Jordan Spieth Leads After First Round of Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Excuse me, Jordan Spieth, but didn't you get the Masters memo? This is supposed to be Rory McIlroy's week, not yours. And if not McIlroy, then it's supposed to belong to Tiger Woods. Or Bubba Watson.

You? You're supposed to be our Masters fallback position. Our storyline safety net. We were going to call you only if Rory withdrew after suffering a tragic box jump injury. Or if Tiger missed the cut after his long-awaited return to tournament play. Or if Bubba missed a tee time because he was at Waffle House.

But then came Thursday and your run up the leaderboard -- and a run at golf history. Suddenly, it didn't matter that McIlroy needs his first green jacket to complete a career Grand Slam. Or if Woods is here for the weekend. Or if Watson wins back-to-back Masters.

Wow. For a minute there we thought you were not only going to lead the Masters, but cause the rest of the field to do the UFC thing and tap out after just the first round.

One of your playing partners, Billy Horschel, was so impressed that he told you during the round he needed a tape player on each tee box that repeated the phrase, "Nice hole, Jordan."

You were 4 under after the front nine, 7 under after the 13th hole, 8 under after the 14th, with the par-5 15th -- a hole known to give up lots of birdies and the occasional eagle -- to move to 9 or 10 under. Do that, and we're talking about the possibility of tying the lowest score in majors history (63) or breaking it.

Except that you left the 15th green with a bogey and steam coming from your ears. But that's OK. You recovered. You kept it together and finished with an 8-under-par 64, good enough for a 3-stroke lead over Jason Day, Justin Rose, Charley Hoffman and Ernie Els.