US Masters 2025 First Round Leader Tips: JT holds plenty of appeal

The opening round of the 89^th Masters Tournament is just one day away and with a positive start absolutely key for success in the event – as the last 10 winners have sat no worse than 11^th after round one – everyone in this year’s field will be hoping to be among the first-round leaders on Thursday.

Golf expert Jamie Worsley is hoping to find us a first-round leader winner at Augusta, and you can check out his US Masters 2025 First Round Leader Tips below.

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THE WEATHER

The earliest starters will tee off in bright, clear conditions tomorrow, which are forecast to stick around throughout the day. It’s accompanied by a gentle breeze for those very first out, but the temperatures will by a little chilly and although the wind increases a touch and gets a little gustier as the day moves forward, the rising temperatures evens it out.

Ultimately, it’s a very common day of weather for the event and with no waves as such, due to everyone teeing off from the first hole in continuous 11 or 17-minute intervals, the weather shouldn’t cause too much of a bias. That being said, there are some first-round leader trends to follow.

First-round leaders and their start times since 2015:

2024 – Bryson DeChambeau (11:18 – storms delayed original start times)

2023 – Jon Rahm (10:42), Brooks Koepka (11:54), Viktor Hovland (10:18)

2022 – Sungjae Im (13:27)

2021 – Justin Rose (12:48)

2020 – Paul Casey (07:54), Dylan Frittelli (12:10), Dustin Johnson (12:10)

2019 – Bryson DeChambeau (13:38), Brooks Koepka (14:00)

2018 – Jordan Spieth (13:49)

2017 – Charley Hoffman (13:08)

2016 – Jordan Spieth (09:48)

2015 – Jordan Spieth (13:15)

As shown by the above list, it’s rarely a positive to be among the earliest out. Paul Casey in 2020 is the only player to tee off before 09:00 and along with Jordan Spieth in 2016, just two of the last 15 players to at least share the first-round lead began before 10:00.

In addition, positive experience of the course is absolutely vital. Of those 15 players, Dylan Frittelli is the only one who hadn’t previously recorded a top-25 finish in the event.

This should help us to reduce the player pool for this market and I’ve picked three players who match the criteria.

1.5 pts Justin Thomas each-way (1/4 5 places) @ 28/1

Start time: 10:15

Justin Thomas has been in fine form at the start of this season and has long been thought of as a perfect Masters contender. He didn’t quite make the cut among my outright selections but possessing several low rounds at Augusta, he holds plenty of appeal in this market.

Thomas has recorded four top-10 finishes across eight starts this year, including finishing second in The AmEx and Valspar Championship. His tee-to-green game has been typically strong, but it’s the improvements on the greens that have been most eye-catching, ranking 23^rd in this field.

He’s produced some brilliantly low scores, such as shooting a 10-under 62 to equal the course record at TPC Sawgrass and firing rounds of 65 and 66 over the weekend at the Valspar. Whilst his best first-round performance came in Phoenix, where he shot a five-under 66 to sit fourth after 18 holes.

Thomas has made seven of his nine cuts at Augusta and hit the top 25 on six occasions, recording a best of fourth in 2020. His best round came that year, as he shot a 66 to sit fourth after the opening round and with three rounds of 67 to his name, he clearly has the game to score well here.

1.25 pts Jordan Spieth each-way (1/4 5 places) @ 35/1

Start time: 10:26

Jordan Spieth is a former winner and three-time first-round leader in The Masters. He’s showing more promise at the beginning of this year after a hugely disappointing 2024 campaign and having made his best start of the year in Texas last week, he can hit the front on Thursday.

Spieth has had two top 10s in seven starts this year, when finishing fourth in Phoenix and ninth in the Cognizant Classic. Meanwhile, he arrives here after a 12^th-place finish in Texas, where he shot a five-under 67 to end the first round in fourth.

He’s actually been performing well in the first round for much of this season, ranking 17^th in round one performance in this field. Although there’s been inconsistency within his form – which ultimately put me off taking him outright – he’s gaining strokes throughout his game and is playing well enough to find a low one tomorrow.

Spieth went 2-1-2 on his first three Masters appearances and has since recorded three further top-four finishes in his last eight. He recorded consecutive first-round leads in 2015 and 2016, shooting rounds of 64 and 66 respectively, before then finding another 66 in 2018 to again sit atop the leaderboard on day one.

Low rounds have continued to flow, including a closing 66 in 2023 and there are simply few players who know how to score here as well as Jordan.

1 pt Shane Lowry each-way (1/4 5 places) @ 45/1

Shane Lowry has been playing better than ever at the start of 2025 and has often set himself up for a good week by making a strong start. Beginning to amass a positive record at Augusta following initial struggles, and as adept as anyone at handling potentially breezier conditions late on, he looks an attractive prospect in this market.

After missing the cut in the Farmers Insurance Open on his first start of the year, Lowry hasn’t missed another across his last six starts and has recorded five top 20s. His best effort came when second at Pebble Beach and he also picked up further top 10s in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valspar Championship.

He ranks seventh in this field in total strokes gained this season and has particularly excelled in approach, ranking fourth. Furthermore, he sits inside the top 10 in round one performance and went closest to claiming the first-round lead when opening with a three-under 69 at Bay Hill. Which was enough to finish that first round in second place.

Lowry missed three of his first four cuts in The Masters but has since made his last five, recording four top 25s. His best result came when third in 2022 and he has sat inside the top 10 after round one on three occasions, including almost taking the first-round lead when firing a four-under 68 in 2016 to sit second after 18 holes.

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