It was an exceptional start for Justin Rose, who was out of the blocks quickly with a seven-under-par 65 at the first round of the Masters, while Christiaan Bezuidenhout also enjoyed a solid opening at Augusta on Thursday.

Rose got of to a shaky beginning but managed an eagle on the par 5, 8th hole to turn his momentum around, making a total of six birdies after the turn to sign off with a four-shot lead.

The Englishman’s closest competitors are Brian Harman, Hideki Matsuyama and Will Zalatoris, who all went three under for their respective first rounds.

A stroke back, however, on two under par, is South Africa’s Bezuidenhout, who also got the ball rolling with an excellent start.

Bezuidenhout made birdies on the 2nd, 3rd and 8th holes for a brilliant front nine. Unfortunately, he dropped one shot on the 14th that saw him settle for a two-under-par 70 – a pretty decent start under testing conditions.

The 26-year-old ended the day in T4, alongside Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed. 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel went two over par on Thursday, while Dylan Frittelli and Louis Oosthuizen both struggled with rounds of four-over 76.

Jordan Spieth, one of the tournament favourites this week, enjoyed a steady start, although he battled well after the turn to see out the day on one under par.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson also found the going a little tough during the first day’s action. The  world No 1 had to settle for a display of two over, while Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau also carded rounds of four over par.