Englishman Aaron Rai has made a fine start to his Masters debut, picking up birdies on the second and third to join the tie for the lead at this early stage.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport senior golf reporter

Augusta National Golf Club was not as badly affected as the suburbs nearby.

But it did not escape.

Trees came down in their hundreds on the famed course, damaging one of golf's most famous greens on the par-three 16th and altering the landscape on several iconic holes.

Aerial photographs taken by Nearmap in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene show the impact.

Image source, Nearmap

So will the sparser landscape - and potentially differing winds - affect the strategies of the players? The common consensus is that it won't.

"You lose a few trees, it kind of plays a little bit differently. Not a ton," says Collin Morikawa.

Shane Lowry was more certain. "I don't think it changes the golf course one bit."

Image source, Nearmap

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport senior golf reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The manicured grass around the entrance to Augusta National is pristine. It always is.

In the suburbs which circle the home of the Masters, though, it is a different picture.

Fractured trees sprawl across gardens. Rubbles of wood and brick stack high. Homes remain shattered. So do lives.

In September, Hurricane Helene hit the south-eastern States - leaving death and destruction in its wake.

Read the full story of how Augusta and its residents 'need' the Masters to help its recovery.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Greg Norman matched Nick Price's course record at Augusta National when he shot 63 in 1996 - and remarkably nobody has managed to even equal that in the near three decades since.

And when you consider the modern player and the modern equipment, that's a testament to just what a perfect major championship course Augusta is.

There have been 40 rounds of 63 shot in men's major championships, and just those two from Price and Norman have come at Augusta.

22 of them have come since Norman's effort in 1996 and the other majors have all given up 62s - Brande Grace got ths first at the 2017 Open Championship before Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler bagged two within minites of each other at the 2023 US Open.

Schauffele again and Shane Lowry hit 62 at last year's US PGA Championship - but Augusta will just not surrender to these modern big-hitters and all their technology!

Nicolai Hojgaard makes it three birdies in a row as he picks up a shot on the fifth hole to come roaring back after his awful start.

A hat-trick should have a player walking on air, but all it has done for the Dane is get him back to where he started - level par!

We mentioned Bernhard Langer before and he's made a fine start in prime conditions out here.

He's just birdied the short par-four third to join the scrum at one under par.

They're trailing former US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson and PGA Tour golfer Chris Kirk who are both two under through the opening four holes.

Speaking of LIV golfers...

Cameron Smith made one of the fashion statements of Masters week rocking this blazer in a 'gone straight from a job interview to the golf course' look that had so many people talking.

Does it get your thumbs up or thumbs down?

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The Masters has no plans to create an exemption for LIV Golf players, says tournament chairman Fred Ridley.

In February, the US Open and Open Championship announced that the leading player, not already exempt, on the Saudi-funded breakaway's standings would earn a place in the field at Oakmont and Royal Portrush respectively.

However, speaking in his annual pre-tournament news conference at Augusta National, Ridley indicated that the Masters would continue to rely on its status as an invitational event.

"As it relates to the USGA and the R&A, they certainly act independently," Ridley said.

"We respect their decisions. We are an invitational tournament. We have historically considered special cases for invitations for international players, which is how Joaquin Niemann was invited the last couple years.

"We feel we can deal with that issue, whether it's a LIV player or a player on some other tour that might not otherwise be eligible for an invitation, that we can handle that with a special invitation."

Image source, Getty Images

LIV Golf is well represented at the Masters this year with 12 players from the Saudi-backed circuit participating at the Augusta National.

Of those appearing, seven (Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia and Charl Schwartzel) have lifetime exemptions as former champions.

Then you've got the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann and Cameron Smith.

A deadly dozen, so to speak.

Image source, Getty Images

There are many traditions and rules that patrons have to abide by at Augusta National that gives it such a throwback energy.

One of those is no phones allowed out on the course, so we have the bizarre sight of spectators actually watching the golf with their own eyes for a change - with some even using these things called cameras.

Old school I know...

Former Oldham striker and Charlton manager Iain Dowie I think it was.

Bet he's never been namedropped in a live text on golf before...

Nicolai Hojgaard has turned things around after a nightmare start, as he follows up a bogey and double bogey with back-to-back birdies to get back to one over.

A reminder he had seven birdies in the first round last year when shooting 67, and along with the game he obviously has a strong mental fortitude to respond to such a shocker of a start.

Bouncebackability somebody once called it I think..

There's been some scoring out on the course already, which is encouraging as some of the favourites prepare to head out.

While early leader Davis Riley is now back over par, a clutch of players are in the red, including England's 2016 champion Danny Willett.

My esteemed colleague tells me only Willett and Scheffler have been in the top five after round one of the past three Masters.

A birdie at the second is a nice start.

Image source, Getty Images

There's a new item on the Masters menu this year - a tomato pie of all things. I'm not convinced, are you?

Image source, Getty Images

What all the patrons who attend the Masters always bang on about is the food that's on offer - and the prices!

Augusta National ensures that all the food and drinks are available at a fraction of the cost you will see at most other major sporting events.

Image source, Getty Images

Germany's Bernhard Langer is one hole into his 41st and final Masters start this week.

The 67-year-old won Green Jackets in 1985 and 1993 and has played in the Masters every year since 1984 bar two, 2011, when he was recovering from thumb surgery, and 2024 when he was dealing with an Achilles tendon tear.

Langer, who got into golf when helping his older brother caddie at a local course, became the oldest player to make the cut in Masters history in 2020, aged 63.

He finished inside the top 10 as recently as 2014, in a tie for eighth at the spritely age of 56 and when asked how he has managed to keep going for more than four decades, he said: "It's so fragile. It's so volatile. ... It just comes and goes.

"I guess God has blessed me with tremendous talent and being a great competitor, but there's many other things that are important. You need to be healthy. You've got to have a great support system, a good caddie, a good coach, on and on, the list goes on.

"You've got to be willing to sacrifice, as well, because it's not always easy."

So I'm still after stories about when your kids have made you proud on the golf course.

However, after checking out Scottie Scheffler's Champions Dinner menu at 12:53, this gentleman has made a fair point.

Gumbo74: Jalapenos,chilli & brussel sprouts at the gala dinner. Might be a long 18 holes for some today!

Fortunately it was two nights ago so hopefully all systems are suitably cleared...

Stephen Watson
BBC Sport Northern Ireland at Augusta National

Grand Slam champion Jack Nicklaus has revealed he had lunch last week with Rory McIlroy who was seeking advice on how to win the Masters.

Rory talked him through his plan shot by shot, and Jack said he wouldn’t change a thing, but commented that Rory’s discipline at Augusta hasn’t been good enough in recent attempts.

Gary Player, a Grand Slam winner, is backing Rory McIlroy for a Masters win. Says he has the best swing in the game and a Rory victory would be good for golf.

On his 17th attempt to win the Masters, Rory McIlroy insists the "excitement outweighs the burden".

"I understand the narrative and the noise," he said. "There is a lot of anticipation and build-up coming into this tournament each and every year, but I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job."

He has been working with sports psychologist Bob Rotella this time around and is also hoping some lighter stuff will help him relax when gets under way on Thursday.

That includes binge-watching television series Bridgerton - which he claimed he was talked into by wife Erica - and reading a fictional novel "for the first time in a long time" after picking up John Grisham's The Reckoning.

McIlroy is joined in Augusta by Erica and four-year-old daughter Poppy, who yesterday drained a 25-footer during the family Par 3 tournament.

Image source, Getty Images

OK, so cards on the table with Rory McIlroy. History is a powerful thing.

No doubt he has scar tissue with the majors. Here at the Masters in 2011, he had a four-stroke lead heading into the final round, only to implode at the 10th and 12th on his way to shooting an 80.

In 2018, he was in the final pair with Patrick Reed but got off to a slow start and ended up six shots backs.

Then there's The Open in 2022 where he just couldn't get going.

Or, even more crushingly, last year's US Open that featured two missed putts from inside four feet when holding a two-shot lead.

But there is hope this year...