Rose Sizzles At Augusta

April 9, 2021 3:56 am

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – A Rose looked very good amid the azaleas at Augusta national.  Justin Rose opened with a 5-under 65 to grab a four-stroke lead in The Masters. He played the last 11 holes at 9 under and shot 30 on the back side, one off the tournament record shared by Mark Calcaveccia and David Toms.  Rose’s 65 looked even better on a day so tough only 12 players broke par, and the average score was 74.5.  He tied a Masters record by taking at least a share of first-round lead for the fourth time. Rose has a pair of runner-up finishes at Augusta, including a playoff loss to Sergio Garcia four years ago.  Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama share second, one ahead of Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris, Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Harman was the last player to get into the 88-man field.  Defending champion Dustin Johnson struggled after setting the record last year at 20-under 268. He failed to break par at Augusta for the first time since the opening round in 2018, closing with a three-putt for double bogey on the 18th to complete a 74.