April 10 (UPI) — Justin Rose made eight birdies en route to a 7-under 65 to finish at the top of the leaderboard on the first day of the 2025 Masters Tournament on Thursday in Augusta, Ga.
Rose, a two-time Masters runner-up, totaled just one birdie through his first 18 holes. The No. 39 player in the Official World Golf Ranking is looking to win just his second major title, following a triumph at the 2013 U.S. Open.
“I have that dream that i could still win one of these things or a couple, who knows, but I still believe I can,” Rose said on the ESPN broadcast. “On the biggest stages, that’s what inspires me, that’s where I feel comfortable.
“That’s what I’m working for. … At the end of the day, you just have to stack the odds in your favor and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Patient decisions and accurate execution lead to a birdie on No. 15 for leader Justin Rose. #themasters pic.twitter.com/53oUsPioYe— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2025
No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the tournament favorite, No. 21 Corey Conners and No. 5 Ludvig Aberg fired matching 4-under 68s and are tied for second place.
“I felt like I managed it in a really nice way,” said Aberg, the 2024 runner-up. “It’s a cool place to go play golf at. It sort of demands discipline.”
No. 19 Bryson DeChambeau, who was 2-under through the front nine, cruised up the leaderboard and was briefly tied for second. He carded three birdies and two bogeys on the back nine to finish at 3-under. DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton are tied for fifth place.
“It felt like I was striking it pretty well, just not at my best,” DeChambeau said. “So I’m going to work on that. … if i can just get my golf swing dialed in, that’s certainly where I feel like I’ll be at my most comfortable.”
Rose started his day with three-consecutive birdies. He went on to make par on Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7. Rose then finished the front 9 with another two birdies for a 5-under 31 at the turn. He holed another birdie on No. 10 and made par his next four holes.
Rose increased his advantage with two more birdies on Nos. 15 and 16. He made par on No. 17 and finished the round with his lone bogey.
Scheffler fired a bogey-free first round, with four birdies over his first 18 holes. Conners and Aberg each carded five birdies and a bogey.
No. 2 Rory McIlroy, another tournament favorite, started hot and was close to the lead after a 3-under front nine. But McIlroy struggled late, with two double bogies en route to a 3-over on the back nine to finish at even par.
He is among 11 players tied for 27th. No. 4 Collin Morikawa and No. 388 Sergio Garcia, a former champion, also carded 72s through their first 18 holes.
No. 11 Wyndham Clark (+4), No. 34 Tony Finau (+3), No. 80 Jon Rahm (+3), No. 1,009 Phil Mickelson (+3), No. 16 Patrick Cantley (+2) and No. 249 Brooks Koepka (+2) are among the notable players close to the projected cut line.
The second round of the Masters will start at 7:40 a.m. EDT Friday in Augusta. Streaming coverage will be provided on Masters.com and the Masters App. TV coverage will start at 3 p.m. on ESPN.
