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At age 44, Justin Rose is out to complete the job he’s come agonizingly close to finishing at Augusta National Golf Club. That would be to pick up the green jacket he’s left behind so many times.
The Englishman, who knows a few things about leading the Masters Tournament, is in front again after Thursday’s first round. He opened with 7-under-par 65 and leads two familiar figures from last year, by three shots.
Tied for second place are defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg, who was the runner-up to Scheffler a year ago. Joining them at 68 is Canadian star Corey Connors.
Two players from the LIV Golf Tour – Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton – had 69s and are four back. DeChambeau was the first-round leader here last year, with 65, and ended up tying for sixth.
Rory McIlroy, one of the pretournament favorites, was in the mix until double bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17. He finished with 72 and declined comment after the round.
Only six shots off the lead, 65-year-old Fred Couples made some history by becoming the oldest player to break par in a round at the Masters. Couples, who needed just 23 putts, is one month younger than Tom Watson was when he had 71 in 2015. His round was buoyed by a 191-yard hole-out on No. 14 for eagle.
Rose, who has a U.S. Open and an Olympic gold medal on his resume, has led or co-led after every round in his Masters career – including being tied after 72 holes. That was 2017, when he lost in a playoff to Sergio Garcia. He’s been a first-round leader five times.
Maybe Rose’s time will come in this, his 20th Masters appearance.
“You know what, I feel like I've played well enough to win this tournament. I just feel like I don't have the jacket to prove it,” said Rose. “You know, ultimately, you want to be last man standing on Sunday.”
On a day he called a “stern test,” Rose had seven birdies (including three in a row to start the day) and stayed bogey-free until a wayward tee shot on No. 18 led to a bogey. He needed his putter just 25 times.
“Yeah, obviously when you shoot 7 under and you clip a major championship field by three, you have to do a lot of things well, and obviously the putter was a big part of it,” he said.
In 2021, four years after his playoff loss to Garcia here, Rose opened with 65 – just as he did on Thursday – and led by four shots. He couldn’t keep the magic going, following with 72-72-74 to finish seventh.
He’s back again, in what he called the “Indian Summer” of his career, knocking at the door.
He’s motivated to “keep working hard and being in shape and giving myself an opportunity to keep competing with the best players in the world and to keep enjoying the stage like I had today. That's a lot of fun. You know, it's hard just to get into these tournaments. So just to keep that level of golf going, that gives me the access and the ability to keep competing at the highest stage and in the best events in the world. That is what motivates me. So yeah, you know, from my point of view, that's a lot of fun today, and that's what I'm in the game for is to feel these experiences.”
As Rose has painfully discovered, leading after the first round is usually not a good spot if you hope to be slipping on a green jacket on late Sunday night. In the past 45 years, only Trevor Immelman (2008) and Jordan Spieth (2015) have pulled off that feat.
Rose, who has 11 PGA Tour wins, the last one coming at Pebble Beach in 2023, may be 44 but he still expects to perform at a high level on the biggest stages.
“I still have that dream that I can win one of these things, maybe more than one of them,” he said of majors. “I still think I can shake it with the best.”
The pretournament talk was all about McIlroy and Scheffler, who both are trying to make history.
Scheffler, the defending champion who is trying to join Jack Nicklaus as the only player to win three Masters titles in four years. He’s been the No. 1-ranked player for the past 131 weeks.
And McIlroy, who put himself in a big hole with a back-nine 39 on Thursday, needs a win this week to achieve the Career Grand Slam. This is his 11th attempt to do so at the Masters.
Scheffler had four birdies while hitting 11 greens and 10 fairways in regulation. He had 26 putts.
“I felt pretty good,” he said. “Anytime you can keep a card clean out here, it's a really good thing.”
Rose was well aware of Scheffler’s position, at least after the round, he said.
“But you do notice Scottie on the leaderboard and you're like, 'That's a great start for him.' You know, he's going to be tough from there for sure. Like you know that. But it doesn't rattle you or change what you're doing or influence you in any way. But you're like, OK, his position in the game right now and obviously the way he's played in recent years, that's a great start for him. Probably a perfect start.”
As for McIlroy, it all came crashing down for him on the par-5 15th hole. At the time, he was 4 under and tied for second place. From just over the green, he chipped long and his ball rolled into the pond. He emerged with a double bogey. He added another double bogey on No. 17 after his second shot flew the green and he chipped long a second time.
While the first-round leader rarely wins, being in the top 11 after the first round is a good place to be. The last 19 winners were in that group after the first round.
In his Masters victories, Scheffler opened with 69 in 2022 and trailed by two shots. Last year, he shot 66 and was one off the lead.
“I don't really think about that stuff very much. I don't really care what happened in the last few tournaments,” said. “I think anytime you get close to the lead, it's going to be easier for you to win the golf tournament. That's a simple fact of the matter. You get off to a good start, statistically you're going to have a better chance to win the tournament.
That stat – where it’s hard to rally to win if you’re outside the top 11 after Day 1, came as a surprise to Scheffler.
“I think around major championship golf courses, too - it's funny because this is a golf course where there's a lot of opportunities. There's a lot of opportunity over the weekend. There's a lot of opportunity on Sunday with where they put the pins. I'm a bit surprised that it's like that, but I wouldn't say that it can't be done.”
David Westin is a recipient of the Masters Major Achievement Award and has covered every tournament at Augusta National Golf Club since 1979 for The Augusta Chronicle. He also caddied at the club for a time.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Justin Rose leads 2025 Masters by 3 shots after first round; Scheffler second
Continue reading...
The Englishman, who knows a few things about leading the Masters Tournament, is in front again after Thursday’s first round. He opened with 7-under-par 65 and leads two familiar figures from last year, by three shots.
Tied for second place are defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg, who was the runner-up to Scheffler a year ago. Joining them at 68 is Canadian star Corey Connors.
Two players from the LIV Golf Tour – Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton – had 69s and are four back. DeChambeau was the first-round leader here last year, with 65, and ended up tying for sixth.
Rory McIlroy, one of the pretournament favorites, was in the mix until double bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17. He finished with 72 and declined comment after the round.
Only six shots off the lead, 65-year-old Fred Couples made some history by becoming the oldest player to break par in a round at the Masters. Couples, who needed just 23 putts, is one month younger than Tom Watson was when he had 71 in 2015. His round was buoyed by a 191-yard hole-out on No. 14 for eagle.
This Rose blooms in early April
Rose, who has a U.S. Open and an Olympic gold medal on his resume, has led or co-led after every round in his Masters career – including being tied after 72 holes. That was 2017, when he lost in a playoff to Sergio Garcia. He’s been a first-round leader five times.
Maybe Rose’s time will come in this, his 20th Masters appearance.
“You know what, I feel like I've played well enough to win this tournament. I just feel like I don't have the jacket to prove it,” said Rose. “You know, ultimately, you want to be last man standing on Sunday.”
On a day he called a “stern test,” Rose had seven birdies (including three in a row to start the day) and stayed bogey-free until a wayward tee shot on No. 18 led to a bogey. He needed his putter just 25 times.
“Yeah, obviously when you shoot 7 under and you clip a major championship field by three, you have to do a lot of things well, and obviously the putter was a big part of it,” he said.
In 2021, four years after his playoff loss to Garcia here, Rose opened with 65 – just as he did on Thursday – and led by four shots. He couldn’t keep the magic going, following with 72-72-74 to finish seventh.
He’s back again, in what he called the “Indian Summer” of his career, knocking at the door.
He’s motivated to “keep working hard and being in shape and giving myself an opportunity to keep competing with the best players in the world and to keep enjoying the stage like I had today. That's a lot of fun. You know, it's hard just to get into these tournaments. So just to keep that level of golf going, that gives me the access and the ability to keep competing at the highest stage and in the best events in the world. That is what motivates me. So yeah, you know, from my point of view, that's a lot of fun today, and that's what I'm in the game for is to feel these experiences.”
As Rose has painfully discovered, leading after the first round is usually not a good spot if you hope to be slipping on a green jacket on late Sunday night. In the past 45 years, only Trevor Immelman (2008) and Jordan Spieth (2015) have pulled off that feat.
Rose, who has 11 PGA Tour wins, the last one coming at Pebble Beach in 2023, may be 44 but he still expects to perform at a high level on the biggest stages.
“I still have that dream that I can win one of these things, maybe more than one of them,” he said of majors. “I still think I can shake it with the best.”
World's top two players diverge late in round
The pretournament talk was all about McIlroy and Scheffler, who both are trying to make history.
Scheffler, the defending champion who is trying to join Jack Nicklaus as the only player to win three Masters titles in four years. He’s been the No. 1-ranked player for the past 131 weeks.
And McIlroy, who put himself in a big hole with a back-nine 39 on Thursday, needs a win this week to achieve the Career Grand Slam. This is his 11th attempt to do so at the Masters.
Scheffler had four birdies while hitting 11 greens and 10 fairways in regulation. He had 26 putts.
“I felt pretty good,” he said. “Anytime you can keep a card clean out here, it's a really good thing.”
Rose was well aware of Scheffler’s position, at least after the round, he said.
“But you do notice Scottie on the leaderboard and you're like, 'That's a great start for him.' You know, he's going to be tough from there for sure. Like you know that. But it doesn't rattle you or change what you're doing or influence you in any way. But you're like, OK, his position in the game right now and obviously the way he's played in recent years, that's a great start for him. Probably a perfect start.”
As for McIlroy, it all came crashing down for him on the par-5 15th hole. At the time, he was 4 under and tied for second place. From just over the green, he chipped long and his ball rolled into the pond. He emerged with a double bogey. He added another double bogey on No. 17 after his second shot flew the green and he chipped long a second time.
While the first-round leader rarely wins, being in the top 11 after the first round is a good place to be. The last 19 winners were in that group after the first round.
In his Masters victories, Scheffler opened with 69 in 2022 and trailed by two shots. Last year, he shot 66 and was one off the lead.
“I don't really think about that stuff very much. I don't really care what happened in the last few tournaments,” said. “I think anytime you get close to the lead, it's going to be easier for you to win the golf tournament. That's a simple fact of the matter. You get off to a good start, statistically you're going to have a better chance to win the tournament.
That stat – where it’s hard to rally to win if you’re outside the top 11 after Day 1, came as a surprise to Scheffler.
“I think around major championship golf courses, too - it's funny because this is a golf course where there's a lot of opportunities. There's a lot of opportunity over the weekend. There's a lot of opportunity on Sunday with where they put the pins. I'm a bit surprised that it's like that, but I wouldn't say that it can't be done.”
David Westin is a recipient of the Masters Major Achievement Award and has covered every tournament at Augusta National Golf Club since 1979 for The Augusta Chronicle. He also caddied at the club for a time.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Justin Rose leads 2025 Masters by 3 shots after first round; Scheffler second
Continue reading...
