Hoffman posts 65, leads Masters

In cool, windy conditions, Charley Hoffman emerged from the pack this afternoon

Hoffman birdied five of the final seven holes for an opening, 7-under-par 65 at Augusta National Golf Club.

The 40-year-old Hoffman leads the Masters Tournament by four shots over the field on a day that featured high scores and few highlights.

Only 11 players in the 93-player field shot under par. The average score for the first round was 74.98.

Earlier in the day, William McGirt of Boiling Springs, S.C., shot 69 to take the clubhouse lead. McGirt, a first-time Masters competitor, became the first golfer Thursday to post a sub-70 round.

Lee Westwood, a two-time Masters runner-up, sat at 3-over for 12 holes. Then, he reeled off five consecutive birdies and finished at 70. He is alone in third place.

Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson posted 71 and is tied for fourth with Russell Henley, Kevin Chappell, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Jason Dufner and Sergio Garcia.

Thomas Pieters, an early leader at 5-under through 10, finished at 72. He is tied with Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Soren Kjeldsen, Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar and Shane Lowry.

Defending Masters champion Danny Willett shot 73 and is tied with 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Scott Piercy, Marc Leishman and Justin Thomas.

Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, successfully navigated the 12th hole after suffering a disaster there in the final round last year. He was even par entering the par-5 15th, when he hit his third shot into the water. He finished with a quadruple-bogey 9, his second quadruple bogey in his past two rounds in the Masters. Spieth finished with 75.

Stewart Hagestad, the reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, is the low amateur in the field with 74.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson withdrew just before teeing off in the final pairing of the day. He suffered a bizarre back injury the day before and couldn’t take any swings without feeling pain. He is expected to take the next three weeks off.