Round One Wrap, Day Two Preview: Tricky Pins No Defense Against Soft And Wind (When It's Down)
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So goes the wind, so goes scoring at Augusta National. That seemed to be the takeaway Thursday after tough, swirling winds kept scoring in check and players pleased with their under par scores early. The afternoon wave suffered early, but if they survived the difficult front nine, the wind laying down late led to a birdie barrage that put afternoon starters Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson at the top.
As I note here for Golfweek, players brought up the hole locations after their round and I interpret what that means.
The day one locations can be referenced here. No let up in the tucked hole locations on a soggy day 2 morning:
The big stat on so many minds given the leaderboard and history:
The shot and moment of the day belonged to Bryson DeChambeau, whose 18th hole second shot hit the flagstick and stayed out, leading to his ninth birdie of the round and the co-lead with Brooks Koepka. The magical finish and story from Beth Ann Nichols.
Phil Mickelson had his best first round since 2010 and is just one stroke back of Koepka and DeChambeau.
