Charley Hoffman Excels in Windy Conditions to Grab First Round Masters Lead

Augusta, GA-(AP) On a day when it was tough just to break par at the Masters, Charley Hoffman turned in one of the greatest rounds of his career.

Hoffman bounced back from a slow start to shoot a 7-under 65 in the opening round, giving him a commanding four-shot lead in a swirling wind that gusted close to 40 mph.

Hoffman had a shot at birdie on the 18th hole, which would have tied him with Craig Wood in 1941 for the largest lead after the opening round. The 40-year-old American wasn’t able to sink the putt, but he certainly had no complaints about his performance – especially after a pair of bogeys left him at 1 over through No. 5.

He birdied eight of the next 12 holes, including four in a row beginning at the 14th.

This isn’t the first time Hoffman has been in contention at Augusta. Two years ago, he played in the next-to-last group on Sunday but closed with a 74 to finish 10 shots behind winner Jordan Spieth.

Now, it’s Hoffman holding a big lead.

William McGirt is in second at minus three, while Lee Westwood checks in at minus two.

Forty-six is a very good number at Augusta National.

Just ask 46-year-old Phil Mickelson.

Lefty eagled the second hole on the way to a 1-under 71 Thursday, a promising start given the windy conditions as he tries to become the oldest champion in Masters history.

Jack Nicklaus was 46 when he won the last of his six green jackets in 1986. Mickelson will turn 47 in June, which makes him seven months older than the Golden Bear at the time of his historic Masters victory.

With the swirling wind gusting at more than 30 mph, Mickelson says any score at par or better is a good one. But at least the greens were receptive after heavy rains earlier in the week, setting up some good scoring chances.

In addition to the eagle at No. 2, Mickelson had three birdies to go along with four bogeys.

For the second straight round at the Masters, Jordan Spieth had a quadruple bogey on the back nine.

Only it wasn’t at No. 12. And it’s only Thursday.

Spieth was 1 over for the opening round when his third shot on the par-5 15th hit the front of the green and spun back into the water. His fifth shot sailed over the green, and it kept getting worse. He pitched long and went to the front of the green, and then he three-putted for a 9.

That put him at 4 over with three holes to play.

A year ago, Spieth hit two in the water at No. 12 and made a quadruple-bogey that sent him from a one-shot lead to a three-shot deficit and cost him another green jacket.

The wind made the course so tough on Thursday that Spieth had plenty of time to recover.

In fact, he birdied the next hole.