Rory McIlroy will try to salvage his bid to win the Masters on a crucial Friday at Augusta National after he fell apart towards the end of his first round to leave himself an uphill climb in pursuit of a first green jacket.
Justin Rose rolled back the years on Thursday to storm into a first-round lead but McIlroy’s pursuit of his Ryder Cup teammate unravelled in extraordinary fashion with four dropped shots on his final four holes to finish seven off the pace.
Rose, who came close to winning the green jacket in 2015 and 2017, carded a remarkable first-round score of 65 to mark his 20th appearance at Augusta, leaving the 44-year-old three clear at the top of the leaderboard. Rose made eight birdies, with a dropped shot at the 18th his only bogey of the day.
Earlier, Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, made an ominous start with a calm and controlled bogey-free round of -4. But McIlroy, looking to complete a career grand slam, continued his excellent pre-tournament form as he caught the world No 1, joining him on -4 in a share of second place with four holes to play. However, McIlroy’s hopes of gaining further ground on Rose were thwarted when he found the water on the par-five 15th, with his chip across the green running over and down into Rae’s Creek. It was followed by another double bogey on the 17th as McIlroy somehow finished at even-par, and a tie for 26th.
Follow all the latest scores, updates and the evolving leaderboard from the Masters at Augusta below:
Down the board…
It’s fair to say that Matthieu Pavon’s knitwear game is going a bit better than his golf today. The Frenchman’s natty jumper is perhaps a necessary distraction from a round that has seen him slide from +6 to +10 – his 2025 Masters will be a short one.
Harry Latham-Coyle11 April 2025 16:43
Matt Fitzpatrick birdies the seventh
Another man climbing the rungs is Matt Fitzpatrick, whose birdie at seven moves him into the group of those five shots back. Good stuff from the Yorkshireman, who split with veteran caddie Billy Foster a month ago in a bid to deliver a jolt to his game after a tricky start to the year.
Harry Latham-Coyle11 April 2025 16:35
Bryson DeChambeau begins to rumble
Here’s Bryson! Two birdies in the first four holes for the beefy American, who has powered his way up into a share of second. A tidy 366-yard drive in there – that’ll play.
Harry Latham-Coyle11 April 2025 16:25
Justin Rose gets his shot back
A good response from Rose. Having dropped that shot at the 5th, he gets it back on the par-five 8th. His second shot is just short of the green, he pitches to within five feet and rolls in the birdie – nicely done by the Englishman.
That takes him to -8 and a three-shot lead over Aberg once more
Leaderboard: (-8): Justin Rose; (-5): Ludvig Aberg; (-4): Bryson DeChambeau, Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler; (-3): Sungjae Im, Tyrrell Hatton
Luke Baker11 April 2025 16:18
DeChambeau and Aberg making moves
We’re getting some movement at the top of the leaderboard. Ludvig Aberg has birdied the 3rd after a lovely pitch over the bunker and is now solo second at -5, only two behind Rose, while Bryson DeChambeau made birdie at 2 and is one further back at -4.
Leaderboard: (-7): Justin Rose; (-5): Ludvig Aberg; (-4): Bryson DeChambeau, Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler; (-3): Sungjae Im, Tyrrell Hatton
Luke Baker11 April 2025 16:10
Rory McIlroy starts solidly
It’s been a solid start for Rory McIlroy with a birdie at the par-five 2nd sandwiched by a pair of pars. He’s back in the red numbers for the tournament at -1.
He’ll be looking to shoot int he 60s today but you can’t take that off in one chunk, so consistency will be the key
Luke Baker11 April 2025 16:06
Justin Rose loses a shot
One gone for Justin Rose at the fifth, his par putt not dropping and having to be tapped home for a disappointing bogey having found a bunker off the tee.
Harry Latham-Coyle11 April 2025 15:27
Matt Fitzpatrick on the move
Tidy stuff from Matt Fitzpatrick, bouncing back from a bogey at the first with an eagle three at No 2. Beautifully weighted, riding the camber left to right, and in it goes. He’s up to a couple under par.
Harry Latham-Coyle11 April 2025 15:09
Nick Dunlap’s dire day
Nick Dunlap won’t be off until a little later, but the youngster endured a day to forget yesterday with a score of 90 leaving him 11 shots back in last place. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Dunlap, who didn’t even have a shocker with the stick, averaging fewer than two putts per green.
Dunlap looked a potential star of the future when he became the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win a PGA Tour event at the American Express last year, but the University of Alabama product has since struggled, and is yet to make a cut at a major. That won’t be changing this weekend – we’ve all been there, Nick.
Harry Latham-Coyle11 April 2025 14:48
Slow going in early stages of second round.
Rose aside, none of those at the top of the leaderboard are out and about yet, with Daniel Berger the only other man under par on course. Debutant Brian Campbell did briefly pop his head into the red numbers, but a dropped shot at the fourth has knocked him back down to evens.
Here’s that Rose birdie.
Harry Latham-Coyle11 April 2025 14:42
