Russell Henley and Bubba Watson lead UGA contingent after Day 1

 

AUGUSTA – For one day at least, Bubba Watson wasn't the lead Dawg at the Masters. That distinction belonged to Russell Henley.

 

The Macon native shot a 4-under 68 in Thursday's first round to lead a contingent of six former Bulldogs playing in the 79th Masters.

 

Watson, the defending champion whose win here last year was his second, started with what was for him a ho-hum round of 71. First-timers Brian Harman (76) and Brendon Todd (80) struggled to varying degrees, while fellow Masters rookie Erik Compton hung tough with a 73. Two-time participant Chris Kirk carded an even-par 72.

 

This was Henley's third Masters. He acknowledged feeling much more knowledgeable and relaxed this time around.

 

"For some reason today on the first tee, I wasn't quite as nervy as the last two years, and I just had a ball today," said Henley, who missed the cut in 2013 and finished 31st last year. "Obviously it's fun to shoot under par at Augusta, and I'm just very thankful I could finally shoot one in the 60s."

 

It helps when you're hearing "Go Dawgs!" and "Macon, Georgia," on every hole, as Henley said he did Thursday.

 

"It's fun to have people rooting for you and encouraging you for sure," Henley said. "It's a blast, and it's nice to get the attention."

 

Nobody from Georgia has gotten more attention than Watson, who felt 71 was about the worst he could have gotten out of his round Thursday. He had two three-putt bogeys and missed the fairway on 18 on the way to another bogey.

 

"If you take the two three-putts away, I'd be in the 60s," Watson said. "So not too bad. I didn't play my way out of it, and I'm not too far behind. So I'm happy with it."

 

Compton had a similar reaction. In his first Masters loop at Augusta National – he has played the course seven other times while at UGA and in practice rounds this week – Compton was surprised to have to sign for an over-par score.

 

"My 73 was the best/worst round posted of the year," Compton said. "I played awfully well to shoot 73. If I sat here and had missed a bunch of fairways and greens and shot 73, I'd understand, but that wasn't really the case. Everybody who knows me knows I'm extremely hard on myself, so for me to say that (laughs) means I played awfully well."

 

Todd actually played steady for the first 12 holes, heading to the 13th tee at 1 over. But a double on that hole and a triple at the par-5 15th undid his round. A bogey on the 18th gave him a 42 on the back nine.

 

Todd played both his practice rounds and the par-3 tournament with Kirk, his former roommate at UGA and one of his closest friends.

 

"I'm very sorry to hear that," said Kirk, unaware of Todd's travails until finishing his late-afternoon round. "His game looked pretty good. But sometimes at this place, you can be the tiniest fraction off, and it makes you look bad."

 

As for himself, Kirk is still focusing on the ultimate prize.

 

"I'm hoping for a good day (Friday) and getting myself back in it," Kirk said. "If I can shoot 4 or 5 under and have a good round like some of these other guys did I think I can. Maybe being out a little bit earlier will help me do that."

 

Watson complained of slow play. Teeing off at 9:24 in the morning, his round took five hours and 15 minutes and contributed to his limping finish.

 

"The last two holes I got a little tired," said Watson, who had to chip in to save par on 17. "Both my tee shots were way left, just shoved them. Not committed, not focused. Other than that it was a good day."

 

Good enough, Watson added, to get him a third green jacket.

 

"Having two jackets, you're pretty excited around here," he said. "The more you play the golf course, the more you learn. Winning twice, knowing I have the ability to do it, obviously that calms you down."

 

This article was written by Chip Towers from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.