The Masters: Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland share early lead at Augusta National | Golf News

Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland share lead on seven under; Scottie Scheffler starts title defence with 68; Rory Mcllroy seven strokes off early lead while Tiger Woods posts a two-over 74; Watch the second round live on Friday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf

Brooks Koepka holds a share of the early lead at The Masters

Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka hold a share of the lead after a low-scoring opening round at The Masters, as Rory McIlroy made a slow start to his Grand Slam bid.

Rahm recovered from a four-putt double-bogey on his opening hole to card an eagle and seven birdies in a brilliant seven-under 65 at Augusta National, seeing him join Ryder Cup team-mate Viktor Hovland at the top of the leaderboard.

Hovland made a bogey-free start to his pursuit for a maiden major title, while Koepka made it a three-way tie at the top when he followed victory at LIV Golf’s event in Orlando on Sunday by firing seven birdies in a blemish-free 65.

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Viktor Hovland shot a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 at Augusta to take the clubhouse lead after the first round of the 2023 Masters

The trio hold a two-shot cushion over closest challengers Jason Day and Cameron Young, who both posted opening-round 67s, as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler holed out for eagle on his opening hole as he started his title defence with a four-under 68.

McIlroy is seven off the pace as he chases an elusive major victory that would make him only the sixth person in history to complete the career Grand Slam and first since Tiger Woods, who admitted he was in “constant” pain as he struggled to a two-over 74.

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Tiger Woods carded back-to-back birdies on the back nine during his opening-round 74

Three tied at the top at Augusta

Hovland, playing alongside Woods, eagled the par-five second and made four birdies in a six-hole stretch from the sixth to charge up the leaderboard. The Norwegian looked set to threaten the course record of 63 when another birdie at the 13th took him seven under, with pars over the last five holes enough for him to set the clubhouse target.

Rahm responded to his nightmare double-bogey by birdieing his next two holes and then followed another at the seventh before making a stunning eagle at the par-five eighth, with the world No 3 taking advantage of both par-fives on the back nine to close on the lead.

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Watch how Jon Rahm rallied from a double-bogey start to card a stunning seven-under 65 at The Masters

The Spaniard picked up a shot at the par-three 16th and fired his approach to close range to set up a closing birdie, taking him to seven under, before Koepka moved alongside the European pair when he cancelled out a bogey at the par-five 13th by birdieing three of his last four holes.

More to follow…

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Rory McIlroy provided incredible insight for viewers by speaking to commentators while playing the par-four ninth hole at Augusta National during the opening round of the 2023 Masters

When is The Masters live on Friday?

Wall-to-wall coverage from the tournament continues at 2pm on Friday, with Featured Group action and regular updates from around the course available to enjoy on Sky Sports Golf until the global broadcast window begins at 8pm.

There will be lots of extra action via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, along with Sky Q and Sky Glass, providing plenty of bonus feeds and allowing you to follow players’ progress through various parts of Augusta’s famous layout.

The notorious Amen Corner stream will also be available for all four rounds and focuses on the famous three-hole stretch from the 11th, with that coverage also live – for free – on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel and Sky Sports App.

The same additional feeds and coverage will be available from 3pm over the weekend via the red button, with Sky Sports Golf showing build-up content and occasional live updates from the course until full coverage can begin on Saturday from 8pm and Sunday from 7pm.

Due to potential inclement weather on Friday, all starting times will be moved up 30 minutes and play will begin at 7.30am local time (12.30pm BST). Live coverage from the second round begins on Friday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf!