AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — A brief look at the first round Thursday of the Masters, which was suspended just before 8 p.m. EDT due to darkness:
LEADING: Bryson DeChambeau after a 7-under 65.
CHASING: Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler was one shot behind after his 66.
MOVING UP: Masters rookie Nicolai Hojgaard was 5 under with three holes left to play Friday. Danny Willett, the 2016 champ, had an opening-round 68. Max Homa was at 4 under with five holes left in his first round.
FADING: Rickie Fowler followed his victory in the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday with an opening 76 that included a double bogey on the par-3 16th, when his tee shot spun back into the water. Hideki Matsuyama also was at 4 over.
SHOT OF THE DAY: Patrick Cantlay holed out from 146 yards on the par-4 17th, taking him from 1 over for the championship to 1 under. He made par at the 18th to shoot 71.
TIGER TRACKS: Tiger Woods was 1 under when play was suspended with five holes to go. That means he will need to walk 23 holes on Friday, a stern test for his battered body, as he tries to make the cut for a record 24th consecutive time.
KEY STATISTIC: Play began 2 1/2 hours late Thursday. It was the sixth straight year the schedule was affected by weather.
NOTEWORTHY: DeChambeau had his best start to a major. It also was his lowest score ever in the Masters.
QUOTEWORTHY: “Golf is not a very satisfying game, I would say. You win one week and then you show up the next week and you don’t win. It’s like, well, that’s it. The win is over. Now I finished second. That’s too bad.” — Scheffler, the 2022 champion.
TELEVISION: First-round coverage resumes Friday at 7:50 a.m. EDT on ESPN. Second-round coverage from 3-7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
