Will Zalatoris in major championship striking distance once again

A quick look at the opening round of The Masters, where a firm and fast Augusta National bedeviled players. RELATED: Full leaderboard THE LEADERS Justin Rose (65): He was 2 over par for his first seven holes but played his next 10 holes in 9 under par, including an eagle at the par-5 eighth hole. Rose has had success at Augusta National – including two runner-up finishes – but this round was a bit unexpected. Not only was Augusta National playing difficult, but this was his first competitive round since he withdrew with an injury halfway through last month’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Rose entered this week ranked 164th in the FedExCup, with just two top-25s (and no top-10s) in seven starts this season. STORYLINES TOUGH STUFF: The patrons were back at Augusta National for the first time in two years but there weren’t many roars because birdies and eagles were tough to come by. Firm and fast conditions – and an inconsistent, swirling breeze – made things difficult for players. “(It) started off as a nice casual stroll around Augusta and turned into a roller coaster pretty quickly there on the back,” said Kevin Kisner, who shot 72. “It’s a super stressful grind is the best way to describe it.” WAKE UP: It was a good day for Wake Forest alums at Augusta National. Both Webb Simpson and Will Zalatoris shot 2-under 70. Simpson is one of just four players to finish in the top 10 in the past two Masters. Zalatoris, who’s one of just three professionals making his Masters debut this week, made eagle on 15. No Masters first-timer has won since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. PAIR OF ACES: Tommy Fleetwood made an ace on the 16th hole, giving him an ace in each of his last two tournaments. Fleetwood also made one in his Round of 16 match with Dylan Frittelli at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. NOTABLES JON RAHM (72) – Rahm didn’t arrive at Augusta National until Wednesday and hadn’t touched a club for several days after the birth of his first child, but he put together a solid opening round. Rahm has finished in the top 10 in the last three Masters, the second-longest active streak. “Even though I didn’t do much golf-related from Friday to Monday, the work is done before, right?” he said Thursday. “So I just need to come in here healthy, good mobility when it comes to the body, and then the right mindset.” DUSTIN JOHNSON (74) – The defending champion is trying to be the first player since Tiger Woods in 2001-02 to win back-to-back Masters. He made his defense more difficult, however, by playing his final three holes in 3 over, including a double-bogey on the 18th hole. BROOKS KOEPKA (74) – Walking Augusta National’s hills are difficult for Koepka after a recent surgery but he said he can still contend this week. He bogeyed four of the first five holes on the second nine but bounced back with birdies at Nos. 15 and 16. “It was fine,” Koepka said about his knee. “I just didn’t play good.” RORY McILROY (76) – McIlroy’s quest to complete the career Grand Slam may have to wait another year. The two-time FedExCup champion, who is in the midst of swing changes under new coach Pete Cowen, struggled Thursday. His approach shot on No. 7 even hit his father, Gerry. “I think any time you’re working on things with your swing, it’s going to feel very different, but it’s not as if I haven’t done these things before,” Rory said. “You get into these bad habits and that feels normal, and then you get it back into position where I’ve been a million times before and it just feels a little different, right.” WORTH WATCHNG BY THE NUMBERS 4 – This is the fourth time that Justin Rose has held the first-round lead at the Masters, tied with Jack Nicklaus for the most first-round leads in tournament history. Rose also held the Thursday lead here in 2008, 2007 and 2004. 4 – Rose’s four-shot lead matches the second-largest 18-hole lead in Masters history. Craig Wood led by five shots after the first round in 1941 before going on to win. 6 – Jordan Spieth made triple on Augusta National’s ninth hole, which features no water or out of bounds. It was just the sixth score of triple or worse made on that hole in the past decade.

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FORT WORTH, Texas – It’s a good thing Aaron Wise is accustomed to filling oversized footwear, because big expectations quickly follow when you win your first PGA TOUR event at just 21 years old. Wise grew up in a family of modest means, so his mother, Karla, used to buy shoes so big that her son could never outgrow them. It was a strategy devised to extend the time between purchases. Aaron hit the jackpot during his freshman year of high school when one of his teammates was about to get rid of 10 pairs of old golf shoes. Aaron asked if he could take them home instead. “I’m pretty sure my mom cried because she knew she didn’t have to buy shoes. I was set,� Aaron said. He still wears a size 10.5 today even though his feet are a 9.5. The proper size felt too constricting to feet accustomed to more space. Last week’s win at the AT&T Byron Nelson put Aaron among some select company. Since 1991, only seven players have won at an earlier age: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Si Woo Kim and John Huh. Big shoes to fill, indeed. “I didn’t come from a lot,� Aaron said in Sunday’s post-victory press conference. “All along, (I’ve had) very, very few moments to shine. I had to take advantage of them.� Aaron was 3 years old when his family moved from South Africa to Southern California. The exchange rate decimated the family’s savings. They moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles. “My parents did well to keep food on the table,� Aaron said. “We didn’t have much.� Aaron has been holding a golf club since he started walking, though. He gave himself welts on his neck from swinging his father’s full-length wedge. The club was so big that he rested the grip against his shoulder as he held the shaft and swung. He is the rare player from his generation who’s played with a persimmon driver. He grew up in the age of titanium, but his first clubs were hand-me-downs. He’s been playing golf since he could walk, but he didn’t receive his first new set of junior clubs until he was 12. His father, Marc, was his only instructor until Aaron’s senior year of high school. Marc tried to model his son’s swing after Ernie Els and taught putting drills that Aaron still uses today. Aaron was a public-course kid who made a name for himself in local tournaments, not the national events that so many elite juniors play. A 13-shot victory in a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur is part of his legend. Aaron caught college coaches’ eyes with two strong performances at the Junior World tournament just down the road at Torrey Pines. He needed just two years at the University of Oregon to prove to himself that he could compete at the highest level. He benefitted from the three-hour practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays that focused solely on players’ short games. “One reason he chose Oregon was that the putting greens looked really nice and fast. He was used to playing on greens that were 8s (on the Stimpmeter) and bumpy,� said Oregon coach Casey Martin. Aaron won the 2016 NCAA individual title and led the Ducks to the team title in front of thousands of fans at Oregon’s home course, Eugene Country Club. It was his last act as an amateur. He turned pro at 19 and has won at every stop since. After making his pro debut at the 2016 U.S. Open, he won in his second start on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada. He won on the Web.com Tour last year. The AT&T Byron Nelson was just his 26th PGA TOUR start and came two weeks after he challenged Jason Day down the stretch at the Wells Fargo Championship. “Being put in tough situations where I knew other people were getting better opportunities to succeed, it made me have to believe in myself� Aaron said. “I think it’s why I play so well under pressure. I believe in myself.� Aaron shot a final-round 68 at Quail Hollow, forcing Jason Day to birdie Nos. 16 and 17 for a two-shot victory. Aaron started the Nelson’s final round tied with veteran Marc Leishman, a two-time winner last season. Aaron pulled away with six birdies in the first 10 holes, then cruised home to a three-shot victory. He hit all 14 fairways in the final round and missed just one green. “He played probably the most composed final round I’ve ever seen. I wish I could do that. I really can’t,� said Jon Rahm, a famously emotional player. Rahm competed against Aaron in college. “I texted him that night and said, ‘That was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen from a rookie.’ Usually, you can see some nerves. I was definitely up and down when I won at Torrey Pines.� Martin, a former PGA TOUR player, said that Aaron’s composure is what makes him special. “He is so calm and collected. That’s what separates him,� he said. “A lot of guys hit it well and putt it well.� Aaron is the fifth player this season to have a win and runner-up in consecutive starts. The other four – Rahm, Day, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas – are in the top 10 of both the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking. Aaron has achieved so much at a young age despite hardly playing a tournament for three years. He was sidelined for 10 months after breaking his arm in a dirt-bike accident at around 11 years old. Then his parents barred him from playing in tournaments when he was 13 and 14 because he was showing signs of burnout. He started playing competitive tennis during that time and quickly became one of the top-ranked players in California. He returned to competitive golf as soon as he could, though. That hand-eye coordination that helped him quickly succeed at a new sport is one of the reasons the 6-foot-1, 175-pound player is one of the longest on TOUR. He hit the longest drives of the week at both the Wells Fargo (383 yards) and AT&T Byron Nelson (402). He is 32nd on TOUR in driving distance, averaging 303.3 yards. “The quality of his strike is really good. He hits the center of the face a lot and he’s learned to use the ground,� said his swing coach, Jeff Smith. “At the end of the day, he’s driving the ball at a world-class level. He’s one of the top 10 drivers of a golf ball in the world. He has an advantage as soon as he steps on the first tee.� His length helps, but so does an upbringing that forced him to earn everything he got.

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Charley Hoffman leads by three shots heading into Moving Day at the Hero World Challenge. Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods and defending champ Hideki Matsuyama are all within striking distance. Third round tee times Third round leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN Telecast: Golf Channel (12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET) NBC: (2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET) NOTABLE PAIRINGS Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson 12:09 p.m. ET Kevin Chappell, Justin Thomas 12:20 p.m. ET Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed 12:31 p.m. ET Hideki Matsuyama, Tiger Woods 12:53 p.m. ET Charley Hoffman, Jordan Spieth 1:15 p.m. ET

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