Vaughn Taylor had a hot putter Thursday. Charles Howell was a little hot about his.

Larry Mize's short game never came close to lukewarm.

The local boys at the Masters Tournament had three different first rounds for the home team.

Taylor had the best day. He regrouped after a bogey on No. 11 to hole out from a bunker for birdie on No. 12. He carded 1-under 71, which has him sitting in a five-way tie for fifth place heading into the second round.

His putter had him among the leaders. Gary Player made a point to mention its efficiency after playing in Taylor's threesome.

"He's a great putter," Player said. "Man, he did some serious putting."

Player pointed to mark out a distance of about 10 feet after their round.

"He holed a lot of putts that were from here to that gentleman's shoes," Player said. "He must have holed about nine of those today."

Howell's flat stick failed him on the back nine to sink a day that was buoyed early by solid ball striking. He had bogeys at Nos. 14, 15 and 17 to finish with 75. He is tied for 28th.

"This golf course is really difficult," Howell said. "Every shot is a grind. Every shot is a bit on edge here, really. There is really no time in there to relax. I did hit the ball well today, though. I was pleased with that. I just need to do a bit of work with the putter tonight. I had three three-putts today from fairly short distances. You just can't give those shots away around this place."

Howell said the putts were in the 15- to 20-foot range.

"For a golf course that looks so pretty, it is awfully difficult," he said.

Mize was of the same mind when he finished. His 83 was one of the highest scores of the day.

He had a putt on No. 18 that was two revolutions away from finding the right line. When his effort ran out of steam, he turned to the crowd and said, "It's one of those days for me today."

"I didn't hit it that great, but I could have cut out seven or eight shots with a solid short game," Mize said. "But I didn't bring one of those with me today."

Mize admitted he had difficulty judging the speed of the greens. That score is his new high after 79 career rounds at the Masters. He had shot 79 twice before Thursday.

"There's not just one hole I would like to have back," he said. "There's a few I'd like back. I made a couple mental mistakes out there, and it just compounded with the things I did not do well."

Taylor's 71 was his best competitive round at Augusta National. He shot 75-74 and missed the cut in his first Masters last year.

"I think it's a huge step," Taylor said. "It's good to get out here in a major championship, and especially here in Augusta, and shoot an under-par round when conditions are really tough."

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.