Rory tied for first, but Day One of Masters looks like the U.S. Open

The Masters came disguised as the U.S. Open. A tournament famous for birdies and low scores suddenly turned into a frightening display of double and triple bogeys.

Thursday’s opening round did have some positive aspects, including an impressive start by Rory McIlroy, who was trying for a second straight win at Augusta, and shared the lead with Sam Burns, at 5-under par 67. 

But perhaps what was more newsworthy were the rounds by pre-event betting favorites, Bryson DeChambeau, a 4 over par 76, and Jon Rahm, a 78. Those are scores you might expect at Pebble Beach or Oakmont, not at a place where there is virtually no rough and is familiar to almost all the contestants.

Long ago, the late Tony Lema, who grew up in the Bay Area, was quoted as saying the Open is hard work, while the Masters is fun. 

Presumably, neither DeChambeau, who made a run last year, nor Rahm, a former winner, were having much fun as they put scores you almost needed an adding machine to record.

On the contrary, McIlroy, who completed his personal grand slam with a victory in last year’s Masters, presumably was enjoying every minute of his return.

“Honestly, I couldn’t have got a lot more out of my round,” said McIlroy, who shot the lowest first-round score for a defending champion since Jordan Spieth opened with a 66 in 2016. 

“I feel I leaned heavily on my experience out there. It’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on at the end of the day,”

Scottie Scheffler, No. 1 in the world rankings, is also a former winner, and after a 70 on Thursday, certainly is a solid possibility to take his third Masters.

But to someone who’s been to 58 previous Masters, yours truly, and who is not in attendance this year, the most amazing part of the opening day was the stumbling of DeChambeau and Rahm.

DeChambeau, 11 shots behind after 18 holes, was in his worst position at this point in his 10 Masters starts.

“Everybody has an ability for weird things to happen,” said DeChambeau, a two-time US Open champion. “And (Thursday) I just did not have my irons under control, which is weird. It’s been good coming into it.”

As every golfer—and golf fan, oops, patron—can verify, what had been good inexplicably becomes bad.

Rahm, who as DeChambeau, plays on the LIV tour, and has won a Masters and two U.S. Opens, said after his 6-over, birdie-less round, “It’s going to be a very much more uphill battle right now, but I’m going to have to come out (Friday) and most likely post something in the 60’s to have a chance to make the cut and give myself a chance on the weekend.”

True, anything can happen, but there is a famous line: “You can’t win a tournament the first day; you can only lose it.”  

We’ll find out soon enough if that applies to DeChambeau or Rahm.