The Masters: Brooks Koepka living large, shares lead with Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brooks Koepka carved out a new identity that sure looked familiar on Thursday at the Masters.

This wasn’t about his surprising defection last year to LIV Golf, or even his victory four days ago that made him the Saudi-funded circuit’s first multiple-event winner. He just looked like “Big Game Brooks,” the player who built a reputation for playing his best in the majors.

Koepka was in full flight in the opening round at Augusta National, and he had company. He birdied his last two holes for a 7-under-par 65, giving him a share of the lead with Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland.

Koepka couldn’t stoop to read putts two years ago at the Masters when he tried to return from knee surgery in three weeks. He felt so hobbled last year he had reason to believe his run in the majors – four wins over three years – was about to be a memory.

He is getting his swagger back.

“Once you feel good, everything changes,” Koepka said.

As for Rahm, he never went away. Never mind that he dropped from a sure-fire No. 1 in the world to No. 3 in the span of a month. The Spaniard overcame a four-putt double bogey on the opening hole with a sublime display of shotmaking.

Hovland played bogey-free to join them atop a leaderboard filled with red numbers and the ominous “weather warning” signs that figure to play a big role this week.

A bad forecast has been talked about almost as much as how 18 players from Saudi-backed LIV Golf would perform amid the high-stakes pressure of a major over 72 holes with a cut.

Koepka carried the flag, though he was more thrilled with having healthy legs.

Rahm had a cool head. He took four putts from 40 feet, and on his way to the second tee thought of the famous quote from his Spanish idol, Seve Ballesteros, who once four-putted at Augusta and said, “I miss, I miss, I miss, I make.”

“If you’re going to make a double or four-putt, it might as well be the first hole – 71 holes to make it up,” Rahm said.

That he did. The Spaniard followed with seven birdies and an eagle, and his 65 was the lowest score in Masters history by anyone who started with a double bogey.

Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship – his fourth major in a span of three years – that gave him a five-year exemption to the Masters. That runs out next year, and with LIV not getting any world ranking points, his path to Augusta is limited.

“If you win, you’re fine,” he said, bluntly and unbothered.

Hovland was among the early starters. The highlight was a 25-foot eagle putt on the second hole and being 7 under through 13 holes until he cooled at the end. The Norwegian star also stood out for other reasons. The azaleas are starting to lose their color from an early bloom. Hovland made up for it with his shirt.

“It’s definitely a little bit out there,” Hovland said. “But I think I’d rather take these than the pink pants I had last year. So we’re making progress.”

The warm, muggy air and relatively soft greens allowed for good scores for just about everyone. Cameron Young and Jason Day were at 67.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, trying to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back, was in the group at 68 that included major champions Shane Lowry, Adam Scott and Gary Woodland, along with Xander Schauffele and U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett.

Missing from the red numbers was Tiger Woods, who now has to worry about a chance to don that Sunday red shirt. He has never missed the cut as a pro in the Masters and will have some work to do if he wants to keep that streak alive.

Woods had a few lip-outs and a lot of limping. Woods saw plenty of birdies – he played with Hovland and Schauffele – but made only one himself over 14 holes. He had a late spark until finishing with a bogey for a 74.

It was his highest start in the Masters since 2005. He wound up winning that year, but this is a 47-year-old Woods with hardware holding his right leg together and a back that has gone through five surgeries. He said he was sore. He looked the part.

“Most of the guys are going low today. This was the day to do it,” Woods said. “Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be a little bit better, a little bit sharper, and kind of inch my way through it.”

Woods wasn’t the only one who failed to take advantage. Rory McIlroy, needing a Masters green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam, took a double bogey from the trees on the par-4 seventh and had three more bogeys to offset his good play. He wound up with a 72, already seven shots behind a world-class leaderboard.

Rahm only a month ago was playing so well he looked unstoppable – three wins on the PGA Tour over his first five starts, all against strong fields. And then he dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in no time as Scheffler and McIlroy surged.

Consider his opening round – even the four-putt double bogey – to be a reminder that his game is sharp and his passion is burning hot to be the next Spaniard to win the Masters.

That he could recall a funny line from Ballesteros so soon after a crushing start was a good sign. He thought his putting stroke was good on all of them. So he moved on. Rahm hit every fairway and missed only one green.

He hammered a 4-iron from 249 yards on the par-5 eighth that caught the ridge side of the green and fed down to 4 feet for eagle. He birdied four of his last six holes, finishing with an 8-iron to 3 feet on the 18th.

“The one on 18 takes the cake,” Rahm said. “The one on 18 was just perfect drive, great second shot and tap-in for birdie. You don’t usually get a walk-off birdie over here, and those two swings were about as good as they could feel.”

For Koepka, it’s all about feeling good.

His health – not to mention a nine-figure signing bonus – is one reason he went from supporting the PGA Tour to making the leap to LIV. Koepka says he started to feel healthy again toward the end of last year. He arrived in Augusta off a win.

“Get myself in contention with nine to go on Sunday,” he said. “That’s the whole goal.”

WOODS STILL HOPEFUL AFTER 74

Woods’ round was mostly grim and just about every hole included a pronounced limp – the evidence of the car crash near Rancho Palos Verdes just over two years ago that crushed bones in his right leg and ankle.

By the time Woods struggled through the finishing hole, failing to get up and down from another bunker, he had shot 74 – good enough to stay in contention to play the weekend but hardly good enough to actually contend. He has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional.

He shot 78-78 on the weekend last year and is now a combined 16 over for his last four rounds at Augusta National. The four consecutive rounds over par is Woods’ longest such streak since first driving down Magnolia Lane in 1995.

“Today was the opportune time to get the round under par,” he said, “and I didn’t do that.”

Woods actually outdrove both Hovland and Schauffele at the first hole and was cruising along until the third, when he caught a pitch shot high on his club face and left it short of the green. Woods ran his next chip past the hole, missed a slippery downhill putt and walked off with his first bogey of the day.

Then came the lip-outs: a vicious one at the fifth, the same hole on which Woods began using his driver as a walking stick, and another at the seventh, which left him 3 over and searching for some positive vibes.

They came briefly with a birdie at the eighth, only to dissipate when Woods dumped his pitch into the bunker at No. 11 and made a bogey. He looked like he might catch momentum again with a long birdie putt at the 15th and an approach stuck close for birdie at the 16th, only to watch a near-perfect drive at the 18th come to rest too close to a fairway bunker.

Woods tried several stances before planting his left foot in the grass, high above him, and digging his right in the sand. He proceeded to send a line drive from there into the greenside bunker, losing his balance and hopping away on his left leg.

“Hop on the left leg is fine,” he said. “If I did it on the other one, not so fine.”

Woods splashed out of that bunker, missed the par putt and began his halting walk to the clubhouse to sign his card.

“I didn’t give myself very good looks,” he said. “Need to do a better job of that going forward.”

Indeed, the round was hardly vintage Woods, yet the feel around Augusta National was unmistakably classic.

Patrons stacked four-, five- and sometimes six-deep for a chance to see him, then walked quickly ahead – running being strictly forbidden – to find a prime spot to see him again. They clapped politely when he’d tap in for par, roared like the old days for his three birdies, and showered him with adulation when his round was over.

At one point, after waiting an hour for Woods to come through and then watching him play an approach shot from the fairway right in front of them, one gentleman turned to his buddy and said: “Well, we can go home now.”

Without a few more birdies, and a few less mistakes, that’s where Woods will be headed soon, too.

ON-COURSE INTERVIEWS AMONG CHANGES

Augusta National has taken another surprising step toward modernization: The Masters allowed for a walk-and-talk during the opening round when McIlroy answered questions for the ESPN telecast while playing the ninth fairway.

Then, Max Homa later joined the fun, making a live guest appearance during his round.

CBS, which is producing the Masters, first broke out the technology at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Trevor Immelman was in the booth and held a Q-and-A with Homa as he played the 13th hole. Homa went on to win.

NBC also did the walk-and-talk with a player during the six weeks leading to the Masters.

But the Masters?

There was McIlroy, going so far as to tell viewers his yardage and what club he would be hitting into the ninth green.

McIlroy said it wasn’t a distraction because the interview was conducted through an earpiece rather than having someone place a microphone in front of him as he walked, so it felt more natural.

“It’s nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what’s going on out here,” McIlroy said.

He wasn’t surprised when he was approached by Masters officials earlier this week about doing the interview.

“I think since Chairman (Fred) Ridley has come along, he’s really tried to push the envelope as well,” McIlroy said. “So I think Augusta has a great balance of blending that history and that tradition but also making sure we’re keeping up with the times.”

Homa, no stranger to putting himself out there on social media, is in favor of the move.

“It does feel like that’s a good way to maybe gain some perspective for the fans to enjoy golf a little bit easier,” Homa said.

MICKELSON’S NEW LOOK

Those who haven’t been paying attention to LIV Golf probably were a little shocked when they got their first look at a trimmed down Phil Mickelson this week. The three-time Masters champion said he’s lost 25 pounds.

“I stopped eating food, that was a big help,” Mickelson said. “I also lost muscle, so I had to start lifting, and I’ve been lifting and slowly have been getting my speed and strength back to where I need it to be.”

Mickelson said he is going to continue down what he considers a healthier path.

“Some of these guys out here today, how far and how fast they’re able to swing the club, it’s really amazing,” Mickelson said. “It doesn’t mean that they’re going to win. You still have to hit the shots and manage your way around the game, manage your game around the course. But I’ve got to be in shape to be able to have a speed that allows me to compete.”

BENNETT GOES LOW

U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett was the only amateur to break par Thursday, shooting a bogey-free round of 68 to match playing partner Scheffler.

Bennett was just two strokes off Ken Venturi’s record for the low round by an amateur, set in 1956. Venturi took the lead into Sunday’s final round, when he shot 80 and finished one shot behind Jack Burke Jr.

Bennett, a two-time All-American at Texas A&M, made a long birdie putt at the first hole. He added a chip-in for eagle at the second, then another long birdie putt at the sixth. He made par the rest of the way to the clubhouse.

“It was kind of gloomy all day,” Bennett said, “and then on 17, it was probably the prettiest view looking up that fairway, and 18 as well through the chute. The sun was shining. So I just wanted to make two more good swings, which I did.”

Harrison Crowe and Ben Carr, who lost to Bennett at the U.S. Amateur, opened with 75. Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira shot 76 and fellow amateurs Matthew McClean, Aldrich Potgieter and Gordon Sargent had rounds of 5 over.

“Kicked my butt out there,” said Sargent, the NCAA champion from Vanderbilt. “But I talked to my caddie at every single hole. We’re at Augusta at the Masters, how can you complain?”

GARCIA SAYS MEDIA FUELING LIV-PGA ISSUES

Sergio Garcia is tired of talking about the LIV-PGA Tour feud.

After opening the Masters with a 2-over 74, Garcia shot back at reporters who asked if this felt like a normal event with all that is going on away from the course.

“Totally normal,” Garcia said. “You guys need to stop it. You guys are making a big deal out of this, and it’s you guys.”

When a reporter took issue with Garcia’s comment, the Spaniard didn’t back off.

“I’ve had nothing but great things from every single player I talk to,” he said. “So please stop it and talk about the Masters.”

Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, was among 18 players from the Saudi-backed LIV tour taking part in the first major of the year, though the number quickly dropped to 17 when Kevin Na withdrew after playing only nine holes.

LIV Golf has doled out huge amounts of money to lure some of the game’s best-known players away from the PGA Tour, a group that includes six former Masters winners including Garcia and three-time champion Mickelson.

The formation of a rival tour has led to court battles and harsh words from both sides, though there were no outward signs of hostility at Augusta National.

The European tour, an ally with the PGA Tour, won a victory Thursday when an independent tribunal ruled it could sanction members who competed in LIV Golf without permission.

The PGA Tour also has suspended players who joined the rival tour without getting a waiver, though that doesn’t apply to the four major championships.

Garcia said he was unaware of the ruling and declined further comment.

“How can I talk about something I don’t know?” he said. “Obviously I don’t look at the news. So I don’t know what happened. I’m not going to talk about something without all the information that I need.”

ZALATORIS, NA WITHDRAW

Will Zalatoris who tied for sixth at the Masters, withdrew before ever stepping on the course.

The world’s No. 8 player was runner-up at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open last year before his first PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, the following week at the BMW Championship, Zalatoris herniated two disks in his back on a tee shot and wound up missing the rest of the season.

The LIV tour’s Kevin Na completed the first nine holes of play at 4-over 40 before withdrawing because of an illness, Augusta National Golf Club announced.

AP sports writers Steve Reed, Dave Skretta and Paul Newberry contributed to this report.