Masters 2025: Justin Rose leads from Scottie Scheffler as Rory McIlroy makes late errors at Augusta

Regardless that Scheffler’s begin to the season has been sluggish by his lofty requirements, he stays the person to beat.

Hampered initially by a hand harm sustained when making an attempt to roll out ravioli with a wine glass on Christmas Day, the 28-year-old American arrived at Augusta feeling he’s peaking on the proper time.

Scheffler completed joint runner-up in Houston two weeks in the past and, with the main season getting underneath method on the Masters, laid down one other warning to his rivals that he’s discovering type.

Whereas not at his medical greatest, he has put himself in a robust place with a bogey-free spherical – and, ominously for his rivals, has the capability to go additional via the gears over the following three days.

His driving and iron approaches had been strong, enhanced by changing a few prolonged putts.

Scheffler set the tone with a assured birdie putt on the second, touchdown a monster from 62 toes on the fourth – sending the patrons into raptures – and including one other shorter one on the ninth.

The 2-time champion’s first actual mistake of the day got here when he lipped out from seven toes on the thirteenth and needed to accept a par.

However he made amends by holing from 42 toes for a two on the par-three sixteenth.

“I felt fairly good. Anytime you’ll be able to hold a card clear out right here, it is a actually good factor,” Scheffler mentioned.

“I needed to make two actually good up-and-downs. However aside from that, the golf course was in entrance of me a lot of the day, saved the ball in play, did numerous actually good issues on the market.”