Jordan Spieth might be forgiven for making people think they had called up the 2015 Masters on their DVR. The defending champion posted three birdies on each half of the Augusta National course and evaded bogey’s snare on Day 1 of the 2016 tournament. No other golfer could say the same at the end of the day, and Spieth stands atop the leaderboard on Thursday evening, two shots clear of Danny Lee and Shane Lowry.

Jordan Spieth doing Jordan Spieth things. https://t.co/iHyKFmYHoo

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2016

More Downs Than Ups

The most uneven round belonged to Rickie Fowler, who appeared to dash hopes with a first-hole double bogey, only to bounce back with three consecutive birdies to get into red figures. The Californian then fully crushed all pre-tournament expectations for a first major title by playing a wretched back nine of 44. Fowler’s implosion included an additional four bogeys, a double and a triple.

Of golfers still in contention, Angel “El Pato” Cabrera went birdie-quad-birdie on the stretch from holes 14-16, somehow finishing at one-over par 73. Scott Piercy was nearly as up and down as Fowler, but found a way to avoid the really big numbers. Piercy had an eagle and three birdies on his day, but gave them all back with three bogeys and a double. Cabrera, Piercy and Fowler, however, avoided the misfortune of being Ernie Els. Els began his day by six-putting the first green for a quintuple-bogey nine. The Big Easy had a par putt from three feet, missed it, then missed four more times before a final stab dropped the ball into the hole.

The Chasers

Behind Lee and Lowry was a host of familiar names, all of whom had successes and failures over the hills of the Augusta National course. The English trio of Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose stood three strokes behind the leader at minus-three. Casey had as many birdies (6) as the leader, but dropped shots on 11, 12 and 17 to finish at 69 on the day. Poulter and Rose matched their countryman’s six birdie-three bogey performance in a bizarre showing of coincidence.

Watch @TheSergioGarcia hit his second shot close for a birdie on No. 14, to move to 1-under par. #themastershttps://t.co/sLcXijs95e

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 7, 2016

Showing signs of rejuvenation and teasing his fans with a run at a first major was Spain’s Sergio Garcia. Competing in his 67th consecutive major championship (tops among active players) Garcia etched four consecutive birdies onto his scorecard to turn a banal performance into an admirable one. The great iron master was flawless from holes 13 through 16 as he moved onto the leaderboard’s first page. El Niño almost gave some back on eighteen with a drive into the woods, but a miraculous recovery from the right-side timber to the home hole’s green surrounds allowed him to sign for his own 69. Also at 69 was Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark, whose son set a standard for post-birdie celebration during the Par Three Contest, that his father has yet to emulate.

The Other Favorites

A hole that normally gives tidings of great joy, the par-5 hole No. 15, was a round-wrecker for some. Jason Day had reached five-under when he hit an off-target wedge to a distant part of the green. He three-putted for bogey, then followed with triple bogey and another bogey on the next two holes to drop to even-par 72 on the day. For Rory McIlroy, it wasn’t 15, but 16 that began the downfall. The world’s No. 3-ranked golfer had pushed his needle to four-under when he found previously-uncharted territory on the green at Redbud. The four-time major winner, just a green jacket away from a career grand slam, three-jacked to give one stroke back, then followed on the last with a bailed approach to a buried lie in a greenside bunker. Unable to get up and down for the par, McIlroy penciled in another bogey for a round of 70.

A day after his record-setting performance in the Par Three Contest, Jimmy Walker embarked on the difficult mission of winning the undercard and the main event in the same year. Walker got to two-under on three separate occasions, but was unable to go deeper, eventually settling for a 71 on the day. As for this year’s hot amateur, Bryson DeChambeau putted like one. The defending U.S. Amateur and NCAA Division 1 champion hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation, but made only one birdie on the day. Kudos to him for exhibiting patience, as his only miscue came on the suddenly stingy 15th hole, where he made bogey for 72.

What’s In Store For Round 2

Will Spieth be able to repeat his first-day magic act with a Friday afternoon tee time? Odds say no, as he will face windblown greens with footprints and other imperfections. Who can bounce back from a first-round triple bogey? If anyone can, it’s world No. 1 Jason Day. The 2015 PGA Champion will have an ideal, morning start time and needs to go into the mid-60s to make Spieth and the other contenders take notice. The same goes for Phil Mickelson, who played around all day in plus figures until he went Garcia on us for a time. Lefty got to one-under on 17, then gave the stroke back at the last to finish even on the day. Our prediction for biggest mover on day two is … Brandt Snedeker. The Nashville native has finished top-10 twice at Augusta and dipped to minus-three on Thursday through nine holes. Standing at minus-one after 18 holes, Snedeker has an ideal, 9:04 tee time, when greens should still be soft from overnight showers.