General / Editor / 05 April 2007 /

Justin Rose set a new Masters record on Thursday with just 20 putts in his round of 69, which gave him a share of the lead after the first round.

The Englishman finished day one on three-under-par after a bogey-free round, joining Brett Wetterich at the top of the leaderboard.

Speaking after his round, Rose said: "The reason I played so well was my short game, my touch was amazing.

"I knew I was playing well and had had a decent start to the season, but the competitive edge was the one area I was not sure about having had six weeks off."

"But I had plenty of energy and that kept me calm and fresh."

Rose's fellow countryman David Howell is just one shot off the pace, alongside David Toms, after his opening 70 - with the highlight of his round an eagle at the 15th.

Four players, Tim Clark, Zach Johnson, Vaughn Taylor and Rich Beem, are on -1 while Sweden's Henrik Stenson is among a group of five players on level par.

World number one Tiger Woods finish the first day on +1 after his steady round was marred by two bogeys in the last two holes.
Despite his stuttering start, Woods still heads the winner market at 2.64 with co-leaders Rose and Wetterich currently trading at 17 and 29 respectively.

Vijay Singh (+1) is the second favourite at 13 while Stenson can be backed at 18.
Having seen the Augusta course playing tough on Thursday, with soft fairways and firm greens, punters may be tempted by the 'Lowest Round' market.

'66 or higher' is the current favourite at 1.26, while 65 is trading at 2.12 and 64 or lower is available at 6.2.

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