Jordan Spieth takes 3-stroke lead after near-record 1st round

— -- AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Jordan Spieth pulled off the unthinkable Thursday. With the best opening round in 19 years, he managed to make the Masters about a lot more than the Grand Slam bid of Rory McIlroy and the curious return of Tiger Woods.

Spieth was must-see TV with his 8-under 64 on a steamy afternoon at Augusta National, as the 21-year-old Texan got into the Masters record book as the youngest to lead after the first round.

"It's one of the better rounds I've ever played," Spieth said.

An even more significant record was within his reach, and he didn't even know it.

Spieth ran off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch to reach 8 under through 14 holes, and the last of those birdies summed up a day when hardly anything went wrong. He hit a 7-iron out of the pines and began barking instructions to the golf ball as he often does. He didn't realize it smacked into the pin and settled a few feet away until he heard the reaction from delirious fans around the green that suspected they were watching something special.

Almost.

Spieth hit hybrid over the green on the par-5 15th, chipped cautiously up the slope and three-putted from the fringe for a bogey. He closed with a 20-foot birdie putt for his 64, the best first-round score at Augusta since Greg Norman's 63 in 1996. It gave Spieth a three-shot lead over Ernie Els, Jason Day, Justin Rose and Charley Hoffman.

Spieth was thinking about 62. He had never shot 10-under par as a pro.

"I wasn't aware what the course record was here, let alone that it actually would have been the lowest round in major championship history. So that's a little frustrating," Spieth said before he paused with a wry smile. "But I'm certainly OK with the day."

It wasn't that big of a surprise.

Spieth shared the 54-hole lead last year at Augusta with Bubba Watson until a four-shot swing over the final two holes of the front nine as Watson pulled away. Plus, Spieth might have been the hottest player coming into this Masters.

He won at Innisbrook in a three-man playoff. He was runner-up at the Texas Open. And he lost in a three-man playoff at the Houston Open just four days ago. The biggest challenge he faced was to keep his expectations from growing taller than a Georgia pine and to make sure he was plenty rested.

Whatever the formula, it worked.

"What a player," Els said after a 67, his best score at the Masters since the day Phil Mickelson beat him with a birdie on the final hole in 2004. "You just cannot see this kid not win many, many majors. I think he is by far the most balanced kid I've seen. Jordan, he's got that little tenacity to him and he's really got a fighting spirit, and he's the nicest kid in the world. ... He's a special kid."

Els played the par 5s in 5 under and briefly had the lead until Spieth went on his birdie spree. Hoffman finished with an eagle and two birdies over his last four holes.

Day looked to be the most dangerous. Twice a contender at Augusta in the past four years, he made five straight birdies on the back nine until he lost momentum with a three-putt bogey on the 17th. Still, three shots behind after one round wasn't a bad place to be.

Plenty of others took advantage of prime scoring conditions on a sunny spring day, the greens a bit soft even as the temperatures climbed into the upper 80s, with barely a hint of the breeze that can cause so much havoc.

Russell Henley, a Georgia native with plenty of fans in the gallery, turned in a 68. Bill Haas, Webb Simpson, Paul Casey and Ryan Palmer were at 69. Sergio Garcia was also in the mix at 4 under.

McIlroy, trying to complete a career Grand Slam after winning the final two majors of 2014, had a couple of sloppy shots but still shot 71. So did defending champion Watson, even though he admittedly tired down the stretch and lost focus.

Tom Watson broke par for the first time at the Masters since 2010 with a 71.

"It's fun to be able to at least be in red figures at Augusta National," Watson said. "At my age, it's a minor miracle."

If the 65-year-old can make it to the weekend this year, he would be the oldest player to make the cut at the Masters. Tommy Aaron was 63 when he made it in 2000.

"Old age and treachery," Watson said to explain his score. "I played the golf course enough times to know where I'm supposed to hit it and where I'm not supposed to hit."

Then there's Woods, returning to competitive golf for the first time since he walked off the course at Torrey Pines in early February, saying he needed to improve his game before he played again.

Woods clearly improved during the time away but doesn't yet seem capable of making a serious run at his 15th major championship. He struggled to a 73, leaving him nine shots behind Spieth going to Friday and more concerned with making the cut than contending for the lead.

There was a wild tee shot at No. 9 that wound up in the adjacent first fairway followed by a shot into the pine trees that prompted Woods to swing his club in anger -- a flash of his notorious temper. He was cursing himself again at the picturesque 12th, where he dunked his ball in Rae's Creek and took another bogey.