Bryson DeChambeau leads Scottie Scheffler by 1 at Masters - ESPN

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National Golf Club finally played like a par-67 course for 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau in Thursday's opening round of the 88th Masters.

In fact, it played like a par-65 course for the captain of the LIV Golf League's Crushers GC.

DeChambeau carded a 7-under 65 on Thursday to grab a 3-stroke lead when his weather-delayed opening round ended. Playing most of his round in swirling winds, DeChambeau had birdies on each of the first three holes and added five more on the second nine.

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was 1 stroke back after carding a 6-under 66.

Play was suspended around 8 p.m. ET because of darkness with 27 golfers still on the course, including five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, who was 1 under after 13 holes. The first round will resume Friday at 7:50 a.m. ET (ESPN). The second round will begin at 8 a.m. ET.

Nicolai Højgaard of Denmark, who is 5 under after 15 holes, and Max Homa, who is 4 under through 13, also are among the players yet to finish the first round.

England's Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, finished his round and was 3 back after carding a 4-under 68. New Zealand's Ryan Fox posted a 3-under 69.

«I shot 65 today, and that was one of the best rounds of golf I've played in a long time,» DeChambeau said. «There's three more days to go, and I'm not losing sight of that fact — that it's right there in front of me. Just got to go execute.»

Thursday's round was redemption for DeChambeau, who had struggled at Augusta National Golf Club since boasting four years ago that one of the most famous courses in the world wasn't long enough for his game. At the 2020 Masters, DeChambeau famously said his strategy would be to play Augusta National as a