Scottie Scheffler among Masters leaders after first-round 68 - ESPN

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Defending champion Scottie Scheffler answered any doubts about his readiness to win another green jacket by posting a bogey-free, 4-under 68 to grab a share of the early clubhouse lead in the first round of the 89th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday.

Scheffler had three birdies on the first nine, including a 62-foot putt on the par-3 fourth hole. He added a 42-foot birdie on the par-3 16th to grab a share of the early lead with Canada's Corey Conners.

Scheffler is only the fourth defending Masters winner to open the next year's tournament with a bogey-free round in the past 30 years.

With sunshine and little wind, the morning wave of players enjoyed pristine scoring conditions, other than Augusta National greens, which were fast and firm even after more than an inch of rain fell on Monday.

«I had a feeling the golf course was going to get pretty firm,» Scheffler said. «The areas to hit your irons out here are pretty small, and they get even smaller when the greens are firm, so there's definitely some challenge to the golf course today, and I'm sure that'll continue as the week goes on.»

The world No. 1 golfer had a relatively stress-free round in the opening 18 holes of his attempt to join Jack Nicklaus (1963, 1965 and 1966) as the only golfers to win the Masters three times in a four-year span. Scheffler can become only the fourth golfer to win a green jacket in back-to-back years, joining Nicklaus, Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02).

Scheffler now has four straight opening rounds in the 60s at the Masters, the second-longest streak in the tournament's illustrious history, trailing only Nicklaus, who accomplished the feat five-straight times from 1972-76, according to ESPN