Augusta, Georgia, United States: A textbook final-hole birdie has Singaporean Hiroshi Tai dreaming of making the cut on his Masters Tournament debut.
A 288-yard drive that split the fairway followed by a pinpoint 152-yard approach to the 18th at Augusta National left the Georgia Tech junior with a gentle right-to-left breaking eight-footer.
The 23-year-old calmly rolled home the putt to sign for a one-over-par 73.
Not only is he leading the five amateurs in the starting line-up but also is poised to qualify for all four rounds.
Currently he’s tied for 38th with the cut for the leading 50 players plus ties to be made at the conclusion of Friday’s second round.
“I did a good job mentally. I felt pretty good about how I played all day,” Tai was quoted as saying by Singapore’s Straits Times.
It was a particularly commendable finish from Tai who might easily have seen his score soar after running up a double-bogey seven at the 13th where he misjudged his wedge approach, his ball diving into Rae’s Creek.
Regrouping, he made pars on the next four holes before finishing with a flourish, adding to his sole front-nine bogey at the long eighth.
Apart from that error at 13, the only other blemish on his card came at the 520-yard, par-four 11th where he pushed his drive and came up short of the green with his second. He pitched to 12 feet and then saw his par attempt agonisingly come to a halt six inches short of the cup.
Hearing his name being called out on the first tee box is a memory that will linger with Tai for a long time.
He said: “I took a couple of deep breaths. I was on the putting green and I saw the group in front of us go off and there was a lot of people there. I stepped on the tee and then they say, fore please driving, Hiroshi Tai. Luckily I hit it in the middle and hit a good one.
“I played really solid, just one bad wedge shot on 13. Wind was kind of swirling there, which I knew was going to happen. So I wasn't too surprised by that. I kind of caught it a little thin. But biggest adjustment tomorrow is just getting enough rest and taking a couple more deep breaths when I hit, especially on some tougher shots like that.”
Tai’s 73 was the joint second best return by an Asian, level with 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Korean Tom Kim, and two behind Korean Im Sung-jae.
Among those he finished in front of were past Major champions Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Adam Scott.
More importantly, perhaps, he’s leading the chase for low amateur honours.
US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester of Spain and 2025 Latin America Amateur champion Justin Hastings of Cayman Islands are tied for 73rd on four-over 76, followed by US Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck (tied 81st, 77) and US Amateur runner-up Noah Kent (tied 90th, 79).
Topping the leaderboard on day one was England’s Justin Rose who fired a seven-under 65, dropping his only shot at the 18th. He’s three shots clear of Canadian Corey Conners, Swede Ludvig Aberg and American Scottie Scheffler, the world number one and defending champion.
