After every round this week, we here at Devil Ball will give you a quick recap of the day, with our thoughts on some of the best, and worst, performances of the day. This Thursday kicks it off, so let's get to it, shall we?
Round of the Day: You could easily go with Rory McIlroy's early round of 65, or Alvaro Qurios matching the Northern Irishman in the afternoon with 7-under, but the round of the day goes to Phil Mickelson. Why? Because for where he was off the tee all day, Mickelson should have been closer to 80 than 69. Lefty's short game around the greens showed exactly why he has the ability to hold together rounds where he isn't swinging well, and to get a 2-under 70 out of that was as impressive as anything I saw all day.
[Related: Complete Masters leaderboard ]
Biggest Surprise: The incredible play of the final threesome on Augusta National. Quiros, Gary Woodland and Jhonattan Vegas got attention before the round for their distance off the tee, but the back nine they played, combining to shoot 11-under over the final nine holes, was as enjoyable a thing to watch as anything that happened on Thursday. Woodland's 31 really showed why people think he could be a star, and Quiros held it together after a bogey on 14 to tie for the lead.
Biggest Disappointment: It's impossible not to vote Martin Kaymer here, even with his poor play at Augusta in the past. On a perfect scoring day, with a solid tee time, Kaymer shot 78, beating three men over the age of 50, Arjun Atwal and Henrik Stenson. For the world No. 1, a bad day should never be this bad, especially given the friendly pin positions and little to no wind.
What to look for on Friday: We all know Saturday is moving day, but with a lot of low numbers posted on Thursday, some of the names near even par are really going to have to make a move in the second round to get back in this tournament. Look for guys like Tiger Woods, Mickelson and Anthony Kim to fire at some pins they might not normally fire at, in hopes of jumping a few people on Day 2. Also, more red numbers as the wind is supposed to be relatively calm for most of the morning-early afternoon.
More Masters coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Is Tiger finally back? Yes!
? World No. 1 opens with nasty 78
? McIlroy's 65 could've been better
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