McIlroy and Quiros lead after day one
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2011 US Masters | Round One | 08 Apr 2011
Two of the most exciting prospects in European golf, Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros lead after the opening round of the Masters, their respective rounds of 65 providing the pair with a two shot advantage over Koreans K. J. Choi and Y.E Yang.
Playing in just his third Masters tournament McIlroy was out in outstanding conditions at 9.24 on day one and birdied three of his first four holes for the near perfect start. The 21 year old from Northern Ireland was bogey free for the remainder of his round and when he finished the day at around 2.00pm he would have the lead until the last putt of the day was holed by Quiros who was playing in the final group.
McIlroy brings some solid early season form into the event and, although he missed the cut in this event last year after finishing 20th on debut in 2009, he was considered one of the pre tournament favourites.
Quiros, too, arrived at Augusta National with reason to be confident about a good week. Although he has missed the cut in his previous two starts in the event his status in the game has been significantly elevated in the last twelve months with wins in Dubai and in his homeland of Spain and other good finishes in significant events. That he improved on his previous best score at Augusta National by ten shots however was a surprise.
Quiros stormed home with seven birdies in his last twelve holes, his only bogey of the day coming at the 14th but it was bogey that saved the round to a large extent and inspired his big finish. He found the right hand rough (read first cut) from the tee and when trying to escape caught another tree and was then forced to pitch out well short of the green. His fourth finished 10 feet from the hole and he made the slippery putt for the bogey.
Choi and Yang were out in the afternoon field but with conditions relatively perfect for most of the day they were not at the inconvenience an afternoon player might sometimes expect. Yang actually reached the lead with two holes to play but bogeys at the 17th and 18th put a dampener on what had been a great round.
Choi was only plodding when he reached the par five 13th but five birdies in his last six holes have him well placed to continue what has been a very good record at Augusta National.
Matt Kuchar and Ricky Barnes are next best at 4 under and three from the lead. Kuchar first played this event in 1998 as an amateur following his US Amateur Championship victory the previous year. He finished 21st then and in three starts since has not improved on that debut effort. He is, though, now one of the most consistent and better performed players in the game and it showed today.
Barnes is another former US Amateur Champion and he too made finished 21st as an amateur on debut in 2003. He has played the event on only one other occasions when finishing 10th last year. He has a big game temperament it would seem as he has also finished runner-up at the US Open.
It took pre tournament favourite Phil Mickelson – another afternoon starter – a while to warm to his task but when he did he began to look threatening. Despite some indifferent shot-making he seems to find a way to get around this golf course. When he produced a birdie from nowhere at the 14th then two putted the 15th for another he was at 3 under but a bogey at the last after missing the green left has him at 2 under and in a share of 14th position.
Tiger Woods made a solid if slow start to his day and reached the turn at 1 under. He dropped shots at the 10th and 11th but birdies at the 13th and 14th had him back at 1 under which is where he would finish.
The leading Australian is Geoff Ogilvy who played late in the day with Mickelson and looked good. He was only able to birdie one of the par fives but at 3 under he looks capable of contending over the weekend.
Adam Scott and Jason Day are at even par, Day doing well in his first competitive round on the golf course. Scott recovered well from a potentially round upsetting double bogey at the first to be 1 under through 15 but he bogeyed the final hole to finish with 72.
Robert Allenby continued his Augusta National struggles to finish with a round of 75 as did the in-form Aaron Baddeley and Stuart Appleby who is battling back issues.
Conditions are expected to be similar tomorrow which suggests that the cut might fall at even par or one over dependant also on just what score the 36 hole leader finishes. Any player inside the top 44 and ties or within ten shots of the leader gets the chance to play the weekend.
