Rose recovers from poor start to share Masters lead with 68

NO STRANGER to showing the rest the way – he led after the first round here a year ago – Justin Rose returned to the summit of the Masters leaderboard yesterday thanks to an opening 68 which featured a dazzling run of six birdies in eight holes.

It was an excellent day for British hopes, with Lee Westwood making a late surge to claim a share of third place one shot further back.

Rose, who was two over on the sixth tee, made a flurry of birdies, including four in a row between the sixth and the ninth. He was bunkered at the last and could easily have spilled a stroke. However, he duly matched his outward half of 34 with the same score after the turn. "I seem to hit my home runs here early," he smiled.

Rose's revival after a few early struggles, began with a glorious 7-iron on the par-3 sixth to five feet which set up the first of a string of birdies. The journey from two over par to four under, in Rose's estimation, was based on outstanding course management rather than a series of brilliant shots. "Hopefully, I'm becoming more consistent," he added. "Making the slippery putt on the sixth turned things around."

Rose, who doesn't feel as if he has anything to prove to himself or anyone else, was on the same four-under mark as South Africa's Trevor Immelman, who didn't drop a shot in what he described as a "low stress" round.

Brian Bateman, another American golfer making his debut, and Brandt Snedeker both posted 69s. None of those rivals, however, has Rose's affinity for Augusta. "The golf course does suit my game to a large extent," he added. "I've become a good putter on fast greens and I hit my irons high and soft."

Tiger Woods, in pursuit of the Grand Slam, made a gingerly start, which is often the case for the world No 1 at the majors. He hit a few loose shots, carded 72 and wondered if he'd turned up for the US Open rather than the Masters. "I didn't get anything going my way," he said. "The way the golf course plays now you don't get low scores anymore. It is playing more like a US Open course than a Masters course."

In search of redemption as well as a green jacket, Ian Poulter began salvaging a reputation damaged earlier this year by his own ego when he muscled into contention by carding an opening 70, two under, notable for a spectacular hole in one at the 16th hole. In what was a terrific day for the Brits, Westwood, who was one over after seven, fought back to four under after 15.

The Ryder Cup veteran set up an eagle opportunity with a soaring iron shot to 20 feet on the par-5. Playing in the final group, Westwood took two putts to share the lead with three holes remaining, but his cause was not helped by fading light at the end of a long day, and he slipped back after a dropped shot at the 17th.

A couple of months after he told a golf magazine that the only player he rated apart from himself was Tiger Woods, Poulter let his clubs do the talking. Apart from a dropped stroke at the 17th, his performance was notable for a barrage of splendid iron shots, which culminated with an ace.

If his putting wasn't always the equal of his shot making, Poulter took the shortest club in the bag out of the equation on the 16th when he wafted an 8-iron into the breeze. "I knew it was going to be pretty good when it left the club," he said. "It had about 25 feet to get to the hole after it landed. When the ball went in, it was a special moment. As an instant adrenalin rush, it was maybe the greatest buzz I've ever had."

Poulter's morning began when a carpet of early morning mist hung over the course for an hour or so, delaying the start. After such a grey opening, illuminated only by ceremonial starter Arnold Palmer's arrow-like drive down the centre of the fairway, Poulter arrived like a splash of paint on a white canvas.

Wearing, by his standard, a subdued pair of green trousers and matching visor with a white polo shirt and shoes, Poulter also played patient, understated golf over the front nine. On the par-5 second hole, for example, the Englishman laid up 50 yards shy of the raised putting surface.

Poulter has a nice touch around the greens and his chip to six or seven feet was expertly executed. His putt into the centre of the hole was smooth and straight. Playing in a relatively low key pairing with amateur Trip Kuehne and past champion Mark O'Meara, the birdie allowed the Ryder Cup player to relax and a weight seemed to lift from his shoulders.

Although he likes to be the centre of attention, Poulter wasn't at ease with the fuss made about his self-congratulatory remarks. "I was made to look stupid, like a prat and it was not pleasant," he recalled.

Chasing the first leg of the Slam, Woods quietly covered the front nine in level par, neither dropping shots nor giving them away. However, he took 6 at the 13th and 5 at the 14th to fall back to two over. It was typical of Woods that the great man should chip in from off the green at the par-5 15th to erase the mistakes he'd made earlier and stay in touch with the leaders.

FIRST ROUND SCORES

(US unless stated, par 72):

68 Justin Rose (Eng), Trevor Immelman (SA)

69 Brian Bateman, Brandt Snedeker, Lee Westwood (Eng)

70 Ian Poulter (Eng), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Zach Johnson, Stephen Ames (Can)

71 Mark O'Meara, Heath Slocum, Peter Lonard (Aus), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Arron Oberholser

72 Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard, Robert Allenby (Aus), Sandy Lyle (Sco), Jerry Kelly, Steve Flesch, Johnson Wagner, Daniel Chopra (Swe), Sean O'Hair, Boo Weekley

73 Michael Thompson, Brett Wetterich, Mike Weir (Can), Angel Cabrera (Arg), Luke Donald (Eng), J B Holmes, Mark Calcavecchia, David Toms, Richard Sterne (SA)

74 Nick Dougherty (Eng), Nick O'Hern (Aus), Padraig Harrington (Ire), Todd Hamilton, Henrik Stenson (Swe), Bernhard Langer (Ger)

75 Nick Watney, Ben Crenshaw, Ben Curtis, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Rory Sabbatini (SA), Vaughn Taylor, Ian Woosnam (Wal), Tom Watson, Soren Hansen (Den), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Jonathan Byrd, Aaron Baddeley (Aus)

76 Shaun Micheel, D J Trahan, Fred Couples, Martin Kaymer (Ger), Toru Taniguchi (Jpn), Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Stuart Appleby (Aus), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Drew Weaver

77 Hunter Mahan, Michael Campbell (NZ), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Scott Verplank, Larry Mize, Craig Stadler, Richard Green (Aus), John Rollins, Tim Clark (SA)

78 Trip Kuehne, Charles Howell III

79 Woody Austin

80 Anders Hansen (Den), Ray Floyd, John Senden (Aus)

81 Steve Lowery, Fuzzy Zoeller

82 Prayad Marksaeng (Tha)

83 Gary Player (SA)