Westwood backers happy with strong early tournament showing

Those who backed Lee Westwood at 16/1 prior to the Masters, will be delighted to see the consistent Englishman as tournament leader after day one, and now a 5/1 chance for Augusta success.

Westwood recorded seven birdies on his way to a round of 67 on the par 72 course, a tie with his previous best round in a Masters, and that performance sees him one shot clear of 16/1 South African Louis Oosthuizen and 25/1 Swede Peter Hanson ahead of day two.

The Nottingham-born player’s superlative opening day efforts have seen him propel past Tiger Woods in the betting, with the American drifting out to a 7/1 shot after finishing on par, whilst Rory McIlroy remains a 6/1 chance after posting a one-under 71 at the course he spectacularly collapsed at last year.

Speaking of collapses, Henrik Stenson would have been much shorter than 100/1 going into the second day at Augusta but for a quadruple bogey on the final hole.

Swedish player Stenson still finished one under par but was five under prior to his meltdown on the 18th hole, which would have seen him share leadership with Westwood.

Compatriot of Westwood Luke Donald was not so impressive on the first day, racking up a score of 74 to leave him two shots over par, and a 33/1 hope for a first Major success.

Meanwhile, defending champion Charl Schwartzel ended the day on level par, making him a 50/1 shot to repeat his victory of last year, whilst each-way chance Hunter Mahan has drifted slightly to 33/1 after recording the same score.

They bettered 25/1 Phil Mickelson however, whose first round 74 score decreased his chances of claiming a fourth Masters crown, though the American showed potential by racking up five birdies during play.