How Each Aussie Performed in Round 1: Smith's Stunning 'Wizard' Moment

Jason very pleased with ‘consistent’ day | 01:40

Australia’s leading golfers are preparing for Augusta National to begin baring its teeth on Friday with conditions at the Masters expected to quicken as the weekend progresses. And that could play into the hands of a player like Cameron Smith.

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The 2022 British Open champion sits in a tie for 11th at 1-under, six shots behind overnight leader Justin Rose, but feels he has a lot of improvement in his game despite finishing with a flourish with a birdie on the 18th hole.

“It was nice for that putt to go in on the last. That felt a little bit better. I haven’t left myself too much work,” Smith told reporters.

“For how I felt out there, it felt like it was going to be a bit of a long day. All in all, pretty pleased with the score. (But) if I’m going to win this thing, I definitely need to do better than that.

“Golf is such a weird game. I feel like my last round last week at Doral was probably the best I’ve hit it in a long time, and coming out here today is probably the worst I’ve hit it in a long time.

“It’s just such a weird game sometimes. I felt really good at the start of the week, (so I) just a little bit of clean-up on the range, and we’ll be good.”

What could stand Smith and his fellow Australians under par in Jason Day and Min Woo Lee in good stead is that the greens are expected to firmer, which will suit golfers with good hands around the course.

Fox Golf’s expert analyst Paul Gow said that Smith’s short game came to the fore as the 2022 British Open champion fashioned a round that keeps him in contention.

He highlighted a chip on the ninth when he felt the Queenslander had “no chance of him getting this up and down” but managed to get the ball to within “five to six feet” of the tee.

“He is a wizard around here, that is for sure,” Gow said.

Smith, who attributed his decision to wear a blazer during the Par 3 contest on the eve of the Masters to an agreement made with Charlie Schaefer, the owner of the Greyson Group, while enjoying a “few beers”, has no doubt the conditions will be trickier on Friday afternoon.

“It would be good fun out there tomorrow afternoon I think, particularly if we don’t get any rain. It is a good fun test out here and it is just going to keep getting harder,” Smith said.

If it is true that a golfer needs to be sitting in the top 10 after the opening day to be in a position to win the Masters, Day remains a chance of being sized up for the green jacket after a solid opening at Augusta.

The former world No.1 is the best placed of the Australians at 2-under, Smith and recent PGA Tour winner Min Woo Lee a shot further back at a tournament led by Rose, who is no stranger to zipping out to an early lead at Augusta.

Cameron Davis also enjoyed some fine flourishes but endured a rough finish to shoot 2-over, while 2013 champion Adam Scott started slowly in more difficult conditions in the afternoon and faces a task to make the cut after scoring a 5-over 77.

Jason Day, of Australia, reacts after missing a putt on the 16th hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)Source: AP

Eighteen of the last 20 Masters Champions have been positioned in the top 10 after the first round and Day, who sits in a tie for seventh after a quality round, said; “It was a very, very good start to the week, so I am very happy with it.”

Having toned it down on the fashion front after the storm he created last year at Augusta, Day narrowly missed a lengthy putt for birdie on the 18th that would have put him in an even stronger position, but he completed the first bogey-free round of the tournament.

Outside Rose, the leaderboard is compressed, with Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg and Corey Connors at 4-under.

Day said Augusta is in superb condition but that the shifting winds made it a tricky test throughout the day. He expects Augusta National, which became more testing in the late afternoon, to toughen up further from Friday.

“At the moment, (it is) very good. It’s really fun to play. The greens are not too firm and fast. They’re very receptive still. They’re not crazy quick,” he told Fox Sports Australia.

“They’ve got a good enough speed to them but that’s obviously going to change as the week goes on. I think tomorrow is going to be a little bit harder and then, obviously, Saturday’s usually the hard one (before) they try to soften it off in Sunday.”

How Each Aussie Performed in Round 1: Smith's Stunning 'Wizard' Moment

Day made 15 of the 18 greens in regulation and said he was pleased with how he had fared from tee to green.

“I didn’t get myself out of position too bad, and then when I did get myself out of position, I had a relatively easy up-and-down,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I just missed a few too many opportunities for birdies. But sitting at 2-under right now in fifth place, I’m pretty happy with it. The better you start, obviously, the easier it gets as long as you keep that level of play up.”

Fresh from his breakthrough PGA Tour title in late March, Australia’s No.1 ranked man Lee recorded birdies on the two par fives on the front nine on route to scoring a 1-under 71 as well, with his length a feature in a solid start.

The Perth native started with a bogey after an errant tee shot with a new club but found his rhythm soon after and enjoyed a bogey-free run home.

“It was just one of those things. I just pulled my drive. It is a new club in the bag, a mini-driver and I drew it off a bit too much — I hit it off the toe — but I nearly made par and then on the next hole I made a really good birdie … hitting a good wedge to five feet,” he said.

“Then it was really steady from there. There was a lot of tough holes that I played well. But it was tricky today. There were a lot of tough pin positions, but I just played solid, even on the back nine, and I was happy with the score.”

He, too, expects Augusta to be trickier on Friday afternoon but is happy to be within striking distance of the leaders.

“(The course is) nothing too crazy yet, but we will see,” he said.

“I am happy. You can play yourself out of contention early. It was one of those where it was a mentally grinding day. You couldn’t make too many birdies. It was quite tough. But I didn’t have any bogeys, too, on the back nine.”

Gow, who interviewed the Australian golfers for Fox Sports Australia, said that if the 26-year-old can retain his accuracy from the tee, he can feast on the longer holes.

“All the par fives here are gettable. He just has to get it on the fairway. He is driving nicely. He is putting nicely. He just has to take advantage of that,” Gow said.

Davis had a fine flourish on the 15th when chipping in from about ten metres behind the green to eagle the par five, only for his rollercoaster round to continue when he dropped three shots on the next two holes to finish with a 2-over 74.

“There was a bit of good and a bit of bad, unfortunately,” Davis said.

“Finishing up with a couple of rough holes kind of hurts after getting all the momentum in a pretty short stretch as well. I know this is what this place can do to you if you hit it in the wrong spot a couple of times.

“It is a little frustrating, but at the same time, I had some cool moments. I do want to get myself up that leaderboard, but it was a little frustrating to finish that way.”

Scott, meanwhile, is in a tie for 82nd. The veteran started with three bogeys on the first five holes and then double-bogeyed the tenth hole in a difficult opening.

He will tee off in the morning on Friday, where the conditions are expected to be more gentle, and will need a strong round in order to avoid missing the cut at Augusta for the first time since 2009.

There is a prospect of light drizzle when Scott tees off, but the consensus from players and pundits alike is that Augusta is certain to become harder to handle once the weather clears.

AUSTRALIAN TEE TIMES

Davis will be the first off the tee later on Friday, Australian time, at 9.40pm alongside playing partners Rafael Campos and Austin Eskroat.

Scott will also tee off before midnight in Australia at 11.47pm. He is grouped with Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland.

Smith is scheduled to begin his second round at 2am alongside Aaron Rai and J.T. Poston. Lee will begin his bid to push into the top 10 at 3.01am in a group featuring Collin Morikawa and Joaquin Niemann.

Day is the last Australian to start the second round at 3.12am in a group that also holds Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley.