Min Woo Lee faces a fight to reach the halfway mark after taking a rollercoaster ride in the first round of the Masters.
Lee epitomized the frustration of the six Australian rivals with a two-over-par 74 in fiendish winds at Augusta National on Thursday local time.
He mixed five bogeys with two birdies and an eagle on the par-five 13th to languish nine shots behind American club leader Bryson DeChambeau.
Playing with the flu and a broken finger from a freak dumbbell fall on his right hand last week, Lee produced a spirited mid-round comeback with two birdies and his eagle in the space of six holes to crawl from four over to the level. pair.
But he let it slip away late to share 58th place in the 89-man field and desperately needing a low second round to book a weekend starting spot.
Amateur rookie Jasper Stubbs has virtually no hope after posting an eight over 80 on debut to shore up the field.
Greats Cameron Smith, Jason Day, former champion Adam Scott and former PGA Tour winner Cam Davis were still in the field after the start of the season-opening major was delayed more than two hours due to an overnight downpour.
Davis was the best of the Australians at two under par through 14 holes, one better than Scott and Smith, who struggled for luck in their recovery from food poisoning.
His birdie putt on the third didn’t fall despite going straight over the hole, before making double bogey on the famous par-three 12th when his ball returned to the water after initially encountering dry land.
Smith was one under par and tied for 17th through 16 holes.
Scott held his own early, after seven straight pars with a birdie at the par-five eighth.
Playing alongside five-time champion Tiger Woods, Day started well with a birdie on the second hole, only to double up on the next when his tee shot sailed over the green and into the trees.
Another error on the par-three number six put Day back up two after seven holes.
American DeChambeau produced an impressive flurry of birdies on the back nine to take the clubhouse lead during the rain-delayed first round with a brilliant 65.
AAP
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