Bill Haas Putts His Way To A First Round Lead

It was a challenging first round of the Masters today for all who participated. Rory McIlroy even said that he was surprised how challenging the pin locations were for Thursday. They big story though was the amazing putting of American Bill Haas.

Given the extremely tough pin positions, many notable golfers had rough first rounds today. Phil Mickelson finished off his day four over. On the other end of the spectrum, Bill Haas putted his way to a leading four under par. That is a great score for how difficult the course was today. There were three others who finished off all tied for second by one stroke behind Haas.

One golfer included in that group is defending green jacket champion Adam Scott who finished with the same score he did in the first round of last year's legendary major. He had a near perfect round with the exception of a terrible tee shot on 12 when he hit it right into the water hazard on the par 3 and finished off with a double bogey. He did not let that get him down. He completed his round with all pars and one birdie after the near collapse on 12. He finished with a total of 5 birdies on the day. If he continues to golf the way he did today the Aussie will be on his way to two green jackets in a row. He would be only the fourth pro in history to accomplish that feat joining Jack Nickluas, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods.

The big story of the day however, again, was Bill Haas. He took command of the golf course and dominated on the greens. It all began on the fourth hole with his second birdie of the day. He finished off the hole sinking a long putt. The trend continued on the 7th, 13th and 14th holes. Bill Haas and his family are not strangers to good golf. Both his uncle and his father were in the PGA.

Although Haas is ahead he has a numebr of different golfers hungry and nipping at his heels.

Coverage Continues Tomorrow at 3pm on ESPN