birdies in his round of 73.
“I drove it terrible,” Mickelson said. “I played terrible.”
A year ago, shooting a 73 would have been a relief on a course that players felt had become more like a U.S. Open. On a day like this, and a course like this, it felt like an opportunity wasted.
Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang, playing alongside 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, signed for a 77 in his major debut and struggled to handle his nerves.
The 34-year-old turned in one over with three birdies against four bogeys but made costly double bogeys on 10 and 12 to leave himself with an uphill task of making the halfway cut yesterday.
“I missed too many short putts for par. On 10, my drive caught some branches and then I struggled to get home. The second double was disappointing as I thought I hit a good nine iron but it ended up in the flower bed,” he said.
“I also couldn’t find the lines on the greens. But it wasn’t such a bad day as the score may suggest,” he said. “When we started, it was scary being on the first tee as there were so many people out there.”
“I fought hard and after 12 holes, I told myself to relax and I played quite nicely after that,” said Lin, who broke into the world’s top-50 last season.
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