Sam Burns Leads After Round One of the 90th Masters Tournament

Sam Burns stood alone atop the leaderboard at Augusta National after Thursday's opening round, completing a striking personal reversal at a course that humbled him a year ago. The Shreveport, Louisiana native carded an eagle and pushed clear of the field through the back nine to claim the first-round lead at the 90th Masters Tournament.

Burns, who finished tied for 46th at 5-over in the 2025 Masters, entered this week ranked 33rd in the world with five PGA Tour victories. His round included an eagle that briefly tied him at 2-under with 60-year-old José María Olazábal, who offered one of the day's more unexpected storylines with a tenacious early showing. Burns and Patrick Reed later shared the lead at 4-under before Burns separated himself on the inward nine.

Reed supplied the day's most historically notable individual sequence, reaching 5-under through his first nine holes and becoming only the second player in Masters history to eagle two of his opening nine holes in the same tournament. Tommy Fleetwood was also at 4-under and within striking distance as the morning groups cleared the course. Shane Lowry added to the eagle highlight reel when he holed out on the par-5 13th hole, Azalea.

Not every marquee name found Augusta cooperative. Bryson DeChambeau made triple bogey at the par-4 11th after needing three shots to escape the bunker, a vivid illustration of how quickly Amen Corner can unravel a round. Matt Fitzpatrick, considered a top contender entering the week, posted two bogeys on his front nine before beginning a recovery with a birdie at No. 12.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy, whose 2025 Masters victory completed the career Grand Slam after years of near-misses, moved steadily up the leaderboard throughout the day. Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and two-time Masters champion, carried the tightest odds in the pre-tournament betting market at +614, well ahead of second-favorite Jon Rahm at +1,150, and remained in contention after a round of solid golf.

The tournament opened in relatively benign conditions: roughly 61 degrees Fahrenheit with a north wind of 7 mph. Those conditions contributed to low scoring in the morning wave, though broadcast commentators cautioned that Augusta's fast, firm greens become considerably more punishing as wind increases. The course played at Par 72 over 7,565 yards. "You don't want to crawl out of the gate," a CBS on-site analyst noted, framing the value of a clean Thursday.

The week carried an unusual historical footnote before a single competitive shot was struck: Aaron Rai won the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, April 8, inheriting the sport's most stubborn jinx. No golfer who has won the Par 3 Contest has ever gone on to win the Masters in the same year.

Burns comes to Augusta as a product of LSU, where he won four tournaments in 15 collegiate starts as a sophomore and earned first-team All-American honors before turning professional in 2019. His first-round lead is the highest he has stood on a Masters leaderboard. With three rounds remaining across April 9 through 12, that distinction and the green jacket that goes with it are still very much in play for the field behind him.