Justin Rose, without a single top 20 finish all year, raised his game when it mattered most yesterday, firing a superb five-under-par 67 on another rain-hit opening day of the Masters.
The 23-year-old Englishman led by two from Americans Jay Haas and Chris DiMarco, who on the 180-yard sixth recorded just the fourth hole-in-one there in the tournament's history.
Amazingly, Rose finished the day nine in front of world number one Tiger Woods, whose bid for a fourth title began with a bogey at the first, double bogey on the fifth and bogey six on the eighth.
He won by 12 after the same outward 40 in 1997 - his first major as a professional - but after a two-hour thunderstorm delay he had time for only five more holes and at the end of them was still searching for his first birdie.
Haas and DiMarco were joined late in the day by world number three Ernie Els, but just before play was called off he bogeyed the 17th.
Rose, whose own pro career began in nightmare fashion with 21 successive missed cuts, said: "I thought anything around par would be a good score. If somebody had said 67 I would have thought `Wow'.
"It's a dream start. To birdie the first two gets you into the tournament from the word go and makes your day much, much easier. From the first tee shot I felt comfortable. This is a magical place and it's inspirational."
Ireland's Darren Clarke birdied the last as well during one of several showers for a 70 that put him joint fourth.
"I played very nicely all day," he said. "I made very few mistakes and played away from nearly all the flagsticks. My putter was cold (he twice three-putted), but I am very pleased with the way I hit it. For me it was a very sensible round of golf."
Colin Montgomerie was one further back and joint seventh.
Padraig Harrington managed only a 74 after winning the par three event for the second year running. No winner of that has gone on to become Masters champion, but Harrington was hoping to shake off the jinx.
Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson, two more of the favourites, were going well, but then hit trouble. Singh, whose hopes two years ago ended with a nine on the 500-yard 15th, took eight there and finished with a 75, while Mickelson, third the last three years, double-bogeyed the short 16th in a 72.
PA