MASTERS 2015: Spieth is Master of his domain

BY STEVE KEIPERT AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL GC

Right now in golf its Jordan Spieth's world and we're just living in it. The 21-year-old prodigy coupled fine play with good fortune to climb to the top of the Masters leaderboard after round one, a mere 12 months after he finished second on debut.

Spieth carded an opening 64 to sit at eight-under-par as the youngest first-round leader in tournament history. A quartet of players that includes Jason Day sits three strokes adrift.

Jordan Spieth gives a little air punch after putting out on 18 to card an eight under 64 and lead the Masters by three shots. PHOTO: Getty Images.

In perfect scoring conditions, Spieth sparked quickly by birdieing the 2nd and 4th holes before embarking on a run of six birdies in seven holes from the 8th. The birdie binge ended with a messy bogey at the 15th that quashed any thoughts of him matching Greg Norman and Nick Price's course record of 63, although a final-hole birdie putt from across the 18th green left him just a stroke shy.

The Texan displayed the same flair and firepower he showed us in carving a 63 out of The Australian Golf Club last November to waltz out of town cradling the Australian Open trophy. That same panache has remained on show in the past month on the US PGA Tour.

Building a combination of elite shot-making and deadly putting, Spieth wasn't without some strokes of good luck. A blocked drive on the 7th hole saw his ball finish with a perfect corridor to the flag through the pines when he could easily have been completely stymied. After a stunning iron shot to the dangerous par-3 12th, Spieth chased after his birdie putt in the belief he had a par putt to come. Instead the first putt dropped. On the next tee his drive sailed deep into the right trees before rebounding into the fairway from where he made birdie. Next came a punched, chasing escape shot from the trees at 14 that slammed into the flagstick and stopped tap-in distance away to propel him to eight-under.

But as Masters founder Bobby Jones once said, "Luck is nothing but the residue of good work." And Spieth's current body of work is enthralling. High on the potent pairing of confidence and ability, his form is ominous.

"It's one of the better rounds I've ever played ... To make nine birdies out here, that's a dreamy round for me. It was a lot of fun," said Spieth, who has already confirmed he will defend his Australian Open crown in November. "It's nice to put myself in a position now where I can really stay patient, dig in and keep giving myself opportunities and not worry about anything else. I can pretty much control my own destiny from here.

Jason Day was pleased with his approach into the 15th, which set up another birdie in his round of 67. PHOTO: Getty Images.

"It was just one of those days when the breaks were all going my way," Spieth said of the fortunate bounces he received. "I'm going to need to strike the ball better to hold the lead."

Day oozed comfort with his surroundings in a 67 that actually disappointed the player from a technical standpoint. Playing in the last group, Day plucked birdies from the course when they were on offer and risked little when they weren't. His seven-birdie, two-bogey tally hinged on five consecutive birdies sandwiched between his only dropped shots at the 11th and 17th holes.

"I felt like it played pretty tough out there," Day said despite his birdie run. "I see it gradually getting harder and harder as the week goes on.

"Today I didn't quite feel like my swing was timed quite right ... you've just got to be patient."

Day gave himself a pep talk walking to the 12th tee after lipping out a short par putt on 11. That self-talk sparked his round-defining run.

"I was just thinking, 'My Bounce Back stats have been pretty good this year, I'll try to give myself an opportunity on the 12th hole.' And I didn't realise I was going to rattle off five in a row. It was a good stretch of holes."

On a leaderboard headed by youth and experience, Ernie Els also sits in equal second place courtesy of a 67 highlighted by an eagle at the 15th hole. The South African broke 70 on a Thursday at Augusta National for the first time in his career and shares second with Justin Rose, who shot his third straight 67 in a major dating back to the weekend rounds of the US PGA Championship last August, and Charley Hoffman. The fast-playing Californian led the field away in the 79th Masters after beginning the day by watching honorary starters Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus begin proceedings and asking Arnie and Jack for their autographs.

Adam Scott (72) played controlled golf and missed a few makeable putts including this one at the par-5 2nd hole. PHOTO: Getty Images

The venerable golf course remained soft and the greens receptive all day. Several approach shots spun off the fronts of putting surfaces as controlling the spin became crucial to accurate iron play. Conditions remained warm and mostly windless as 30 players bettered par and 11 broke 70.

John Senden made only two bogeys in a methodical 71, while Adam Scott played controlled golf for 17 holes in an even-par 72. A pair of missed short putts, for birdie on 15 and for par on 16, blotted an otherwise solid round. Scott birdied the 8th despite driving into the fairway bunker, bogeyed the tough 11th after missing the fairway right and two-putted for birdie at the par-5 13th. The highlight of his round came with a perfect iron shot to 17 that finished inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie. Alas, he failed to escape cleanly from the fairway bunker on 18, striking the top of the lip and finding the next trap en route to a bogey.

"To not birdie 15 just turned things to finish the wrong way," Scott said, adding that it felt like 70 would have been a fairer return. "To walk off with two-under, I would be pretty pleased with that with not playing my best, not playing my worst.

Tiger Woods looked tired at times during his opening round of 73. PHOTO: Getty Images.

"I've got three days to chip away at the leaders. It would be great to go out and have a nice round and do it in one day and be right there, but as long as I put in a solid day tomorrow, I'll be in good shape for the weekend. It all changes on the weekend."

Antonio Murdaca, the amateur from Adelaide who qualified as the Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, made no bogeys but was bitten hard by four of Augusta's par-4s. He double-bogeyed the 1st, 10th, 14th and 18th holes in shooting 78.

Career Grand Slam aspirant Rory McIlroy shot a respectable 71 after a pair of miscued chip shots on the front nine thwarted any early charge. He birdied both back-nine par-5s (the holes where he has a self-confessed poor record at Augusta) to at least start his bid for a third consecutive major victory in red numbers.

Woods gestures to the crowd after a hard day at the office. PHOTO: Getty Images.

The ultra-scrutinised return to action of Tiger Woods resulted in a 73 that revealed few of the pitching and chipping problems that plagued his early 2015 starts but more of the errant driving we've seen plenty of in the past several seasons. He played the 9th hole via the 1st fairway after a wicked hook from the tee that preceded a worse second shot into the treeline between the two holes. That bogey was actually a good result amid the calamity. Woods then found Rae's Creek at the 12th on a day when few others did as he generally looked short on tournament sharpness and total comfort with every club.

The happiest coincidence on Thursday came when evergreen Tom Watson, now 65, shot 71, which happened to be the same score recorded by another two-time Masters winner named Watson, defending champion Bubba.

TODAY AT AUGUSTA

• A handful of players - Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley and Charley Hoffman among them - gather at 7:45am to watch honorary starters Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus commence the Masters with ceremonial tee shots. Palmer, with an ailing shoulder, drags a hook near the 9th fairway; Player pipes his up the centre with Nicklaus' drive rolling up seven to eight yards behind. The Golden Bear later jokes that the only reason Player outdrove him is because he caught his drive out of the toe.
• Your correspondent wandered down the left side of the 2nd hole early in the first round and peered across at the skinny creek tucked down the hill from the fairway that few people know exists until they come here. As I wandered, I wondered how often players find this innocuous hazard. Well, World No.1 Rory McIlroy did today with a bad hook off the tee of the par-5 but he still managed to save par.
• Three players compile healthy par streaks to start their Masters campaigns. Somewhat predictably, Jim Furyk is one while first-time participant Erik Compton and Thongchai Jaidee are the others. The Thai blinks first with a double-bogey at the 10th and Compton bows out with a six of his own at the par-5 13th but Furyk's run lasts 14 holes before he also records a bogey six at the 15th.
• Inside the media centre, there is no distinction being made on the huge manual leaderboard between co-leader Charley Hoffman and debutant Morgan Hoffmann. The extra 'n' is the key but on Thursday the name "Hoffman" sits below both Charley's 67 and Morgan's 73.
• Ben Crenshaw finishes double-bogey, triple-bogey in shooting 91, the day's highest score by six strokes. Twenty years after he captured his second green jacket, the 63-year-old is calling this his last Masters after tomorrow's round.

LEADERBOARD

1. Jordan Spieth (US) 64

T2. Jason Day (Qld) 67

T2. Ernie Els (RSA) 67

T2. Justin Rose (Eng) 67

T2. Charley Hoffman (US) 67

Also:

T18. John Senden (Qld) 71

T31. Adam Scott (Qld) 72

T54. Geoff Ogilvy (Vic) 74

T85. Antonio Murdaca (a, SA) 78

• For the full leaderboard, click here