Cantlay, Matsuyama lead amateurs at Masters

None of the six amateurs in the Masters Tournament said he expected flashes of greatness this week, yet nearly all of them held their own against the pros in Thursday’s opening round.

Patrick Cantlay and Hideki Matsuyama led the way with 1-under 71s, Kelly Kraft and Corbin Mills shot 2-over 74s, Bryden Macpher­son shot 5-over 77 and Randal Lewis shot 9-over 81.

In the past two years, two amateurs made the cut, though none did from 2005-09. Five are in position to make the cut today if they maintain their distance from first-round leader Lee West­wood, who shot 5-under 67.

“It shows that some of us amateurs can play,” said Mills, a Clemson junior and winner of the U.S. Amateur Pub­lic Links. “I know all these guys, and I know all of them are really good players.”

This year’s amateurs were feeling confident about their chances of surviving the second round, with Cantlay, the U.S. Amateur runner-up and UCLA sophomore, saying he believed he could keep pace and remain on the leaderboard through Sunday’s final round.

Of the six, only two-time Asian Amateur champion Mat­su­yama had previously played in the Masters.

“I didn’t really have any expectations out there,” Cantlay said. “I just tried to go out there and do my best. But yeah, I’m pleased with a 1-under. It was playing tough today, there were a bunch of mud balls and the winds were swirling. It could have been a bit better – I left a few out there, I three-putted twice – but it was pretty good.”

First-time jitters played a role in their scores.

Mills said he was caught up in a few surreal moments, particularly while walking the first fairway, and British Amateur champion Macpher­son said he found himself making “amateur mistakes.” But once the nerves settled down, the play picked up for some of them.

Kraft birdied Nos. 11-14, but back-to-back bogeys to finish the round took some of the steam out of the accomplishment.

“It just took me a while to get going out there; it took me a while to get comfortable,” Kraft said. “It seemed like it was pretty easy to make bogeys, especially with it playing so long and not being able to get comfortable. But I just settled down and made some birdies there on the back nine.”

Mills avoided a late meltdown to remain in contention. He was at even par through the front nine, began to slip with bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16, then finished with a birdie on the par-4 No. 17 and par on No. 18.

“I think I was on a high all day,” Mills said. “I made a few bogeys, but it was simple mistakes. I don’t think I did anything terrible today. I just played solid golf and I’m happy with it.”