Topeka's Woodland leads Masters newcomers

Gary Woodland was the last of 20 newcomers to hit a shot Thursday in the first round of the Masters.

The Topeka golfer was also the best finisher among that group, carding a 3-under 69 at Augusta National.

Four other first-time participants in golf's first major of the season, broke par. Rickie Fowler, Hiroyuki Fujita, Gregory Havret and Kyung-Tae Kim all shot 2-under 70.

For Woodland, the charge came late. A six-under stretch over the final six holes included an eagle on No. 13 and consecutive birdies on the last four holes to close the round.

"This place is great,'' Woodland said. "Growing up, you always see the back side and to put up birdies and finish the last six at 6-under, that's pretty exciting.''

The most celebrated of the first-time participants was Rickie Fowler, who was a darling pick for some -- perhaps because of his flowing hair, or his pastel apparel or his promising game.

A strong finish contributed to his 70. Birdies on Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 18 helped him turn around a 2-over start while playing alongside Rory McIlroy, who shot a 7-under 65 and shares the first-round lead with Alvaro Quiros.

"I made a couple of good up-and-downs on the first 14 holes there to keepme in it,'' said Fowler, "and just kind of battled back with some good birdies.''

Of course, with Fowler, as many questions were asked about his clothing as his round. He wore a green shade Puma made especially for the Masters, though he will stay true to his Oklahoma State roots with his traditional Sunday garb.

"I got to stick to my orange,'' he said.

Of course, that's if he makes it. First-timers are sometimes prone to second-round shakes.

Jason Day hopes to avoid such a collapse by playing again in the same group with McIlroy and Fowler. Day shot an even-par 72, carding consecutive birdies on 13, 14, 15 and 16 before making a bogey on 17.

At 23, Day was the oldest player in his group and jokingly said it was hard to keep up.

"I get too hard on myself sometimes, and when I don't achieve I get very disappointed,'' Day said. "I'm just having fun. This is my first Masters, so whatever happens, I'm just having fun out here.''

HELLO, AUGUSTA

First-round scores Thursday by first-time participants in the first round of the Masters:

69 -- Gary Woodland.

70 -- Rickie Fowler, Hiroyuki Fujita, Gregory Havret, Kyung-Tae Kim.

72 -- David Chung, Jason Day, Peter Hanson, Hideki Matsuyama, D.A. Points, Peter Uihlein, Jhonattan Vegas.

73 -- Jin Jeong, Jeff Overton.

74 -- Charley Hoffman, Martin Laird.

75 -- Kevin Streelman.

76 -- Lion Kim, Mark Wilson.

80 -- Arjun Atwal.