Notebook: Putting played a key role in his first round

Co-leader Justin Rose needed only 20 putts in his opening loop, but 63 players had at least one three-putt on Augusta's tricky greens. Plus, only two players put eagles up on the board, Gary Player tied Arnold Palmer's milestone mark, and more. 

By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Arnold Palmer, the first honorary starter at the Masters since Sam Snead in 2002, opened the 2007 Masters Tournament with a tee shot down the first hole at 7:45 a.m.

Justin Rose finished his round by hitting only 5 of 18 greens in regulation and 9 of 14 fairways. Rose was at his best on the greens, where he needed only 20 putts.

Rose's 20 putts are the fewest at the Masters since Mark O'Meara needed only 19 putts during a third-round 70 in 2003. During that round, O'Meara two-putted twice, one-putted 13 times and was officially credited with zero putts twice.

A total of 96 players teed it up Thursday, and 63 players (65.6%) had at least one three-putt green. Twenty-three players had no three-putts, while 39 players three-putted once, 23 players three-putted twice, nine three-putted three times and two (Robert Allenby and Paul Casey) three-putted four times.

Billy Mayfair, playing in the first pairing of the day, registered the first birdie of the week. Mayfair birdied the second hole at 8:35 a.m.

Ian Woosnam withdrew prior to teeing off this morning due to a bad back. Woosnam was scheduled to tee off at 11:40 a.m. with Tim Herron and Robert Karlsson.

Justin Rose shot a 3-under-par 69 to grab a share of the first-round lead with Brett Wetterich. This is the second time Rose has been out in front after the initial 18 at Augusta National. Rose held the first-round lead as well as the second-round lead in 2004, his second appearance in the Masters. Rose did not qualify for the tournament in 2005 or 2006.

Wetterich shot a 3-under-par 69 to share the opening-round lead with Rose. Wetterich is making his first appearance in the Masters. He becomes the 17th rookie in tournament history to hold or share the first-round lead and the first since Chris DiMarco in 2001. Wetterich led the field in birdies with five.

The highest scores by a first-round leader(s) in Masters history are 71 by Jack Burke in 1957; 70 by E. .J Harrison and William J. Patton in 1954, Harry Cooper in 1936, and Emmet French, Jimmy Hines and Horton Smith in 1937. A score of 69 has led after round one 17 times, including Thursday.

Augusta resident Vaughn Taylor, making his second career start at the Masters, posted a 1-under-par 71. Taylor had three birdies and two bogeys on his round. He missed the cut last year in his initial start, shooting scores of 75-74. Taylor missed the first seven greens in regulation. He wound up hitting 8 of 18 greens, 10 of 14 fairways and had 25 putts, including a three-putt bogey at No. 11.

J. J. Henry, playing in his first Masters, shot a 1-under-par 71 and is tied for fifth place. Henry, a 2006 U. S. Ryder Cup team member, played the first four holes in 2 under par and also the final four holes in 2 under par.

Rich Beem (71) had one of only two eagles of the opening round. Beem hit driver/5-wood (from 226 yards) to 15 feet on the 510-yard, par-5, 13th hole and made the putt for a three. Beem is making his fifth career start at the Masters and his 1-under 71 matches his best score at the Augusta National Golf Club (3rd round, 2003; 1st round, 2006). In his previous 12 rounds here, Beem has made 1 birdie, 9 pars, 1 bogey and 1 double-bogey at the par-5, 13th. The other eagle belonged to David Howell at the par-5 15th.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson posted a 4-over-par 76, matching his highest round in his previous 14 starts at the Masters. He also shot 76 in the first round in 1997 (m/c) and in the third round in 2000 (T7). Since shooting that 76 in 2000, Mickelson had posted par-or-better scores in 23 of his last 25 rounds at Augusta National prior to Thursday's 76.

The first-round scoring average of 76.195 establishes Thursday among the toughest in Masters history, especially in the Bentgrass Era (1982-2007).

The par-4 opening hole was among the most difficult on opening day. The 455-yard hole yielded only two birdies on the day: Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh.

Gary Player made his 50th career start in the Masters today, tying Arnold Palmer's record. Palmer made 50 consecutive starts from 1955-2004. Player holds the tournament record for most consecutive cuts made, 23 in a row, from 1959-1982. At age 71, Player is the oldest international player to start in the Masters.

Raymond Floyd (77) made his 43rd consecutive start in the Masters, while Ben Crenshaw teed it up for the 36th consecutive year. Arnold Palmer made 50 consecutive starts, more than any other player.

The par-5 second hole played above-par during the first round. The scoring average on the 575-yard hole was 5.010. Since 1997, the second hole has played above-par only four times in any single round. The second hole has never had an above-par cumulative scoring average (four rounds).

The par-5 13th hole played at even-par 5.00 today. The last times the par-5, 15th hole played over par at the Masters were in 1999 (5.027), 1998 (5.097) and 1987 (5.036).

Adam Scott, winner of last week's Shell Houston Open, posted a 2-over-par 74 and is tied for 20th place. Scott is trying to become only the sixth player since WWII to win the Masters after registering a victory the week before.

The pairing of Tiger Woods, Aaron Baddeley and Paul Casey struggled over the opening nine holes. Nobody in the group made a birdie until Baddeley rolled in a putt on the par-4, 11th hole. Interestingly enough, the 11th gave up only four birdies all day.

Four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods failed to make a birdie on his first 12 holes. He eventually got untracked with birdies at Nos. 13 and 15 but closed his round with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18 for a round of 73. In 13 starts at the Masters, Woods now has a first-round scoring average of 72.69 and has broken par only four times.

Fuzzy Zoeller shot a 2-over-par 74, his lowest round at Augusta National since a second-round 74 in 2000. Zoeller, the 1979 champion, is making his 29th consecutive start in this event. He is one of only three first-time players to win the Masters. The other rookies to win here were Horton Smith, who won the first Masters in 1934, and Gene Sarazen, who won the following year.