April 5, 2007

Mizzou senior John Kelly turned in a five-over-par round of 77 on Thursday in the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Kelly is in a tie 59th place out of the 96 players entered in the tournament.

After opening with bogies on the first two holes, Kelly, who was paired with Davis Love III and Ben Crenshaw, rebounded with birdies on the third and sixth holes to get back to even par. He made the turn at even-par with a 36 on the front nine.

Kelly, who was wearing a Mizzou golf shirt during Thursday's round, found his experience on the first tee very powerful, saying, "I got chills, and almost got a tear in my eye."

He had a rough start to the back nine, with a bogie, double bogie and bogie on the first three holes of the second nine. Kelly would par the next five holes, before finishing with a bogey on the 18th hole.

"I was playing well on the front nine and then I got excited, maybe too excited." Kelly said.

The dry conditions and fast greens provided a challenge for the entire field, with only nine players finishing the day under par. The leaders at the Masters after Thursday's rounds were Justin Rose and Brett Wetterich, both at three-under (69).

Other tied with Kelly at five-over-par include Steve Stricker, Mark O'Meara and Raymond Floyd. Kelly's 77 places him ahead of such notable names as Ernie Els (78), Bernhard Langer (78), Fred Funk (82), Gary Player (83) and Seve Ballesteros (86).

"It's back to the books after this week. I am just trying to take it all in while I am here" said Kelly.

Kelly qualified for the Masters after his runner-up finish at last summer's U.S. Amateur Championships. In order to play the weekend Kelly will have to finish Friday within 10 strokes of the lead or be in the top 44 players (including ties).

Contributions and photos by Kyle Coburn