Rory McIlroy starts title defense with share of Round 1 lead
Digest more
Fred Couples' name adorned leaderboards at the Masters for most of Round 1. But the 66-year-old's dream day ended in a nightmare.
Things started to go sideways for him Thursday at hole 15 when MacIntyre dumped his second shot into the water guarding the front of the green. He proceeded to hit his next shot in the water, too, then flew the green and, when it was over, had carded a quadruple bogey 9.
The trio of Masters champions of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player opened up the week of play for the fifth time as a trio. Nicklaus took his place as an Honorary Starter in 2010, joined by Player in 2012 and Watson in 2022. Following the ceremony, the first tee time of Johnny Keefer and Haotong Li took to the course at 7:40 a.m. ET.
Get updated expert Masters predictions, picks, moneyline odds, probabilities, and top Kalshi player props for The Masters this weekend, April 9-12, 2026.
Rory McIlroy is the story after Round 1 at the Masters. What else stood out?