75th US Masters underway

The 75th US Masters is underway at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. After Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer struck the opening tee shots as honorary starters, play commenced.

Honorary starter Arnold Palmer
Fergus Bisset
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The 75th US Masters is underway at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. After Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer struck the opening tee shots as honorary starters, play commenced.

On a beautiful, still and sunny morning at Augusta, thousands of patrons arrived early at the course to see two legends of The Masters, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer mark the start of the tournament by striking drives down the first fairway. Both were fired nicely down the middle.

Jonathan Byrd, Sean O'Hair and Ross Fisher were the first three-ball to set off at 7.45 and the Englishman was the first man to drop a shot in this year's tournament as he bogeyed the opening hole. But he struck back with the tournament's first birdie at the second hole to return to even par.

Amongst the early starters are recent winners in the US, Nick Watney and Scotland's Martin Laird. After Fisher, Laird will be the next British player to start his challenge at 2.13pm BST. He'll be followed in the next grouping by Rory McIlroy.

Tiger Woods tees it up with Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell at 3.41pm and defending champion Phil Mickelson is second last off at 6.48pm.

This year's event is being touted as the most wide-open in recent history. In fact, there have been suggestions it is the most wide-open Masters of all time. Sean O'Hair and Jerry Kelly are the early leaders at one-under-par.

Golf Monthly at the US Masters:

US Masters blogs Latest US Masters news Augusta hole-by-hole guide US Masters history and records

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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