Only a so-so wedge this time from Justin Rose on 13, but that putter of his almost gets him the birdie again with a longe range effort that just starts to wander as it runs out of steam and it crosses in front of the hole and stays up.

More wonderful judgement of speed on the greens from Rose though.

Jose Maria Olazabal, a two-time champion who is appearing in the Masters for the 36th time, may not be around for the weekend with a five-over 77 proving rather costly on Thursday.

But the 59-year-old almost claims a hole in one on the par-three 16th and bounces back from a double on the 15th, where he found the water, with a welcome birdie.

Perfect pace but a slight misread from Rory McIlroy so he's going to have to be content with par at the eighth.

That's a missed opportunity and you can see it in his eyes. Not quite got going in the way you feel he needs to yet.

Ludvig Aberg arrests the slide though by pocketing a birdie to get back to four under.

England's Aaron Rai is up and running and secures a very tidy par on the first hole with two putts from over 50 feet.

A solid start from the man from Wolverhampton.

Hello Viktor Hovland! All that business about not being able to play and hating the state of his game, yet the Norwegian has just birdied the eighth to move to three under for the Masters.

The eighth hole has been the easiest on the course today and Rory McIlroy is hauling himself out of the bunker halfway down the fairway.

He'll lay up and then take aim at the green, which he finds.

18 feet for birdie upcoming.

Justin Rose steps on the gas at the iconic 12th as he talkes dead aim off the tee and sticks his effort within four feet and then knocks in just the second birdie of the day on this short but terrifying hole.

That;s nine under and a three-shot lead again for Rose, and just shows the confidence that is flowing through him to take on such a tough hole like that.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Terrific stuff from Tommy Fleetwood on the par-three sixth. That's got to be one of the closest to the pin the mass of patrons around that green have seen all day.

He pops it in from five and moves to two under for his day, and one under for the tournament.

Shane Lowry gets back under par for his round and to two under for the tournament thanks to an excellent tee shot on the par-three sixth, which leaves him 10 feet for a birdie.

Shane rolls that in at dead weight and the Irishman gets back into the thick end of the tournament.

What a shot that is. Rasmus Hojgaard sends a deft pitch about 12 feet past the pin on the par-five eighth and uses the spin to pull his ball back down to within two feet.

Glorious stuff and it brings a welcome birdie for the 24-year-old Dane on his Masters debut.

His twin brother Nicolai has bogeyed three of the first four holes and is at six over.

Image source, Getty Images

Matt McCarty is enjoying his Masters debut. Like, really enjoying it.

In his first major appearance since the 2022 US Open, the leftie American is up to tied third after a wonderful birdie two on the iconic Golden Bell and another tweet-tweet on the 13th.

No knee-knocking nerves at Amen Corner for this young man.

Remember, he started double bogey-bogey today before four birdies on the bounce from the sixth. What a run!

Two par fives on the first nine.

Two times into the fairway bunker for Rory McIlroy.

He kicks his heels in frustration. Off the tee is his kingdom!

Nothing silly from Justin Rose at the difficult 11th as he strides down Amen Corner, just off the front edge of the green well away from the water, and he almost makes a surprise birdie when his third ends up inside a foot - but a par will do nicely.

One more revolution!

That's very unfortunate for Rory McIlroy as his 21-feet birdie putt is bang on line and looks set to drop, only to hold up an inch short.

He rests his hands on his knees for an additional few seconds.

Problems for Ludvig Aberg though as he again drops a shot and is now bakc at three under par.

While Akshay Bhatia and Ludvig Aberg are scrabbling around in the trees that flank the seventh fairway, Rory McIlroy has himself a much clearer line to the green after his drive.

Beautiful approach from the four-time major champion and he drops it 20 feet from the pin.

Now would be a good time to find a birdie on a hole that's playing tough today.

Image source, Getty Images

Justin Rose pars the tough 10th once again thanks to his wedge as he plays a glorious chip up onto the green that skips and then sits just a couple of feet from the flag.

This has been a short game masterclass so far.

The birdies keep rolling in for Rasmus Hojgaard.

The Danish player, who is the twin brother of European Ryder Cup star Nicolai, knocks in another after attacking the flag on the par-three sixth.

With 10 feet or so left, Hojgaard confidently drains it and takes a share of 10th place on the leaderboard.

Magic from Rory McIlroy to rescue himself after leaving his tee shot short at the sixth.

Again it's his short game around the greens that's got him into a nice position and a two-footer for par is swiftly dealt with.

A sloppy error from Ludvig Aberg though who misses his par putt and drops back to four under par.

Fresh off holing out from the bunker on four, Bryson DeChambeau goes back-to-back with a birdie on five as well as he starts to chase down Justin Rose.

The American is now just two shots behind.

Image source, Getty Images

Shades of the Olympics with some of the colours we have seen so far this week.

Sergio Garcia was resplendent in Spanish red yesterday (and he's in bright yellow today) while Sweden's Ludvig Aberg is in yellow and blue.

Not seen any sign of proud Irishman Shane Lowry wearing green yet - but it wouldn't surprise me.