Jordan Spieth is at the top of the leaderboard.  Adam Hadwin demonstrated why he should seriously be considered as challenger at The Masters. Tiger Woods had an average day. Tony Finau’s ankle injury was a non-factor, and defending champion Sergio Garcia had one disastrous hole. Those were the key storylines on the first day of the Masters.

Your Leader: Jordan Spieth

Five birdies in a row on the back nine was enough to elevate the 2015 Masters champion to the top of the leaderboard after the first round at Augusta. He has struggled with putting much of this season but he seems to have found his stride in the last week with a T-3 finish at the Houston Open. He’s carried that momentum with him to Augusta National and seemed unstoppable today, but, he knows as well as anyone that anything can happen on golf’s biggest stage. He has a two-shot lead heading into the second round.

Adam Hadwin (3-under 69)

It is his second Masters and Abbotsford, BC’s Adam Hadwin is starting to look very comfortable. Hadwin, who said last week that the learning curve was steep at Augusta last year, looked very cool indeed, making eight-straight pars to open his first round, followed by three birdies in the following four holes. After rolling in a 12-foot birdie on the 12^th hole, Hadwin was atop the leaderboard. Memories of Mike Weir in 2003, anyone? He’d make a bogey on the 14^th hole and the closing 18^th, but offset that with birdies on 15 and 16 to finish the round at 3-under par.

Hadwin, who won his first PGA Tour event last year, showed his deft putting and strong iron play throughout the round. His last four finishes coming into the Masters were 17th-12th-9th-6^th—so he’s definitely trending in the right direction. He’s sitting T-4 going into the second round.

Unfortunately, Weir, the only other Canadian in the field and 2003 Masters Champ, didn’t have as strong a day. Weir had five bogeys and a double-bogey against three birdies to finish at 4-over 76.

Tiger Woods (1-over 73)

The day opened with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hitting the opening ceremonial tee shots. And while it was great to see the two legends on the course, most were waiting for the return of Woods, the odds-on favourite to win this week, according to Las Vegas bookmakers.

Woods didn’t have the form he’s shown in recent starts after returning to the game following a significant back surgery last year.

Throughout his long history at Augusta, Woods has dominated the par 5s. But in the first round, he didn’t birdie any of them, and a couple of sloppy drives made for a scrambling back nine.

It was Woods’ first round back at the Masters since 2015, and he did manage to hit 11 greens, and finish with a 1-over round of 73.

Sergio’s Meltdown (9-over 81)

The defending Masters champ named his new daughter Azalea after the flowering shrubs found at Augusta. There’s no chance his next child will be named Firethorn, especially after his meltdown on the 15^th hole. Garcia hit a great drive and went for the green, only to have it end up in the water. Garcia proceeded to drop and attack the front right pin position, only to see his ball spin back into the water yet again. He then proceeded to put three more shots in the water, and finish the hole with a 13, the highest ever recorded on the 15^th.

It was a moment reminiscent of the fictional Roy McAvoy, the driving range pro in the film Tin Cup, who melts down on the final hole of the U.S. Open.

Shot 1: Fairway
Shot 2: Water
Shot 3: Drop
Shot 4: Water
Shot 5: Drop
Shot 6: Water
Shot 7: Drop
Shot 8: Water
Shot 9: Drop
Shot 10: Water
Shot 11: Drop
Shot 12: Green
Shot 13: In the hole pic.twitter.com/fw7AhBUw7B

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 5, 2018

What’s even more incredible is Garcia recovered his composure and made birdie on the next hole. Garcia finished 9-over on the day, finishing his chances of repeating his 2017 victory.

Finau Overcomes Ankle Injury

Tony Finau didn’t appear to be in any discomfort Thursday after what appeared to be a horrific ankle injury on Wednesday. Finau fell awkwardly celebrating an ace during the Par 3 Contest, and was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain. He’s currently T-2 in his Masters debut.