Seven major champions are in the hunt for the 2019 Masters after yesterday’s first round. Amongst them is Tiger Woods at -2 who had the same first round score that he had each time he won his four green jackets, The winner of the last 13 Masters has come from the top 10 after the first round, a statistic which excludes Rory McIlroy who finished on +1 after a round of 73,

Leaders Brooks Koepka (right), who did not compete last year, had five birdies in six holes on the back nine while Bryson Dechambeau (left) had 4 straight birdies in a round of 66 -6. He started with 2 bogeys on the front nine but then rallied on the back with six birdies in the last seven holes nearly holing out on 16.

20 players are within four strokes of the lead. Mickelson finished strongly with 5 birdies in the last 7 including a rare birdie on 18. -5

Ian Poulter at -4 had five birdies and one bogey, joining Dustin Johnson in that score. Johnson has been working extensively on his putting which has looked less than sharp this season.

Jon Rahm nearly lost his temper and did toss a club in frustration after 2 bogeys in 4 holes taking a 6 on the par 5 8th after an errant drive. He recovered to birdie 9,11 and 13.

Adam Scott, Justin Harding, Kevin Kisner, Kiradech Aphibarnrat are all on -3.

Woods on -2 missed two or three short putts but looked focussed.

Rickie Fowler also in -2 had some good breaks and only one bogey. Jason Day had to call the physio on the 2nd hole to treat a back injury but responded with a birdie which he followed with ones on 8,13 and 16. Also on -2 are Francesco Molinari, Cameron Smith, Gary Woodland, Lucas Bjeregaard, JB Holmes and last week’s winner Corey Conners.