Later start meant lower scores Thursday at the Masters

On a day when wind wasn’t a significant factor, difficult hole locations helped defend Augusta National Golf Club in the opening round of the Masters Tournament.

At least that was true on a chilly morning before Jordan Spieth and others scorched the back nine late. And, per usual, taming the layout’s four par-5s was the key to climbing the leaderboard.

Temperatures were in the 40s with dry, slick greens when play began at 8:30 a.m. By day’s end, everyone on the first page of the leaderboard could be thankful for their later starting time. Each golfer in the top 10 at the end of the first round teed off between 11:04 and 2 p.m., playing the round under sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 60s.

Bernd Wiesberger had one of the best rounds in the morning, teeing off at 9:14 and shooting 70.

“I was starting to warm up like 8 or so. It was very chilly, but it wasn't that bad,” he said. “But yeah, it was a bit cold. Ball definitely flew a little bit shorter than it did on the back nine when it started to warm up and the course started to warm up further.”

Solving the 450-yard par-4, No. 7 was a stiff challenge throughout the round. The hole was cut five yards from the front edge, tucked over the bunker. Approach shots to the elevated green that came to rest 30-40 feet beyond the hole left the competitors a slippery putt down the slope.

Complicating the issue, 49 players in the 87-man field missed the narrow fairway on No. 7, their balls stopping in either the second cut or the pine straw. Those golfers played the hole a combined 36-over. No. 7 was the most difficult hole of the day with a 4.391 stroke average.

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“Yeah, I kept leaving myself above the hole and giving myself defensive putts,” said Tiger Woods who hit the fairway at No. 7 and two-putted for par from 25 feet. “But that's the nature of this golf course. A 6‑footer downhill is so much more difficult than a 15 or 20‑footer uphill. We know that, but it's sometimes difficult to put the ball in the correct spot.”

Hole locations were tucked in the back of the green on both front nine par-3s, making birdies scarce. Only 31 percent of the field hit the green in regulation on No. 4, which measured 240 yards and yielded five birdies. The 180-yard sixth was stingier still. A diabolical back left hole location, sitting precariously on the top shelf, six paces from the left edge of the green forced players to be conservative and face a lengthy birdie try. Ryan Moore and Chez Reavie were the only golfers to make a two there.

A back left hole location at No. 14 made it the fourth most difficult hole at Augusta National in the first round (4.299 stroke average).

Former Augusta State standout Patrick Reed made five birdies and two bogeys in his 69, exercising caution to leave himself as many uphill putts as possible.

“Even though you might have a pitching wedge or 9‑iron in your hand, depending where the flag is, depending on what kind of lie you have, what fairway, etcetera, pars are good with short clubs,” he said.

With players playing conservatively throughout the round, capitalizing on Augusta National’s quartet of par-5s was imperative. Holes 2, 8, 13 and 15 were the four easiest on the day. They surrendered 134 of the field’s 271 birdies and four of the five eagles.

Spieth was 5-under on the par-5s. Finau was 4-under and Kuchar was 3-under.

“Well all the par‑5s are gettable, so you got four birdies there, if you can get good drives away,” Jason Day said after an opening-round 75. “Then there's a couple mixed in there. So if you can get ‑‑ there's probably anywhere between six and eight chances of making actual birdies and then the rest you are just trying to play a little bit more conservative.”