Apr 10, 2026
3 min read
The field's scoring average of 74.65 on Thursday was the highest at the Masters since 2017.
Despite the idyllic weather at Augusta National, the course proved itself in Round 1. As promised, Augusta plays solid and fast, with the course's average of 74.65 on Thursday the highest at the Masters since 2017.
The ranking on the first day was once again dazzling. Here are the numbers and important notes to know about the first round of the 90th Masters.
1. For more than a decade, Rory McIlroy has been going to Augusta National and faced the same questions every year.Now, the burden of history has been lifted and the demons of past Masters Sundays exorcised, McIlroy exudes a freedom he hasn't enjoyed in his previous moves around this place.McIlroy made only one bogey in an opening round of 67, one of the fewest by a defending champion in the first round.
After leading the 2025 tournament in strokes gained, McIlroy picked up where he left off with his irons, three shots out of the field in that stat, fifth best in the field according to DataGolf.Thursday was the fifth straight Masters round in which McIlroy gained more than a full stroke in competition with his approach game.That's from 2015 to 2024. He's done it just five times in 36 Masters rounds.
McIlroy birdied four par 5s on Thursday, his first time in a Masters round since Sunday in 2019. Over the past 20 years, Masters winners have bogeyed or eagled the par 5s more than 55 percent of the time.Since his debut in 2009, McIlroy has shot a par-5 108 at the Masters, tied with Phil Mickelson for the best combined score in that span.
2. This is the seventh time McIlroy has taken a first-round lead at a major, but only the second time at the Masters.The second example came before the collapse of the second-nine on Sunday in 2011.McIlroy is the first defending champion to hold the 18-hole lead or co-lead at Augusta National since Jordan Spieth in 2016 and the seventh in tournament history.Only one of them – Jack Nicklaus in 1966 – won the Masters in consecutive years.
Thursday marked the 10th time in McIlroy's major championship career that he has gone seven strokes or better over the course, tying Dustin Johnson for the most such rounds since 2009. Only three players have won the Masters in consecutive years: Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1980-1989-2009).
As for Woods, McIlroy wouldn't mind what Tiger did a quarter of a century ago at Augusta National.Open at St Andrews. The next year he came to Augusta and won.
3. McIlroy is joined at the top of the leaderboard by Sam Burns, an American who nearly won his first major last summer at Oakmont.Unlike McIlroy, Burns has no chance of returning from the Masters: Thursday's 67 was the best of his career.Entering Thursday, Burns is tied for 20 over his last eight Masters, with twelve bogeys.or worse during this time.
Burns led the field in strokes gained on the green (16) and strokes gained on the green (6.13) in Round 1.In his previous eight Masters rounds, he had hit less than 59 percent of the greens for the green-to-green field.Burns had a complete performance on Day 1: He and McIlroy were the only players in the field to have a stroke or more.The competition received denominations for each of the four primary strokes: off the tee, approach, around the green, and putting.
In his four previous Masters starts, Burns missed twice and finished no better than a tie for 29th.Burns has pre-tournament odds of 70-to-1. That would be the lowest pre-tournament odds to win the Masters since Charl Schwartzel went 1-to-1 in 2011.
4. 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed is tied for third, two shots back.A year ago, Reed was only behind McIlroy in strokes gained on his way to third place.On Thursday, his putter was the lion's share, he shot more than 3.5 shots on the green.Reed birdied both par 5s on the front nine.In his first 11 career Masters starts, Reed had just three eagles on those two holes.
Long one of golf's best figures, Reed left LIV Golf in early 2026 in an effort to return to the PGA Tour.Meanwhile, he's been a nightmare on the DP World Tour circuit, winning twice this season and leading all players in qualifying and total strokes gained per round.
5. Jason Day also opened with a 3-under-par 69, the third time in his Masters career that he started the week with a round in the 60s.Day received a lot of publicity for his pre-tournament scripting, but his birdies on the course deserve more attention.
The 38-year-old entered the week with some slyly strong statistical rankings in 2026.on tour: 10th in putts around the green, 25th in regulation and top 30 in putts.Day finished tied for eighth at the Masters last year, his best finish since 2019.
American Kurt Kitayama also shot 69 on the first day, posting a field-best eight birdies or better.In his third Masters start, Kitayama had a combined 18 through the first five rounds. He has now broken 70 with a round of 68 at the 2025 Masters. Kitayama, 33, has one top-10 finish in the premier tournament of his career: a tie for fourth at the 2023 PGA.
6. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler played the first three holes on Thursday in 3 under par, his best opening three holes in any round in his already incredible Masters career.He didn't make a single birdie for the rest of the afternoon, but at 2 under par, he's positioned to be a factor in this tournament once again.
Scheffler hit 12 of 14 fairways, just one of his career bests in any Masters round.He moved into second in the field in strokes gained off the tee thanks to superior driver accuracy.Scheffler shot 2-under par despite losing 5s and 5s on each of his last three par 5s.
With a win this week, Scheffler will become the first player in tournament history to win three greens in his first seven career majors, breaking the record of eight shared by Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods.
7. Justin Rose finished the opening round bogey-bogey, but at 2 under par, he is again struggling to get the green jacket.For a while Thursday, it looked like Rose could add to his Masters record of five first-round majors.For his career, Rose is 31 under par in the Masters opener, the best such score in tournament history.
Rose hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation, bettered by only three players in the field on day one. It was the 23rd time Rose had a round with 14 or more greens at Augusta National, five more than any player since 2004 (Tiger Wood, 18).Old Tom Morris won the 1867 Open at age 46
8. All four players who scored 70 goals in the first round are previous major winners.Along with Scheffler and Rose, Shane Lowry and Xander Schaufel are at 2 under and each looking for their first Masters win.
Schauffele, who has the best scoring average in tournament history for a winless player, made five birdies.He ranks in the top seven in the field in strokes gained from the tee and strokes gained from tee to green.Lowry had four birdies on the front nine, playing arguably his best golf since a late loss at the Cognizant Classic earlier this spring in Florida.
9. Two pre-tournament favorites, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, are looking to hit the reset button on their 2026 Masters experiences.DeChambeau shot a 76 on a day marred by a triple bogey 7 on the 11th hole.Since making his debut in 2016, DeChambeau has posted seven scores of 7 or higher at the Masters.No player has more in that team.Thursday marked the 10th Masters round of his career 75 or better.
Rahm (78) was probably an even bigger surprise.At LIV Golf this season, Rahm is averaging nearly six birdies or better per round.On Thursday, he failed to make a birdie, the first time he had done so in one round of his Masters career.Since winning the green jacket in 2023, Rahm has shot 60 just once in nine attempts.Among the 91 players in the field, only two were worse than Rahm in terms of strokes gained: amateur Mateo Pulcini and previous champion Mike Weir.
10. All five rounds in the 1960s came from the top 15 in golf.Overall, the top 15 averaged a daily score of 74.48, while their bottom 16 peers averaged 74.81.
Each of the last 20 Masters champions received par scores or better in the opening round.18 of the last 20 winners were in the top 10 after Round 1. Notably, McIlroy wasn't last year — he sat in a tie for 27th, and his seven-stroke deficit was tied for the largest in Masters history by a tournament winner.
