Jordan Spieth pulled off the unthinkable Thursday. With the best opening round in 19 years, he managed to make the Masters about a lot more than the Grand Slam bid of Rory McIlroy and the curious return of Tiger Woods.
Spieth was must-see TV with his 8-under 64 on a steamy afternoon at Augusta National.
"It's one of the better rounds I've ever played," he said.
That wasn't the case for McIlroy, though his round wasn't awful. The world's No. 1 player saved par four times on the front nine and scratched out a 71. Woods had three birdies in his round of 73, and while it was the first time since 2007 that he shot over par in the first round of the Masters, it was looked upon as progress. Plus, his short game looked like it was close to being back to normal.
But the day belonged to Spieth, a 21-year-old Texan who at least got into the Masters record book as the youngest to lead after the first round.
An even more significant record was within his reach, and he didn't even know it.
Spieth ran off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch to reach 8 under through 14 holes, and the last of those birdies summed up a day when hardly anything went wrong. He hit a 7-iron out of the pines and began barking instructions to the golf ball as he often does. He didn't realize it smacked right into the pin and settled a few feet away until he heard the reaction from delirious fans around the green that suspected they were watching something special.
Almost.
Spieth hit hybrid over the green on the par-5 15th, chipped cautiously up the slope and three-putted from the fringe for a bogey. He closed with a 20-foot birdie putt for his 64, the best first-round score at Augusta since Greg Norman's 63 in 1996. It gave Spieth a three-shot lead over Ernie Els, Jason Day, Justin Rose and Charley Hoffman.
Spieth was thinking about 62. He had never shot 10-under par as a pro.
"I wasn't aware what the course record was here, let alone that it actually would have been the lowest round in major championship history. So that's a little frustrating," Spieth said before he paused with a wry smile. "But I'm certainly OK with the day."