Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau create early Masters thrills

The rollercoaster ride of Tony Finau’s 24 hours and a second-nine charge by Jordan Spieth gave patrons plenty to soak in on the first day of the Masters Tournament.

After entering Thursday morning simply aiming to get to the No. 1 tee, Finau enters the second round in contention, occasional slight limp included.

Meanwhile, Spieth hit a late spurt that offered flashbacks to his 2015 Masters victory and gives him a two-stroke lead at 6-under after the first round at Augusta National Golf Club.

Finau was cleared to play in his first Masters after an MRI revealed no broken bones in his left ankle, just a dislocation, after celebrating an ace during Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest. He followed up by shooting 4-under-par 68 to sit two strokes back of Spieth.

“It’s been pretty crazy,” Finau said. “To be in this position I’m at now, when I woke up this morning, it’s nothing short of a miracle if you ask me. I could barely put pressure on it, barely walk on it.”

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Finau carded six birdies to match the best first round in a Masters debut in the past 15 years. He said his tape-wrapped ankle felt better as the round progressed despite some compensation in his swing, and he was simply grateful to get to play.

“I was more than ecstatic to be walking to the first tee,” he said.

Spieth hit the second nine at 2-under on the heels of an eagle on No. 8. He reeled off three consecutive birdies between 13 and 15 before scrambling for bogey at 18 to post 66.

"We build plans for the year to peak at certain times, and I believe that not just at Augusta but the major championships going back a number of years, I’ve played really well," Spieth said.

Matt Kuchar joined Finau at 4-under for a positive start to his 12th Masters after tying for fourth last year.

A contingent at 3-under included a player with experience near the top of an early Masters leaderboard. Charley Hoffman shot 69 to sit three back of the lead.

Hoffman made early waves last year with a first-round 65 before finishing in a tie for 22nd. He opened the 2015 Masters with two rounds in the 60s and tied for ninth.

The round wasn’t as low this time, but Hoffman put together five birdies, including on three par-5s and the tough 14th hole.

“You can't win the tournament - I've proven that - after the first round, and I just want to give myself a chance on Saturday and Sunday like I have in the past, and I promise you I'll perform a little better this time around,” Hoffman said. “I've learned a lot and I can't wait to get an opportunity and do it again.”

Rory McIlroy is playing for the career Grand Slam and started strong at 3-under, joined by Patrick Reed, Adam Hadwin, Haotong Li, Henrik Stenson and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Zach Johnson are among a group at 2-under.

Four-time champion Tiger Woods struggled on the par-5s and opened with 1-over 73. In his first Masters start since 2015, Woods didn't birdie any of Augusta National's par-5 holes.

Meanwhile, a big name made waves in the first round for a more ominous reason.

Defending champion Sergio Garcia put five balls in the water on No. 15 for 8-over-par 13 on the hole, derailing his tournament just as it began.

Garcia, who carded eagle the last time he played the hole en route to the 2017 Masters victory, was 2-over entering 15 and ended his day 9-over. He avoided falling into last place after the first day but managed to set a record for highest score on the hole in tournament history.

The previous high on No. 15 was 11 set three times between Masashi Ozaki in 1987, Ben Crenshaw in 1997 and Ignacio Garrido in 1998. Garcia’s 13 matched the highest score on any hole in tournament history, previously done twice.

“I felt like I hit a lot of good shots and, unfortunately, the ball just didn't want to stop,” Garcia said. “I don't know. It's one of those things. It's just unfortunate, but that's what it is.”

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