• The Masters, Round One

Couples claims outright lead after day one at Masters

Fred Couples sits atop the leaderboard after day one © Getty Images

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First round gallery

Fred Couples shot a six-under 66 to claim the clubhouse lead on the first day of The Masters - one shot ahead of Lee Westwood and two in front of Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter.

After completing, 1992 Masters winner Couples hailed his seven-birdie round as the best he has played in his 27 years of competing at the tournament. "I certainly didn't think I was going to shoot 66 today and I think it's by far the best round I've ever played here," he said. "It was very windy, very tough, I hit a lot of good shots."

Before Couples' late surge to the summit of the standings, Westwood had a share of the lead as the first day neared completion. The European No. 1 carded his lowest ever score at Augusta, a seven-birdie 67 punctuated with typically skilled approach play as he successfully compensated for the gusty conditions.

"It's my lowest ever round here so I'm very pleased to get off to a start like that," Westwood said. "I kept on giving myself birdie chances and if you do that then you're in with a chance. I think you can be relaxed if you're confident.

"The last two Majors I've played in I've been in the hunt. I'm finally getting the hang of playing in Majors now, knowing when to be patient and when to attack."

The returning Woods, playing for the first time on the PGA Tour since November, was greeted with polite - though seldom rapturous - applause throughout his round. The world No. 1 only sporadically showed glimpses of his genius - he claimed two eagles, but there were also three bogeys as he stuttered in his pursuit of a fifth Masters title.

Poulter joins Woods in a tie for seventh after finding a strong finish to his round of 68, picking up shots at 13, 14 and 17. The world No. 7 was quick to assess the pace of the greens as he exhibited accurate putting throughout - a feature of his game this year.

Paul Casey, who Poulter defeated in the final of the Accenture Match Play Championships in February, showed signs of fatigue towards the end of the day as his round tailed off. Casey, who pulled out of the Houston Open last week with a shoulder injury, carded a 75 - his highest score on the PGA Tour this year.

Rory McIlroy, who - like Luke Donald - finished the day two-over, felt that he did not get the score that his performance warranted. "I feel as if I hit it really good out there and didn't get the rewards but that's golf," he said. "I need to go out tomorrow and take the chances. I didn't leave myself in the best of spots today and I've hit some really good putts that didn't break or just didn't go in."

Elsewhere, Ernie Els finished one-under - despite a double-bogey at 18 after he had difficulties escaping the clutches of the greenside bunker. Padraig Harrington fared three shots worse than Els, alongside Sergio Garcia.

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