Sandy Lyle was pretty happy with his opening-roiund 72. (How/Getty Images)

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BET ON THIS VET: Sandy Lyle, winner of the 1988 Masters, opened with a fine round of even-par 72 on Thursday. Lyle, with his son Stuart on the bag, was threatening to take the lead but stumbled with bogeys on three of the final four holes for his even-par mark.

Still, the 50-year-old Champions Tour rookie was pleased with his start.

"Anytime you're at first-round level par, you're not going to blow yourself out of the tournament there," he said. "You're even better at 3 under, but I'll take that as an opening score." -- T.J. Auclair (7:03 p.m.)

HISTORY REPEATING?: Zach Johnson is just full of surprises. A green jacket a year ago. An opening 2-under 70 Thursday. But no, he's not thinking back-to-back, which would be a huge surprise.

"Thursday, you can't win it,'' he said. "I felt like I played today for today; in other words, not thinking about tomorrow, so I'm not thinking about last year. I played Thursday, April 10 for April 10. That kind of sounds pretty simple and, you know, and elementary but maybe that's how my brain functions."

Johnson didn't fly in to play any early practice rounds. In fact, his first look at the course since the final round in 2007 was Monday."I don't get first-tee jitters on TOUR much." he said. "I can't remember the last time I did, but had them here on (No.) 1, I had them here on (No) 2. But it's good to know I still have some feelings, and good ones at that.''

And, he said, they had nothing to do with an ok-but-not-great start to the year. "The jitters were merely because I'm playing in the Masters at Augusta National on the first tee,'' he said. "That's basically what it boils down to. . .I'm proud of myself in the respect that I put last year behind me.'' -- Melanie Hauser (7 p.m.)

WHAT'S FOR DINNER: Boo Weekley had a laid-back evening planned Thursday after he shot an even-par 72. "Just going to go home and cook some pork chops," he said.

And would Weekley be doing the cooking? After all, he was the man grilling the steaks on Monday night when his hungry buddies arrived at the house he's renting in Augusta around 11:30 p.m.

"I don't know," Weekley said. "All depends on my brother-in-law. He cooked the hamburgers last night, so I might be stuck with the pork chops."

Among Weekley's specialties is baked fish. Don't expect to see any vegetables on the plate, though. "I'm a meat and tater man -- I ain't much on no vegetables," Weekley said. -- Helen Ross (6:46 p.m.)

SLOCUM'S FIRST: Heath Slocum has won twice on the PGA TOUR, but it was his top-30 finish in last year's FedExCup race that gained him an entry into the Masters.

Slocum finished 40th in the penultimate event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. That was good enough, though, to put him 29th in the FedExCup standings and among the 30 players in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

"At that point, I knew I was into the Masters," Slocum said. "It was one of those days where you don't have a very good day, you don't have a very good tournament, but at the end of the day you find good news.

"It puts a smile on your face after a pretty rough week." -- Helen Ross (6:18 p.m.)

ZACH'S JACKET: Slipping on the green jacket is special. Picking up the tab for the men who slipped one on too? Priceless.

Just as Zach Johnson, who bought dinner at the Champions Dinner Tuesday night, did.

"I remember sitting down and I'm like, wow,'' he said. "I'm sitting at the head of the table with, obviously, (Masters) Chairman (Billy) Payne to my left and Mr. Ben Crenshaw to my right, and I'm at the center and I'm thinking, wow, I can be here as long as I want to be here,'' Johnson said. " ... Just being in that room with those guys, talk about pioneers of the game, guys I've certainly been following since I've been playing, and even the ones that are still competing. A lot of those guys you still aspire to play like.

"So being in that fraternity was special."

Just so you know, Johnson served Midwest corn-fed beef, filet, ahi tuna, corn souffle, vegetables and salad. Some Florida flair with some Midwest home cooking. -- Melanie Hauser (6:07 p.m.)

HANK EYES RETURN: Hank Kuehne, who is playing the year on a major medical exemption, hasn't played for eight months while rehabbing an injured back. But he hopes to play at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, in his hometown of Dallas in two weeks. Or if not then, perhaps the Wachovia Championship the following week.

"I'm much, much better,'' he said. "I'm finally getting close to coming back. It's been a bit of a struggle.''

Kuehne -- who, along with girlfriend Venus Williams, is in brother Trip's gallery this week at the Masters -- tried to play last month but still wasn't at full strength. He thought about caddying this week for Trip, but considering all his injury woes, he wasn't going to tempt fate by carrying his brother's bag. -- Melanie Hauser (6:04 p.m.)

OBERHOLSER OUT: Arron Oberholser is tired of what he calls "guesswork and white coats." That's why he plans to take two months off after he finishes playing in the Masters this week.

If he keeps playing the way he did in shooting a first-round 71, though, the Californian might want to reconsider his decision. First it was his back, which kept him from defending his title last year at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Then Oberholser injured the hamate bone in his left hand, which kept him out of the final two events in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup and required surgery in October.

"The hand isn't healed up completely, the shoulder isn't right, and my neck is bothering me," Oberholser said Thursday. "Other than that, I'm great."

Oberholser has already applied for a medical extension for next year. That basically means that he would have the average number of events played by players who finish in the top 125 this year -- minus the number of tournaments he ends up playing -- to earn enough money (combined with his 2008 earnings) to equal or exceed the earnings of the player who is No. 125.

More surgery, Oberholser says, is a last resort. For now, he's "out indefinitely," although he might enter a couple of events in the fall like the Frys.com Open, which is played at Grayhawk Golf Club, 10 minutes from his home in Scottsdale. -- Helen Ross (5:55 p.m.)

SCARY SHOT: Jerry Kelly found the trees at the 11th hole and, with patrons about 15 feet in front of him, he lined up his next shot and said "Don't move." Then he hit it over the patrons, the trees and got out of jail. As one spectator said, "It was way scary." -- Melanie Hauser (5:05 p.m.)

FUZZY DONE?: Could Fuzzy Zoeller be contemplating his last Masters? Absolutely. When Arnold Palmer caught sight of Zoeller, he wanted to know "What the hell are you doing still playing?" Zoeller admits he had a point. And, plus, he said, "Arnold had a pretty good deal this week.'' -- Melanie Hauser (5:02 p.m.)

CELEBRITY WATCH: Sports celebrity sightings under the big oak tree on Thursday: tennis star Venus Williams and Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.

Venus, who dates PGA TOUR player Hank Kuehne, was in the gallery for Hank's brother Trip, the U.S. Mid-Amateur champ. Actually, the whole Kuehne clan was gallerying, including Hank and sister Kelli, who plays on the LPGA Tour.

Ripken is an Augusta regular -- at least in the city. His company owns the Class A Augusta Green Jackets and he's modeling that franchise after his very successful Aberdeen Iron Birds, Baltimore's Class A affiliate. -- Melanie Hauser (3:50 p.m.)

VIDEO FROM AUGUSTA: In the latest edition of PGA TOUR TODAY, Win McMurry provide updates on the early action at Augusta National. (Click here for video ). (3:15 p.m.)

PLAYER'S 51ST START: Three-time champion Gary Player of South Africa shot an 11-over 83 (and 11 over his age) in starting his record 51st Masters. That gave him a score in the 80s for the sixth time in the last seven starts at Augusta National, with a 79 in 2006 the only exception.

"Man, that's a tough golf course," Player said with a laugh. "That is so tough. No question, the toughest golf course that I've ever played, not even a doubt. Par for me is 80, so I was 3-over par today, for me. I thought I was going to go for a lot more, though, but I played the back nine well."

After going out in 44, he managed to shoot 39 on the back with a birdie at the par-5 13th. He said playing in 51 Masters (he breaks the tie with Arnold Palmer for most starts) was "a thrill," but he also felt a lot of pressure to try and shoot a decent score.

"It's a thrill to know now that I hold the record," Player said. "Of course, all records are made to be broken, aren't they? Somebody will come along and break 51 one day, I guess."

Another senior player, Fuzzy Zoeller, also struggled early, shooting 81. -- Dave Shedloski (3:05 p.m.)

IAN POULTER DISCUSSES HIS ACE AT 16: "I mean, I flushed it, and I knew I had to flush it. So as soon as it left the club, I knew it was going to be pretty good. Obviously the bank on the right-hand side is your friend with that pin position today. You know, you just want to see it go in. I mean, from pitch-in, it's got about 25 feet from the pitchmark to get to the hole, and it's quite nice to see it drop." -- Helen Ross (2:58 p.m.)

O'MEARA CONQUERS AMEN CORNER: Until a bogey at the 18th hole, Mark O'Meara was in position early on to have a chance to be the second-oldest player to hold the first-round lead in the Masters. O'Meara, 51, who won a green jacket in 1998, birdied four holes on the inward nine -- including all three holes in Amen Corner -- to post a 1-under-par 71, which ended up a shot behind playing partner Ian Poulter. Jack Nicklaus was 53 years old when he opened in the 1993 Masters with a 67.

"Obviously 51 years of age, 1-under par, I played all right," O'Meara said. "I made a couple of bad putts. I birdied 11, 12, and 13; that's always nice when you get around those holes. The golf course is in good condition. There wasn't much wind out there today, but the scoring is always pretty good at Augusta National even when it's not windy and pretty soft." -- Dave Shedloski (2:48 p.m.)

LOOPER CHANGE: Ben Curtis enlisted a substitute caddie Thursday, calling upon veteran David Clark to carry his bag after his regular bagman, Andy Sutton, rushed back to England on Tuesday after his wife, Lindsay, fell ill with an undisclosed medical emergency. Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion, said he made several phone calls Tuesday to find the best possible assistant and finally settled on Clark, who regularly caddies for Greg Owen and used to caddie for Justin Rose.

Clark drove up from Orlando on Wednesday morning, and he and Curtis went around for 18 holes as a warmup for Thursday's opening round, in which Curtis carded a 75 that didn't include a birdie.

"I played OK, but it's hard to get it close," Curtis said. "With a new caddie, there actually is less pressure because it's a little bit fresh and loose. I didn't play badly at all, and I read my own putts anyway, but I just made nothing." -- Dave Shedloski (2:05 p.m.)

A DECADE LATER: For Mark O'Meara, 2008 marks the 10-year anniversaries of his wins at the Masters and the British Open. Does he have a repeat in him? He finished his first round Thursday with a 1-under 71, a nice opening day considering he was 2-over through 10 holes. He even had it at 2-under before a bogey on the finishing hole. O'Meara obviously likes Augusta National -- and he'll probably like this year's British Open course, since it's Royal Birkdale, the place he won at in 1998. -- T.J. Auclair (2 p.m.)

POULTER ACES 16: Ian Poulter became the 11th player in Masters history to ace the 170-yard par 3 16th hole (known as Redbud). The hole-in-one (he used an 8-iron) moved the flamboyant Brit to a tournament-leading 3 under. The 16th has yielded the most aces at Augusta National. Just 19 aces have been recorded in tournament history, including four at the 180-yard 6th, three at the 155-yard 12th and one at the 240-yard 4th. Here are a list of players who have recorded aces at the Masters:

-- Helen Ross (1:25 p.m.)

EUROS OUT FAST: Yes, we know. It's still extremely early. But considering that a European has not won the Masters since Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal slipped into his second Green Jacket in 1999, the guys from overseas appear to be making a statement. England's Luke Donald had back-to-back birdies in his first three holes. Fellow Englishman Ian Poulter was also under par, as was Olazabal and Ireland's Padraig Harrington, the reigning British Open champion. -- T.J. Auclair (12:33 p.m.)

ZACH ATTACK: Zach Johnson started his Masters title defense with a birdie on the first hole at Augusta National. The man who played the par 5s in 11 under last year then made a par on No. 2,, a 575-yarder they call "Pink Dogwood." Only one hole was easier last year -- the par-5 eighth, which is nicknamed "Yellow Jasmine." -- Helen Ross (12:28 p.m.)

FASHION STATEMENT: Ian Poulter stopped fans in their tracks when he appeared on the practice tee Thursday morning wearing mint green slacks and cap with a white shirt and saddle shoes of the same combination. -- Dave Shedloski (12:10 p.m.)

PALMER HEADED HOME: Four-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer, as is his practice since he stopped competing in 2004, wasn't planning on hanging around Augusta National Golf Club after hitting the ceremonial opening tee shot Thursday morning. But this year he was in a particular hurry.

His wife, Kit, was in Latrobe, Pa., recovering from a staph infection in her ankle that required two surgeries in the past week. She was discharged from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Wednesday. -- Dave Shedloski (11:55 a.m.)