The first round of the 2026 Masters got underway at Augusta National with Rory McIlroy beginning the defence of his title, while the early action also brought a brutal reminder of how quickly the course can punish mistakes.
Among the early stories from the opening round was the struggle of Carlos Ortiz, whose start left him with a mountain to climb. The 34-year-old Mexican is making only his second appearance at the Masters, and his first since 2021. He arrived at Augusta with some strong recent form behind him, including a tie for fourth at last year’s US Open at Oakmont, but the opening holes quickly turned into a damaging sequence.
Ortiz drove into the creek down the left side of the second hole, then fluffed a splash out of a fairway bunker at the fifth. By that stage, his scorecard had already become hard to read in positive terms: he had opened with 5-7-5-4-6, a stretch that included three bogeys and two doubles.
At seven over par through five holes, Ortiz was left looking for immediate relief just to steady the round. A par at the sixth would at least stop the run of errors, but it would not erase the damage from a miserable beginning.
Augusta National has a long history of exposing even accomplished players, and Ortiz’s early slide was a reminder of how punishing the course can be when momentum disappears. For a golfer with proven major-championship ability, the challenge was not about talent so much as survival in the face of a bad start.
The live coverage on day one also marked the 30th anniversary of one of the Masters’ memorable moments, a reference that added another layer of history to a tournament always steeped in it. Augusta regularly blends the present and past, with each edition adding fresh drama to a venue that has hosted countless defining scenes in golf.
With the opening round still unfolding, the focus remained on the leaderboard, the chase for position and the prospect of players settling into the rhythm required to contend over four days. McIlroy’s title defence had begun, but the early story from this snapshot of the round was one of sharp contrast: calm ambitions at the top of the field and a difficult fight for Ortiz to recover from a disastrous start.
More updates from Augusta National were expected as the first round progressed.
