Photos and video courtesy of Augusta National Golf Club/The Masters
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai is the first Singaporean golfer to compete in the Masters, and the junior Yellow Jacket is the fifth amateur from the Institute to compete in the tournament. Following are more news articles, videos and social media posts to give our fans a peek into his week at Augusta National Golf Club.
TAI SHOOTS 73 IN HIS MASTERS DEBUT
Hiroshi Tai delivered a solid debut at the Masters Thursday, firing a 1-over-par 73 in which he finished with a birdie at the 18th hole. The Georgia Tech junior hit a perfect tee shot on the last hole, put his approach on the green about 10 feet below the hole, then made a solid putt, a slight right to left breaker, into the heart of the hole.
Tai got an excellent start at earning the Silver Cup as low amateur, carding the best opening round of the five amateurs in the field. Jose Luis Ballester of Spain and Justin Hastings of the United States each shot 76, while American Evan Beck posted a 77, and fellow U.S. competitor Noah Kent shot 79.
Former Yellow Jackets Matt Kuchar (1998) and Andy Ogletree (2020) each have taken home the Silver Cup.
The Singapore native’s only real blemish came at the par-5 13th, when he came up short with his third stroke into Rae’s Creek, and posted a 7. He also had a bogey at the par-4 11th and a birdie at the par-5 8th, with pars on all the rest. He is eight shots off the pace of Justin Rose (-7).
Tai hit 13 of 18 greens in his round, and 10 of 14 fairways. His average driving distance was 301 yards, converted his only sand save opportunity, and averaged 1.72 putts per hole, all in the middle of the pack in the 95-player field.
The top 50 golfers plus those tied for the last spot, make the cut for the final two rounds. According to DataGolf, there is a 19 percent chance the cutline will be 2-over, a 40 percent chance the cutline will be 3-over, and a 30 percent chance the cutline will be 4-over.
Leading all amateurs at the 2025 Masters: @GTGolf‘s Hiroshi Tai. pic.twitter.com/rkwvXcz9id
— The ACC (@theACC) April 11, 2025
SINGAPORE’S HIROSHI TAI LEFT GRINNING AFTER SPARKLING MASTERS DEBUT
Everything you wanted to know about Hiroshi Tai’s first day as a Masters golfer was written on his face later. He was grinning. Just couldn’t stop. It was a grin of relief, delight, pride. It was a grin he deserved after a first round in his inaugural Masters which had been long, hot, testing but sparkling.
“I did a good job mentally,” he modestly told The Straits Times, but the scoreboard told a more persuasive tale. (A) for Amateur, it noted beside the Singaporean’s name. Ranked T38th among the best professionals in the world in a field of 95 after a one-over 73. Just imagine.
Pause for a minute. Tai’s on the same score as former Masters champion Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele, who won two Majors last year. He’s three shots better than the next best amateur. One shot better than Brooks Koepka. Two shots better than Jon Rahm. Yes, it’s only day one and Majors only get harder and disaster lurks and Justin Rose the tournament leader is eight shots ahead, but this was a round worth a wide grin.
HIROSHI TAI ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A birdie at 18 for @HiroshiTai05 completes an opening-round 73 (+1) at @TheMasters, best of the 5 amateurs in the field today.#StingEm pic.twitter.com/prPPdPcnw1
— Georgia Tech Golf (@GTGolf) April 10, 2025
At the turn: 1-under-par and T-10 is @HiroshiTai05 in his debut round at @TheMasters
Leaderboard: https://t.co/JJmcFUevlC#StingEm pic.twitter.com/ylOjv1iXnC— Georgia Tech Golf (@GTGolf) April 10, 2025
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