Aphibarnrat executes his plan for best Masters round

A little patience went a long way toward Kiradech Aphibarnrat enjoying his best round ever at the Masters.

Through 12 holes of Thursday's opening round, Aphirbarnrat couldn't buy a birdie. He wasn't struggling, making 11 pars and just one bogey, but he just couldn't get anything going.

In a way, it was by design.

"You don't want to get yourself in trouble," Aphibarnrat said. "The front nine here is important if you get hurt a lot, it brings your confidence down. I just kept myself in play and didn't have many birdie chances."

PHOTOS: Round 1 at the Masters

Once he finally put a red number on the board, however, Aphibarnrat kept the momentum going and finished strong, playing the final six holes in 4 under to finish at 3-under 69.

Aphibarnrat jump-started his hot finish with an eagle on the par-5 13th hole, hitting a 3-iron from 225 yards out of the right rough to 10 feet. The ball landed on the top shelf, but caught the ridge and trickled down.

"That was one of my best putts so far," Aphibarnrat said.

He rode the momentum to back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, chipping from off the back right edge of the green to a foot on 15 and then sticking his tee shot on the par-3 16th to eight feet.

"It was quite difficult to get my first birdie (the eagle)," Aphibarnrat said. "I'd been hitting some good shots, some good putts that didn't go in. I knew I had to wait and the eagle on 13 relieved me a little bit."

Aphibarnrat tied for 15th in his first Masters appearance in 2016 and tied for 44th last year. Three shots off the lead held by Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, he likes his position going into Friday's second round.

"A 3 under here is not easy at all," Aphibarnrat said. "I'm a couple strokes behind, but it's the best round of me. Not many players get under par on this course and you have to be solid every shot."