Justin Rose needs just 22 putts, leads Masters by three shots - ESPN

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose managed to steal the attention from Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in the Masters by matching his personal best at Augusta National with a 7-under 65 for a three-shot lead Thursday in the first major of the year.

Scheffler did his part in his bid to win a third Masters green jacket in four years, playing a bogey-free round of 68.

McIlroy, so desperate to win this major and complete the career Grand Slam, was right there with him until the end. He took a pair of double bogeys late in the afternoon with careless mistakes and had to settle for a 72. It was the seventh straight time he failed to break 70 in the opening round of the Masters.

Rose burst out of the gates with three straight birdies. He added three more around the turn. He was headed for a round nearly 10 shots better than the field average until a poor tee shot into the trees led to his only bogey at the final hole.

No matter. This was a reminder to Rose, who finished with only 22 putts, that his good golf is still very good.

«I'm 44. Golf is not going to get easier for me in the next five, 10 years, whatever it's going to be,» Rose said. «So your opportunity is less going forward. So you have to make the most of it.»

Justin Rose has had more first-round leads at the Masters — five — than any other golfer, breaking a mark he had shared with Jack Nicklaus.

Rose set one Masters record: It was the fifth time he has had at least a share of the 18-hole lead, breaking the mark held by Jack Nicklaus. The glaring difference, of course, is Nicklaus has six of those green jackets.

It also was the eighth time Rose has had at least a share of the lead after any round at Augusta National, something only five others have done. All are Masters