AUGUSTA, Ga. — Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters winner, posted the third-lowest round among the early tee times with a 4-under-par 68 on Thursday in the opening round of the Masters.
His performance was particularly surprising since he’s coming off shoulder surgery and wasn’t even sure until Sunday that he’s be able to compete.
“It’s unexpected, isn’t it?’’ Willett said. “I had no idea what to expect, so yeah, it’s obviously always nice to come in having shot a decent score, and just give yourself that little bit of confidence inside and hopefully have a nice few more days.’’
Willett came to Augusta prepared to not play if the shoulder didn’t feel right.
So, his week was touch-and-go right up to his tee time.
“I played Sunday with a friend of mine, and I played all right,’’ he said. “A lot of it was just getting used to the visuals again of the golf course. I’m back at home and you’ve got a driving range to hit it onto, it’s not like it’s in pain hitting it, it’s more the shots you need to hit.
“After the Augusta National Women’s [tournament] it was firm, it was fast, and I played all right, so I was like, you know what, there’s a sniff.’’
Masters defending champion Jon Rahm had a frustrating opening round in his tournament defense, shooting a 1-over 73.
“It’s a difficult golf course, that’s all I can say,’’ he said. “It’s not easy. You’re not really having the luxury out there of being able to miss shots, especially tee shots. Unfortunately, on that back nine I missed a few too many shots.
“I never really got in a good position to give myself the best chance for birdies and ended up with what could have been a little bit better of a score. It’s just too bad. Bad swings are bad swings.’’
As he was in Wednesday’s practice round, Greg Norman, the commissioner of LIV Golf, was walking around the course on Thursday, watching his players.
“I think it shows he cares,’’ said Bryson DeChambeau, who plays on LIV. “I’ve not had any poor interactions with Greg my entire career. He was always great to me and he’s been great to me through LIV. I respect him coming out here and showing support.
“I think the people can view it multiple ways. I just look at it as a sign that he cares and nothing more than that. And if people have a different perspective on that, then that’s up for them to decide. But in my opinion, it just shows that he really cares about the game in general.’’
Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner who finished runner-up last year, called Augusta’s conditions on Thursday “a really fair test,’’ after shooting 1-over par.
“The wind was challenging but the greens were receptive. I thought it was score-able even in the difficult wind conditions, because the greens were receptive. It was a really enjoyable challenge.’’
Ryan Fox, the only New Zealander in the field, got off to a hot start, making the turn in 5-under after a 31 on the front nine and finished with a 3-under 69 for the first round.
“Everything worked really well today,’’ Fox said. “I drove it great, which is pretty important around here. Had a lot of decent iron shots and holed some putts. Made a couple of nice up-and-downs towards the end of the round. If you’d have given me 3-under without teeing off today, I certainly would have taken it.’’