Westwood holds clubhouse lead after day one of Masters

Englishman Lee Westwood holds the clubhouse lead after day one of the Masters at Augusta, which saw some decent golf as well as some poor scores posted.

With many fans and experts tipping the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald before the tournament, the forgotten man Westwood  has taken Augusta by storm with a round of scintillating golf.

Posting a score of 67, five under par, means he possesses a lead of just one shot ahead of 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, and Swede Peter Hanson.

The 38-year-old carded seven birdies, which saw him drive the ball spectacularly well, whilst his hard work in his short game was also evident.

His 67 saw him hit 16 out of 18 greens in regulation, as he tries to win his elusive first major in his glittering career.

The former world number one produced his best period of golf during his front nine, recording four birdies in a row between holes five and eight, to earn a four under score at the turn.

Two more birdies on the back nine, at holes 13 and 17, cancelling out his bogey at 10, meant he received a standing ovation from the crowd as he putted in a par at the last to reach the clubhouse on top.

Seven birdies also helped South African Oosthuizen to a remarkable score of 68 after day one, as he hopes to add to his first major win back at St Andrews two years ago. A remarkable run of holes from the seventh from Hanson saw him record five birdies without dropping a shot, recording his four under in what was the final group of the day.

Behind them, five players share a score of three under par, whilst American, Jim Furyk, holds the remarkable record of the only player not to record a bogey during his round.

Two bogeys on the 17^th and 18^th spoilt a respectable round for the ever-popular Woods. The man who seemed to be recapturing his form coming into the tournament, became sloppy in the last two holes to record an even par. And he is tied with 15 others, including defending champion, Charl Schwartzel, who remains in contention to defend his title.

Crowd favourite Phil Mickelson struggled with his first 18, finally recording a two over, which included four bogeys and one triple bogey. However a final hole birdie still has him in a position to make a surge up that leaderboard.

US Open champion, McIlroy, ended the day at one under with a solid round, whilst current world number one, Donald finished at three over. The short game expert couldn’t find his rhythm and his nightmare of a round almost got worse when there were issues with his scorecard afterwards.

However whilst some of Britain’s players recorded unspectacular rounds, it was left to Westwood to fly the flag, and create a foundation for him to build a solid three more rounds of golf on.

Derek Baker