Day 1 is in the books at Augusta National, and the 2025 Masters leaderboard is already delivering in a big way.
In addition to the odds-on favorites getting off to a great start, an epic round of 65 by 44-year-old Justin Rose turned out to be the highlight of the day.
What’s in store for Round 2? Here are 5 things to know for Friday’s second round at the 2025 Masters.
The leader
Justin Rose has never won a green jacket but he does have an excellent track record at Augusta.
The Tour veteran has 14 top-25 finishes in 19 appearances, including two runner-ups. And on Thursday, the Englishman proved his mettle, posting a sizzling 65 (-7) to lead the tournament by three shots over Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners and Ludvig Aberg (all -4).
Which big name at Masters is poised to make a Friday charge?
“It was a really good day’s golf on a golf course that was a stern test,” Rose said. “I think if you look at the overall leaderboard, not many low scores out there. You had to hit a lot of quality shots, and delighted the way I played.”
As for what the future holds, Rose says he’s simply looking forward to what’s ahead.
“There’s tons of opportunity to do things I haven’t done before, but the major headlines are kind of all in place for me,” he said. “So I should use that as freedom to take these opportunities and use them to kind of freewheel and use it all as upside.”
The contenders
Just behind Rose is a bevy of worthy adversaries. In addition to Scheffler, Conners and Aberg (mentioned above), there’s also Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau (-3), and Aaron Rai, Harris English, Jason Day and Akshay Bhatia (-2).
A rich leaderboard indeed!
The ageless wonder
Fred Couples is doing it again.
Fred Couples shuns attention. But at Masters, he’s at center of it again
A hole-out for eagle on the par-4 14th helped propel Couples to a round of one-under 71 — six shots behind Rose’s lead, but holding steady at an impressive place on the leaderboard: T11. Can he maintain his Thursday form to make the 32nd Masters cut of his career? The 65-year-old is cautiously optimisitc.
“I’ve been saying it for 40 years, I just love the course and I feel like, to be honest with you, last year I was not really very healthy at all,” Couples said. “If I had the right clubs in my bag, even as bad as I felt, I really feel the way the scores were, I was disappointed when I finished, but I had a 7-wood, 9-wood, and those were so I could swing at them.
“Now I have a set of clubs I feel like I can hit around here. Tomorrow may be different. May be different shots. But it was fun. It was a very fun day.”
The ageless wonder, Part II
Langer is competing in his 41st and final Masters this week, after missing the cut for the last three years. But after Round 1, he’s still in the mix to make the cut this year, firing a respectable 74 to sit at T51.
The 67-year-old will play a decisive round on Friday: Will he rally to make the weekend, or receive a champion’s send-off on the 18th green earlier than he’d like?
The disappointing first rounds
When things go sideways at Augusta National, it can get ugly fast. Perhaps no one experienced that more piercingly than Nick Dunlap on Thursday. The two-time PGA Tour winner limped to the clubhouse after firing an opening-round 90 (+18) that included seven bogeys, four doubles and a triple.
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And he wasn’t the only one to struggle. Other pre-tournament favorites also have a lot of work to do on Friday if they want to stick around for the weekend. Top sleeper picks Russell Henley and Thomas Detry fired 79s. Adam Scott posted 77. Wyndham Clark signed for 76. And major-winning LIV players Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka shot 75 and 74, respectively.
Rory McIlroy also deserves a mention here. Through 14 holes, he was four under par and jostling for position near the top of the leaderboard. But then: disaster. A double on 15. Another double on 17. A final score of 72, even par.
Augusta National giveth, and it taketh away. But everyone gets at least one more round on Friday.
