The first day of competition at the Masters Tournament in 2025 showcased a true display of skill by Justin Rose, who leads the leaderboard with seven under par and a three-stroke advantage, along with a wealth of data and statistics worth reviewing in detail. Some help to understand the performance of certain favourites and the level of difficulty or ease shown by specific holes on the course at the start of this new edition of the Green Jacket tournament. With insights from Elias Sports Bureau, we review them in detail.
· Justin Rose, at 44 years and 254 days, is the fifth oldest leader of the first round of the Masters, only behind Jack Nicklaus (53 years, 77 days in 1993), Fred Couples (50 years, 187 days in 2010), Lee Trevino (49 years, 126 days in 1989) and Emmet French (47 years, 120 days in 1934). Justin Rose (44 years, 254 days today) would be fifth on the all-time list. Rose signed a card of 65 strokes (seven under par).
• For the fifth time, Justin Rose is the leader or co-leader after the first round of the Masters, having done so in 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2021. Previously, he shared this record with Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear led or co-led at the end of the first round of the Masters on four occasions.
• Rose shot 31 strokes (five under par) on the first nine holes. His previous best result on holes 1-9, in any round, was 33 strokes (several times).
• Rose has a three-stroke lead in the second round. It is only the fifth time in the last 40 years, and the second for Rose, that a player leads by at least three strokes at the end of the first round. Rose had a four-stroke lead after the first round in 2021; Charley Hoffman had a four-stroke lead in 2017; Jordan Spieth had a three-stroke lead in 2015 and Darren Clarke had a three-stroke lead in 2003. Of those players, only Spieth won that year.
• In the last 19 Masters (2006-2024), the champion was no worse than 11th place and tied at the end of the first round. The last final winner who was outside the top 11 and tied at the end of the first round was Tiger Woods in 2005 (33rd tied after the first round).
• Scottie Scheffler shot a bogey-free 68 today. It was the second bogey-free round of his career at the Masters, having shot 66 in the first round last year. Scheffler is the third defending champion in the last 30 Masters (1996-2025) to achieve a bogey-free first round. He joins Tiger Woods (2020) and Jordan Spieth (2016) on that short list.
• Scottie Scheffler has played 21 rounds at the Masters and is 36 under par. He is tied with Jordan Spieth and just ahead of Jon Rahm (32 under par) for the best score relative to par in a player’s first 21 rounds at the Masters.
• Hole 1 yielded 10 birdies today. It was only the third time in the last 30 years that there have been 10 or more players under par on this first flag in the first round. There were 13 in the first round in 2020 and 12 in 2010.
• Hole 5 played 52 strokes over par in the first round. It is the highest amount over par on this flag in any round of the Masters since it played 58 strokes over par in the first round of 1957.
• The only par 5 without eagles today was No. 8. At Yellow Jasmine, only four eagles were made in last year’s Masters, including three times in the first round.
• Hole 13 produced nine double bogeys or worse on Thursday, the highest amount ever reached during a round at Azalea. The previous record was eight, in the first round of 1963.
• Fred Couples, who was 65 years and 189 days old on Thursday, became the second player aged 65 or older to play a round under par at the Masters, with 71 strokes. Tom Watson shot 71 in the first round of the Masters in 2015, at 65 years and 217 days.
• Corey Conners matched the lowest opening round by a Canadian at the Masters, with 68 strokes today. Mike Weir shot 68 in the first round in 2009.
• Rory McIlroy was four under par at one point on Thursday, but a couple of double bogeys on holes 15 and 17 brought him back to par. It was the first time since the final round of 2011 (holes 10 and 12) that McIlroy had two double bogeys or worse in a span of three holes at the Masters. The only player to win the Masters in a year when he made two or more double bogeys (or worse) in a round was Craig Stadler in 1982 (first round).
• Ludvig Aberg shot 73 in his first round of last year’s Masters. Since then, he has shot rounds of 69-70-69-68 (12-under par) in this tournament. The lowest scores relative to par at the Masters since the start of the second round last year are Aberg (12 under par), Scottie Scheffler (nine under par), Collin Morikawa (three under par), Tommy Fleetwood (three under par), and Tyrrell Hatton (three under par).
• In 2024, Scottie Scheffler won the Masters and Ludvig Aberg finished second. Both are tied for second place after the first round this year. It is the first time in Masters history that a pair of players finish in the top two one year and then both finish in the top two (and tied) in the first round the following year.
• The average score for today’s first round was 73.59, slightly higher than last year’s first round (73.43).
