AUGUSTA, Ga. — The weather at the 2026 Masters could not be better; those ideal conditions have allowed Augusta National Golf Club to present the course as it prefers: firm, fast and extremely demanding. The result of that kind of exacting test? The cream rising to the top of the leaderboard through 18 holes of the 90th Masters.
Some of the game’s biggest stars and players have long thrived at the Masters, and while some fell off in the first round, many are firmly in contention with all night to prepare for Round 2.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy holds a share of the lead with Sam Burns, the duo standing at 5 under. McIlroy completed a sensational round where he got the absolute most out of his play despite challenging conditions.
“I think when the greens get that firm, you really have to think about where the best miss is, and distance control is very important, but also missing it left, missing it right,” McIlroy said. “So when the greens do get firm like this, it makes it a much more tactical test, and you really have to think about things. I’ve said for the last few years, I’ve started to really relish that type of golf. I really want to excel at that type of golf.”
The firmness of the golf course has been a topic of conversation all week. Players called it “crispy” during Wednesday’s practice round, and they continued highlighting that firmness from tee-to-green on Thursday.
Patrick Reed, who had his round to 5 under at the turn, backed up to 3 under after the second nine. He broke a tee trying to put it in the ground to fix a divot.
“I think this could be the toughest Masters we’ve played in a while,” said Shane Lowry, who shot a 2-under 70.
A year ago, McIlroy rallied from seven shots back after the first round thanks to a pair of 66s in his second and third rounds. Producing those kinds of scores consistently seems highly unlikely in these conditions, and there won’t be many opportunities to go at flagsticks consistently with the big first bounces we’ve already started to see on the greens.
As a result, the group of 16 players that reached red figures on Thursday may have created an even bigger advantage than usual, as those who struggled, like Bryson DeChambeau (+4) and Jon Rahm (+6), will find it exceedingly difficult to make up ground.
Conditions got even tougher as the day advanced with most of the low rounds coming from the morning wave. Will the course be a touch softer in the morning again Friday? Either way, it’s doubtful that the difficulty of Augusta National will let up over the next 54 holes.
2026 Masters leaderboard breakdown, Round 1
1. Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns (-5): McIlroy said after his round that he felt he got the most out of his play on Thursday, noting the way he hit it, he probably should’ve shot a 70. The freedom he feels after completing the grand slam has to be rather terrifying for the rest of the field because he also started to find his swing in the middle of his first round to surge up the leaderboard.
Burns’ 67 was much more straightforward, as he produced one of the best ball-striking rounds we’ve seen from him all year. He found 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation. With his putting ability, Burns has a recipe for tremendous success. He’ll need to maintain that crisp ball-striking as the week wears on, given the demanding nature of this course setup, but with his short game, he’s well-suited for the challenges Augusta National’s greens present.
T3. Kurt Kitayama, Patrick Reed, Jason Day (-3): Kitayama’s the surprise here, as he got hot in the middle of his round and surged into the lead briefly before stumbling back at the end. Day picked up a top 10 a year ago and has been playing well this year, so his presence on the first page isn’t shocking.
Reed likewise was in the lead for a period of time before a bit of a slip late in his round. He opened with two eagles in his first nine holes, taking full advantage of the par 5s.
The 2018 champion has been in great form to start 2026 and is always a threat at Augusta.
T6. Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose (-2): Scheffler raced out of the gates with an eagle on No. 2 and a birdie on No. 3, and it looked like he would join McIlroy at the top. Things stalled out from there for the world No. 1, who didn’t make a single birdie over his final 15 holes as even he struggled to score with how difficult the course was playing late in the day.
Schauffele and Rose have long been fixtures on the first page of the leaderboard at the Masters with Rose finishing the first round in the top 10 for the 10th time in his career, trailing only Jack Nicklaus’ incredible 16. Both Rose and Schauffele proved why they were trendy picks this week with their early play and have proven their ability to stay in the hunt through a tough weekend at Augusta National over the years.
T10. Tommy Fleetwood and 6 others (-1): Anything in red figures on Thursday was a solid day’s work, but Fleetwood, like many others, walked off the course thinking they could’ve gotten more out of their round. Fleetwood had it to 3 under midway through the back nine, but a pair of bogeys in his final three holes dropped him four shots off the pace.
Closing out rounds was really the story of the day. Burns and McIlroy did it better than anyone else, while so many struggled with the challenge of producing great shots on every hole, which is what the course demanded on Thursday.
T56. Bryson DeChambeau and 10 others (+4): DeChambeau came into this year’s Masters feeling confident with his game after back-to-back LIV Golf wins, believing he has started to truly figure out the puzzle of Augusta National after back-to-back T6 and T5 finishes. However, some of the same things that plagued him in a final round 75 a year ago bit him again on Thursday. Distance control with his irons wasn’t sharp, and the short game that buoyed him much of last year betrayed him in the first round. A triple-bogey 7 on the 11th hole, where it took him three attempts to get out of the greenside bunker, was the most notable stumble on DeChambeau’s day, and he now has work to do to make the cut.
T73. John Rahm, Fred Couples and two others (+6): Rahm’s round was even more disappointing than that of DeChambeau, as he didn’t make a single birdie all day. The 2022 champion had lofty expectations and was a pick of many to win, given his recent form, but the two LIV stars both failed to bring that form over to the Masters. Rahm will need to make a significant turnaround after a sloppy round on Thursday to make the cut, but even if he does claw his way to the weekend, any hopes of winning are seemingly gone after a 78.
The 66-year-old Couples looked like he was going to be one of the best stories of the week as he was 2 under through 14 holes, but disaster struck on the 15th, which caused his round to spiral. A quadruple-bogey 9, including two balls in the water on the par-5 15th, derailed his round — although he wasn’t the only 9 on No. 15 on Thursday as Robert MacIntyre joined him later — and he backed it up with consecutive double bogeys to go from the top 10 to well outside the cut line.