Sports Writing (USA), (EFE).- The Spanish Jon Rahm starred in the feat this Thursday at the Augusta Masters after recovering from a first hole with a double ‘bogey’ and ending the day as leader with the Norwegian Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka on a 7-under 65.
Jon Rahm did not start well, with a double ‘bogey’ on the first hole fought with his ‘putt’. He needed six shots to crown it, four of them from the ‘green’, but everything quickly became an anecdote when he completed two and three with two ‘birdies’.
From that moment on, the man from Barrika showed that he is one of the great favorites to put on the green jacket this Sunday. Five more ‘birdies’ for a total of seven on the day, plus an ‘eagle’ in the eight.
“I didn’t dramatize much either. The ‘putts’ had rolled well, he had read the fall well. It had simply been a speed problem and he had thrown a lot of ‘putts’ in training. The one on hole one is not an easy ‘green’ and seeing that Justin Thomas had stayed a meter and a half short confused me”, explained the one from Barrika.
Hovland shone on the first day of the Masters and managed to be the sole provisional leader for much of the day, signing a card of seven strokes under par. Jon Rahm’s spectacular comeback deprived him of being alone in the lead.
Norwegian golfer Viktor Hovland during the 17th hole in the first round of the Augusta Masters in the US. EFE/Erik Lesser
Two more golfers completed the top 5 at Augusta, both American Cameron Young and Australian Jason Day hitting 67 on the first day.
Behind them, seven more golfers with -4, including the defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, the Olympic champion Xander Schauffele, as well as an amateur, Sam Bennet, the first non-professional to break into the top ten since he did. Ryan Moore in 2005.
Scheffler was uncomfortable on the ‘greens’, with some improper mistakes of his, but completing a good start with four under par, within shot of the leaders. A good Friday will put him back in the fight for the title.
There were favorites like Jordan Spieth who saved the day despite having been through a lot of problems. He went on to throw two balls into the water on three consecutive holes. Two ‘bogeys’ in five and eleven, as well as a double ‘bogey’ in thirteen, deprived him of being among the leaders.
There was a lot of expectation about the route that Tiger Woods could take, and what was expected was confirmed, that the blows have them, but the physique does not. That is why the legend starred in a round with ups and downs throughout the day, leaving a good taste in the mouth at the end with two consecutive ‘birdies’ on holes fifteen and sixteen.
Woods closes the day with one stroke more than par for the field, a good result that puts him with options to make the cut after Friday’s day.
Sergio García closed his Thursday with 74 strokes (+2), a result that allows him to maintain options in order to make the cut but that will force him not to make mistakes on Friday. In his first card in this edition of the Masters, the 2017 winner had nine magnificent first holes with two ‘birdies’ on six and eight.
He lost that advantage in the second part of the tour, in which he added up to four ‘bogeys’. Three of them consecutively on holes thirteen, fourteen and fifteen.
Chema Olazábal had a hard time starting the day, with two ‘bogeys’ and a double ‘bogey’ in the first three holes. Since then, a very remarkable tour for the veteran, who closed his first tour with 77 strokes.
Chilean Joaquín Niemann had a brilliant start at Augusta, quickly going downhill thanks to four birdies on the front nine. He did not know how to maintain that level in the second part of his journey and suffered with the ‘bogeys’ in twelve, thirteen, fifteen and eighteen.
He finished signing one under par, while his compatriot, Mito Pereira, finished the day with 74 strokes.
The Argentinian Mateo Fernández de Oliveira, one of the amateurs in the tournament, with an invitation after winning the Latin American Amateur Championship, debuted with four shots over par, halfway through the course he began to experience first-hand the toughness and demands of the course.
The Mexican Abraham Ancer, in his fourth participation in Augusta, closed the day with the pair of the field, knowing how to react when he got to +3 after a difficult first stretch of the route. Between holes thirteen and sixteen he made three ‘birdies’ that made forget the previous mistakes.
