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The phrase ‘you can never win the Masters on day one, but you can lose it’ was uttered on more than one occasion by Sky Sports’ golf pundits last night, with three-shot overnight leader Jordan Spieth no doubt well aware of the task he faces over the coming days.
In the past 30 years, only Trevor Immelman (in 2008) has had the lead or a share of it after the first round and gone on to win the tournament.
So, despite how brilliantly Spieth played last night, there’s a monumental task ahead of him, starting today at 9.57am local time (2.57pm UK time).
Since the Masters in 1995, so 20 tournaments, 29 players have either had the lead or a share of it after round one, with a mere 11 of those going on to record sub-par rounds again on Friday, highlighting the pressure of being at the summit of the leaderboard and the toughness of the Augusta National course.
Of the 29, five have ended up finishing in second spot; Greg Norman (1996), Fred Couples (1998), Davis Love III (1999), Chris DiMarco (2005) and Chad Campbell (2009). In 2008, Justin Rose finished all the way back in T36 after co-leading with Immelman, while in 2007, Brett Wetterich ended up T37 after co-leading with Rose again.
Overall, the average final placing of a first round leader at Augusta over the past 20 years, rounded to the nearest position, is 12th, a position the world No.4 will hope he won’t be finishing come Sunday evening.
First round leaders since 1995:
2014: Bill Haas (68, 78, 74, 70) – T20
2013: Sergio Garcia (66, 76, 73, 70) – T8
2013: Marc Leishman (66, 73, 72, 72) – T4
2012: Lee Westwood (67, 73, 72, 68) – T3
2011: Rory McIlroy (65, 69, 70, 80) – T15
2011: Alvaro Quiros (65, 73, 75, 74) – T27
2010: Fred Couples (66, 75, 68, 70) – 6
2009: Chad Campbell (65, 70, 72, 69) – P2
2008: Trevor Immelman (68, 68, 69, 75) – 1
2008: Justin Rose (68, 78, 73, 76) – T36
2007: Justin Rose (69, 75, 75, 73) – T5
2007: Brett Wetterich (69. 73, 83, 77) – T37
2006: Vijay Singh (67, 74, 73, 71) – T8
2005: Chris DiMarco (67, 67, 74, 68) – P2
2004: Justin Rose (67, 71, 81, 71) – T22
2003: Darren Clarke (66, 76, 78, 74) – T28
2002: Davis Love III (67, 75, 74, 71) – T14
2001: Chris DiMarco (65, 69, 72, 74) – T10
2000: Dennis Paulson (68, 76, 73, 72) – T14
1999: Davis Love III (69, 72, 70, 71) – 2
1999: Brandel Chamblee (69, 73, 75, 72) – T18
1999: Scott McCarron (69, 68, 76, 76) – T18
1999: Nick Price (69, 72, 72, 72) – T6
1998: Fred Couples (69, 70, 71, 70) – T2
1997: John Huston (67, 77, 75, 70) – T21
1996: Greg Norman (63, 69, 71, 78) – 2
1995: David Frost (66, 71, 71, 71) – T5
1995: Phil Mickelson (66, 71, 70, 73) – T7
1995: Jose Maria Olazabal (66, 74, 72, 72) – T14
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