Hoffman soars to early Masters lead

AUGUSTA, United States: Charley Hoffman, a 38-year-old American who ended a five-year PGA win drought last November, seized the early lead on Thursday in the opening round of the 79th Masters.
Hoffman eagled the par-5 15th hole and birdied the par-3 16th to reach 4-under par with two holes remaining as he eyed the clubhouse lead at Augusta National.
Hoffman, ranked 63rd, made back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes, stumbled with a bogey at the par-3 fourth but birdied the par-4 fifth before his only other bogey at the 11th.
Winning the PGA Mayakoba Classic in the start of the 2014-15 campaign snapped a 109-start win drought for Hoffman. His other wins came at the 2007 Bob Hope Classic and 2010 Deutsche Bank. He shared 27th in 2011 in his only prior Masters.
England’s Justin Rose, a past US Open champion, and American Russell Henley shared second on 3-under. Henley had eight holes remaining, three fewer than Rose.
The battle for supremacy was in full swing as Masters teed off earlier in the day, Rory McIlroy marching off in search of golfing history and Bubba Watson battling to defend the title he won last year.
At 25, McIlroy would be the second-youngest player ever to complete the full set of Grand Slam titles were he to emerge truimphant on Sunday.
Only Tiger Woods, the last of five players to have achieved that feat, in his case nearly 15 years ago, was younger at the time.
In perfect opening day playing conditions, McIlroy was handed a rousing reception as he stepped onto a packed first tee to take his place in a grouping that also included three-time former winner Phil Mickelson and Ryan Moore.
The world number one had been at pains in the buildup to the tournament to play down the pressures weighing down on his shoulders, saying that at just 25 years old he had plenty of time left to win the Masters and complete the set.
But he does have a rocky past here, most notably in 2011 when he let slip a four-stroke lead entering the final round, and a win this week would be huge for him.
McIlroy set up his career Grand Slam opportunity by winning the last two majors of 2014 — the British Open and the PGA Championship. He won his first major at the 2011 US Open and a first PGA title the year after that.
Watson, aiming to join Jack Nicklaus as the only men to win the Masters three times in four years, got off to a confident start with birdies at the par-five second hole and the tough fifth.
That made him the joint early pace-setter in the year’s first of four majors alongside two other Americans, Gary Woodland and Russell Henley, and England’s Justin Rose, who were all also at two under going down the front nine.
If McIlroy and Watson were the star turns early on at Augusta National, the focus in the afternoon was set to fall firmly on four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, returning to competitive play after a two-month timeout to try and get his game back together.
So far in the buildup this week, the signs have all been positive for him. Mentally and physically, Woods looks a different man to the one who was driven off the course in a golf cart after 11 first-round holes at the Farmers Insurance tournament in February.