The Masters: Jordan Spieth leads; Tiger Woods fights back to one-over

Leaders

-6 Jordan Spieth

-4 Matt Kuchar, Tony Finau

-3 Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Adam Hadwin, Hao-tong Li, Rafa Cabrera Bello

Selected others: -2 Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, -1 Louis Oosthuizen, E Dustin Johnson, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, +1 Tiger Woods, Hideki Matsuyama, +2 Paul Casey

Day one report

At the end of an enthralling first day of the 82nd Masters Tournament, Jordan Spieth sits in a familiar position atop the leaderboard and priced up as Sky Bet's 2/1 favourite.

Spieth, who won the title from the front in 2015 before gifting it to Danny Willett a year later, carded a brilliant round of 66 on a day of demanding conditions to earn a two-stroke advantage over Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau.

"It's up there - top three rounds I've ever played here," said Spieth, who made seven birdies and an eagle before an excellent bogey save at the final hole.

"I felt we caught a really good break late in the day today to be able to play in short sleeves with no wind - the hardest part is figuring out which direction the wind's coming from."

Rory McIlroy sits a shot further back on three-under after a series of par saves late in the day saw him card his first sub-70 opening round since the 2011 edition he so famously lost. He's alongside Patrick Reed, Adam Hadwin, Hao-tong Li, Charley Hoffman and Henrik Stenson, the latter carding his best opening round at Augusta National on what was his 42nd birthday.

Tiger Woods, meanwhile, battled back with birdies at 14 and 16 for a one-over 73, while Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson maintained their fine Augusta records with two-under 70s.

But not for the first time here, the first round belonged to Spieth.

The three-time major champion birdied the first two holes only to give those shots back with errors at the fifth and seventh, before a brilliant eagle at the par-five eighth saw him make the turn at two-under.

Scrambled pars at holes 11 and 12 helped maintain his momentum, before a run of five birdies in succession was triggered by a simple two-putt at the par-five 13th. Spieth moved to four-under with a nine-foot putt on 14, converted after a wedge inside five feet at 15, and then found another flag at the par-three 16th.

A final birdie arrived after another brilliant approach to within seven feet at the 17th as the Texan produced a display of world-class ball-striking, which meant that concerns around his putting were irrelevant - he simply did not need to putt all that well to take apart a golf course he's taken to incredibly quickly.

Augusta, though, ensured Spieth did not have things all his own way by punishing a wayward drive at the last, as Spieth carded his first bogey since the seventh and settled for a six-under-par 66.

McIlroy, on the other hand, made an excellent birdie putt on the first hole and carried that momentum throughout the round, holing from 10 feet at the 13th before a tap-in birdie at the 15th saw him reach three-under.

When mistakes arrived with his irons, such as at the 16th hole, McIlroy salvaged par from eight feet and he repeated the trick at 17, where a 13-foot par putt found its target. A delicate chip to within two feet at the final hole put the seal on a professional round of 69, a score he hadn't shot prior to the weekend since 2012.

McIlroy is clear second-favourite at 5/1 with Sky Bet and it's 14/1 bar him and Spieth, two players who are little more than 50 years old combined yet have seven majors between them.

Finau completed a remarkable debut round with a par save at the last, little more than 24 hours after his participation had been placed in doubt following a nasty fall during Wednesday's par-three competition.

A badly sprained ankle made for some discomfort for the big-hitting American, but he showed few signs of it as he blasted his way to a 68 which Kuchar matched later in the afternoon.

Woods started brightly but in the end had to work hard to keep in touch with a one-over 73 which came courtesy of birdies at holes 14 and 16, while former sparring partner Phil Mickelson was typically engrossing in a round of 70 which left him four off the lead.

Justin Rose birdied the last in a level-par 72 matched by Tommy Fleetwood, Paul Casey shot a two-over 74 and Spain's Jon Rahm carded a round of 75 which was six shots better than defending champion Sergio Garcia, who endured a nightmare at the 15th hole where he ran up a record score of 13.

Related links

• Woods fights back to stay in touch
• Stenson pleased with fresh start
• Fleetwood enjoys Woods' company
• Garcia cards 13; Ellis struggles
• Sky Bet's latest in-play golf odds