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University of North Carolina Athletics
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Greaser Shoots 74 In Masters First Round
April 7, 2022 | Men's Golf
Austin Greaser, a junior at the University of North Carolina, shot 2-over 74 in the first round of the Masters Thursday at the Augusta National Golf Club.
Greaser is playing in his first major after reaching the championship match in the 2021 U.S. Amateur last August. The Vandalia, Ohio, native made three birdies, five bogeys and 10 pars in his first competitive round at Augusta.
Carolina's all-time leader in stroke average shot 2 under on the par 5s, 1 over on the par 3s and was plus three on the par 4s.
Greaser played in the second group of the day where he was paired with 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, who both also shot 74.
He is tied for 43rd in the 90-player field. Other notable players at 2 over include former Masters champions Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed and Jordan Speith, Jon Rahm, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele. Greaser is one shot ahead of such notables as Gary Woodland and Brooks Koepka and two ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Rose.
Greaser birdied both of the par 5s on the front side (the 2nd and 8th holes) to shoot 1-under 35 on the first nine to briefly hold a share of the lead. He was 3 over on the back, making pars at the difficult par-3 12th and par-4 17th and 18th holes, and narrowly missing birdie putts on the par-5 13th and 15th holes.
He bogeyed the first hole after missing the fairway with his tee shot to the right, but came back with a perfect drive and made his first Masters birdie on the second.
Greaser parred the third through sixth holes and bogeyed seven, but made back-to-back birdies on eight and nine to go 1 under. He stuck his approach shots to within five feet and made the birdie putts on the eighth and ninth holes.
Bogeys on 10 and 11 pushed him to 1 over par and he parred 12 through 15. He three-putted the 16th for a bogey, but parred 17 and 18 to close with a 74.
He scrambled for a remarkable par on the 18th, pushing his drive far to the right. He played over the tree line from the 10th fairway and two-putted from off the back of the 18th green to save par.
Carolina head coach Andrew DiBitetto on Greaser's first round (DiBitetto is caddying for Greaser at Augusta)
"Overall, Austin had a very solid start to the tournament. He did nice job settling into the round, especially considering this is his first professional event and it's the Masters. There's a lot going on, a lot of patrons on every hole, so Austin was nervous but excited. He bogeyed the first hole, but absolutely nuked his tee shot on the second, which led to a birdie. Once he got that tee shot under his belt it really calmed him down and he got into a nice rhythm.
He's an excellent putter and he made a lot of good putts today that just didn't go in. I see that as a positive, because based on percentages the ball has to go in for him tomorrow.
One of the other challenges was his playing group was put on the clock as they came off the 13th tee, so he didn't take as much time on the eagle putt on 13. He had to rush that one and it rolled past the hole which led to a par. Even on 16 the players were rushing and all three players had a hard time on that hole.
I like where Austin was mentally and physically, we just would like to have a couple tee shots back and get a few more putts to fall. But I thought he executed his plan at a high level."
Greaser is scheduled to tee off Friday at 11:18 a.m.
Greaser is playing in his first major after reaching the championship match in the 2021 U.S. Amateur last August. The Vandalia, Ohio, native made three birdies, five bogeys and 10 pars in his first competitive round at Augusta.
Carolina's all-time leader in stroke average shot 2 under on the par 5s, 1 over on the par 3s and was plus three on the par 4s.
Greaser played in the second group of the day where he was paired with 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, who both also shot 74.
He is tied for 43rd in the 90-player field. Other notable players at 2 over include former Masters champions Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed and Jordan Speith, Jon Rahm, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele. Greaser is one shot ahead of such notables as Gary Woodland and Brooks Koepka and two ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Rose.
Greaser birdied both of the par 5s on the front side (the 2nd and 8th holes) to shoot 1-under 35 on the first nine to briefly hold a share of the lead. He was 3 over on the back, making pars at the difficult par-3 12th and par-4 17th and 18th holes, and narrowly missing birdie putts on the par-5 13th and 15th holes.
He bogeyed the first hole after missing the fairway with his tee shot to the right, but came back with a perfect drive and made his first Masters birdie on the second.
Greaser parred the third through sixth holes and bogeyed seven, but made back-to-back birdies on eight and nine to go 1 under. He stuck his approach shots to within five feet and made the birdie putts on the eighth and ninth holes.
Bogeys on 10 and 11 pushed him to 1 over par and he parred 12 through 15. He three-putted the 16th for a bogey, but parred 17 and 18 to close with a 74.
He scrambled for a remarkable par on the 18th, pushing his drive far to the right. He played over the tree line from the 10th fairway and two-putted from off the back of the 18th green to save par.
Carolina head coach Andrew DiBitetto on Greaser's first round (DiBitetto is caddying for Greaser at Augusta)
"Overall, Austin had a very solid start to the tournament. He did nice job settling into the round, especially considering this is his first professional event and it's the Masters. There's a lot going on, a lot of patrons on every hole, so Austin was nervous but excited. He bogeyed the first hole, but absolutely nuked his tee shot on the second, which led to a birdie. Once he got that tee shot under his belt it really calmed him down and he got into a nice rhythm.
He's an excellent putter and he made a lot of good putts today that just didn't go in. I see that as a positive, because based on percentages the ball has to go in for him tomorrow.
One of the other challenges was his playing group was put on the clock as they came off the 13th tee, so he didn't take as much time on the eagle putt on 13. He had to rush that one and it rolled past the hole which led to a par. Even on 16 the players were rushing and all three players had a hard time on that hole.
I like where Austin was mentally and physically, we just would like to have a couple tee shots back and get a few more putts to fall. But I thought he executed his plan at a high level."
Greaser is scheduled to tee off Friday at 11:18 a.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
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