The Loop
Garrigus ties dubious record with Masters start
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Long-hitting Robert Garrigus put himself in the Masters Tournament record books Thursday, though not in a way he'd have preferred.
Competing in his first Masters, Garrigus began his round with a triple-bogey seven on the par-4 first hole, named Tea Olive. That tied Bill Ogden for the highest opening-hole score in a player's Masters debut. Ogden made his triple-bogey to begin the 1954 tournament. A total of 1,176 players have competed in the Masters.
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"Well, I guess that's kind of cool, actually," Garrigus, 34, said with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "No, that's fine. But now that I've gotten my feet wet, I want to go out and play well tomorrow and see about playing two more days after that."
Garrigus, who qualified for his first Masters after a T-3 finish at last year's U.S. Open at Congressional CC in Bethesda, Md., four-putted from 30 feet at the first hole after missing the green short and chipping poorly. He hit the first one 3 feet past, then missed the comebacker, leaving him an 8-footer that he also missed. Garrigus also suffered four three-putts in a 5-over-par 77.
"I swear the greens were four feet faster than they were yesterday," said Garrigus, discovering like so many other Masters rookies that the complexion of Augusta National GC usually changes dramatically from the practice rounds to the first day of competition. "I didn't anticipate the greens being 14 today. I think Phil (Mickelson) made them a little angry when he said it was going to be a birdie-fest.
"You know, I still feel I can shoot low out here. I reached every green in two, and I don't know who else can say that. I made two doubles and a triple. That's Augusta. You've got to hit it in the right spots or you're going to get hosed."
-- Dave Shedloski