Sam Burns sets Augusta National personal best for clubhouse lead at the Masters

There is nothing like watching the best golfers in the world compete at Augusta National for the Masters. Every single shot could turn into something that people will remember forever. Many of these golfers are aiming to win the event for the first time, whereas guys like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Dustin Johnson are trying to put on the Green Jacket again after already doing so once since 2020.

So far on this opening-round Thursday, old timer Fred Couples has even started well, shooting two under par through his first nine holes. As of now, Sam Burns has the clubhouse lead with a score of -5. Defending champion, McIlroy, is also -5 through 16 holes at the time of writing. There is a good chance that the Grand Slam winner birdies before his day is over and takes over the clubhouse lead. The last person to win this event in back-to-back years was Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.

The American, Burns, shot a career-best 67 on Thursday for the start of his 5th Masters. His previous best at Augusta was a 68.

The 29-year-old started his day with a par on the 1st, but exploded out of the gates with an eagle on the popular Par 5 2nd, where Louis Oosthuizen had his famous Albatross back in 2012 as the only one ever caught on video. Following the eagle, Burns stayed even through three holes, then had his only mistake on the Par 3 6th. He would bogey that hole for his only one of the day. Burns would bounce back quickly, seeing his -1 score move up to -2 after he birdied Par 5 8th.

Burns’ back nine was electric, as he showed up to the Amen Corner and established dominance. He would not have the best score at the Amen Corner on Thursday, but he birdied the 12th and 13th to escape the danger zone out in front. After that, Burns had his last birdie on the Par 5 15th. His swing stats are electric, which show why he is at the top of the leaderboard.

Scottie Scheffler also got off to a blazing start on Thursday.

Stay tuned for more updates from the Masters.

The post Sam Burns sets Augusta National personal best for clubhouse lead at the Masters appeared first on ClutchPoints.