DAY ONE of the Masters at Augusta got underway on Thursday and it was as memorable as expected.
Korean golfer Sungjae I'm finished the first round atop the leaderboard at 5-under 67, with one eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.
The most talked about story of the day though was TIger Woods comeback.
Woods, suffered life-threatening injuries in a car crash 14 months ago, then feared he might lose his leg after the accident
The 15-time major champion Woods shot a one-under-par 71 on his Masters comeback.
Looking at the Irish contingent it was a mixed bag for the four men competing.
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)Rory Mcllroy T31 +1, 73
Rory Mcllroy came into the majors looking to finally win the Masters and complete golf's Grand Slam.
This is the 32-year-old's eighth attempt to complete the feat and hit one-over-par 73
He recorded two birdies, three-putting on 14 for a bogey leaving him joint 31st on the day
He spoke to RTE after the first day
"If I can bring that sort of form into tomorrow [Friday], just hole a few putts and get a bit more out of the round, I'll be pretty happy.
Shane Lowry T31 +1, 73
Shane Lowry was also on one over after the first day
Having nailed the 17th at Sawgrass last month, which followed an ace at the 16th at Augusta in 2016, he rattled the flag at the 240-yard fourth..
The Offaly native eagled the 14th but then slipped to a double bogey on 15 after his ball found the drink.
He also hit an eagle-birdie combination on the 13th and 14th
Lowry was 2-over through 12 holes, but wind pushed him down the leaderboard
He settled for a 1-over 73.
“It is what it is. I’m disappointed but I’ll pick myself up and go hit a few wedges and figure out what I’m doing and get at it tomorrow,” Lowry said.
Shane Lowry came very close to a hole-in-one on the fourth, with his ball hitting the pin 😬 #themasters pic.twitter.com/qHr38YkfXV
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) April 7, 2022
Padraig Harrington T43 +2, 74
Padraig Harrington is just inside the current cut mark on two over par, 74
The Dubliner (50) missed a six-footer at the first and a 12 footer at the second but birdied the third and long par-three fourth from four feet to take the early lead.
He three-putted the fifth, made a 67 footer up the hill for par at the sixth, then followed a bogey at the seventh with a birdie four at the eighth to get to one-under.
But as the wind got up, he came home in three-over as he missed a four-footer for par after finding sand at the 12th, then three-putted the 16th from 40 feet and dropped another shot with a weak chip at the 17th,
Seamus Power T43 +2, 74
Power made his Masters debut yesterday a year after entering golf's ranks as the 400 best golfer in the world.
His form recently has propelled him to 41st in the world allowing him to enter the event by invitation
Power shot a 2-over-par 74 in his first round in a major championship. His day included 16 pars and two bogeys.
“You have to wait for opportunities and if you can get a good look below the hole you feel like you need to make it. I had a couple and I wasn’t quite able to take advantage.”
Tee times for day two
Round two - Friday, 8 April
14:06 Lucas Herbert (Aus), Seamus Power (Ire), Patrick Reed (US)
18:08 Max Homa (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Kevin Na (US)
16:18 Austin Greaser (US)*, Padraig Harrington (Ire), Mike Weir (Can)
15:45 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US), Rory McIlroy (NI)
