Photo: ReutersBrooks Koepka, who has won two of the last three majors, held a share of the first-round Masters lead with Bryson DeChambeau, while three-time champion Phil Mickelson was one shot off the pace on Thursday. American Koepka, who does not have a top-10 finish in three starts at the Masters, enjoyed a four-hole birdie run from the 12th to pull ahead but had to settle for a share of the lead after DeChambeau closed with four consecutive birdies. "That was probably the best ball-striking round I've had in a major championship," they 28-year-old Koepka told reporters after his bogey-free round. Bryson DeChambeau held a share of the lead after the first round. Former Masters champion Adam Scott, Spaniard Jon Rahm and South African debutant Justin Harding were in a group of five players sitting three shots back.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 12, 2019 01:30 UTC