Kristoffer Reitan will take that all day long.

The 28-year-old Norwegian, who is making his Masters debut, plays a superb wedge shot into the 12th and rolls in for birdie.

And he follows up with an eagle on the 13th, draining a 28-foot putt that was picking up pace before rattling into the heart of the cup.

What a way to come out of Amen Corner.

Image source, Reuters

After a run of pars, McIlroy could do with sparking his round into life...and he's given himself a wonderful chance on eight.

His drive hugs the right flank of the fairway on the par-five, but he follows that with a heat-seeking second with a three-wood. It sets off like a low laser, fizzes up the fairway and rolls up the green before settling 24 feet away.

Sadly, his eagle effort is tame and he must settle for a birdie, but it's a move in the right direction.

Amateur Mason Howell claws one back with a birdie but Cameron Young's birdie try lips out and he's still four over.

Xander Schauffele plays a beauty of a bunker shot on the ninth, it's a deep one as well with just his head popping up over the lip of the trap - he's not the tallest though it has to be said...

He makes his par to turn in one under, unlike Matt Fitzpatrick who drops a shot to end his front nine two over while Bryson DeChambeau finishes level for his front nine.

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Jose Maria Olazabal did not have a blemish on his card when he strolled off the par-five 13th having just failed to drop in a birdie putt.

How things have changed for the Spaniard since then. His par putt lipped out on the 14th and was a little unfortunate to see his approach spin back into the pond on the 15th, which ends up costing him two strokes.

To top it all off he can't scramble out of the sand to save his par on the 16th.

A treacherous run for the former two-time champion, which ends with a par on the 17th.

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We shouldn't be surprised Patrick Reed is leading the Masters as he absolutely loves it at Augusta National and has a tremendous run of form going.

And in the last five years his scoring average at The Masters is 71.08 per round - only Scottie Scheffler can beat that.

From his win in 2018 he's made every cut and had four top-10 finishes in seven appearances and last year he only just missed out on that epic play-off here between Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy.

Talk about a cat amongst the pigeons!

Bryson DeChambeau doesn't actually reach the par-five eighth in two as he hooks his approach with a fairway wood, and although he hits a nice chip his putter is off and he misses a glorious chance for a birdie.

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Tommy Fleetwood makes a closing birdie on his front nine to hit the turn just one behind leader and playing partner Patrick Reed after a brilliant first half of the round from both men.

Two eagles and a birdie for Reed and four birdies for Fleetwood sees them both looking in terrific shape - poor Akshay Bhatia has played really nicely at two under but he's propping up this group at the turn.

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Another errant drive from Rory. He's so far right on the seventh that he's actually ended up on the 17th fairway.

That enables a clean strike and some spin, but while he plays a beauty over the pines, the greens are firm and his ball takes the slope off the left.

He follows that with another dialled-in pitch and a fourth successive par.

Cameron Young and Mason Howell are spiralling. They both take five and are four over.

And just like that Kurt Kitayama's round starts to unravel.

A three-putt bogey on the 11th is followed by a double bogey on the 12th, where he flies through the green and then completely overcooks his chip back on and watches his ball trickle off into the drink.

There's a plethora of Masters stats to look at, but one that caught the eye is that recent Masters champions usually arrive at Augusta sharp and ready to play.

The last 11 champions have had no more than a week off before heading down Magnolia Lane, with the last man to have two weeks off and win being Bubba Watson in 2014.

The last time a champion had arrived with three weeks of rest was Adam Scott a year earlier in 2013 - so that recent trend would rule out anyone with more than a week of rest, right?

The only problem is the names that would be on that list if this trend continues...

Two weeks off: Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay.

Three-plus weeks off: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Cameron Young.

Surely not?

I didn't have this on my Masters bingo - Xander Schauffele with a big miss off the tee on eight and it's in among the patrons, quite literally as the ball has somehow ended up inside someone's shopping bag.

And it's a pretty full bag too, somebody has been filling their boots at the Masters shop...

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He's known as Captain America but Patrick Reed should be the American Eagle as he's made his second of the day already after carding a three on the par-five eighth.

A nice drive followed by a fairway metal gets him onto the green and it's followed by a huge bomb of a putt that adds to his eagle on the second - he's got plenty of crystal coming his way!

And more importantly he's got a two-shot lead at The Masters.

Shane Lowry has steadied himself after frittering away three shots on the front nine's two par threes.

He follows a birdie on eight with another three on nine - draining a 30-footer - and moves back into red numbers.

Four birdies, a bogey and a double on his first nine.

Image source, Getty Images

Players will go to any lengths to make it to The Masters, including Ryan Gerard who flew 20,000 miles across the world and back in order to book his place at Augusta National.

Hovering around the top 50 in the world, Gerard took the long route to Mauritius in December to play in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in a bid to ensure he got into that top 50 by the year's end and get a Masters invite.

He finished second and that was enough to secure his spot making the long journey worthwhile - and after all he visited Rome and Paris on the way there and back and played golf in Mauritius so, you know, there are worse trips.

Now the bad news - he's made four bogeys in a row in his Masters debut to hit the turn in three over.

The course is really starting to firm up now. McIlroy's tee shot at the par-three sixth is a beauty, but it still can't hold the green.

The defending champ is able to get his putter behind the ball from the off the back though and nudges it down for a tap-in par.

Mason Howell and Cameron Young are struggling out there though. They both drop another and are back at three over.

Image source, Reuters

A much-needed birdie for Shane Lowry arrives at the par-five eighth to get him back to level.

Jason Day picks up his first shot of the day, too, and joins Lowry after bogeying the third.

Dustin Johnson dropped a shot at the seventh so all three players are even!

Kurt Kitayama's unexpected charge continues with a birdie on the 10th, which takes him solo at the top of the leaderboard.

The American looks razor sharp with his irons and zips his approach into around six feet before draining his putt.

He has hit nine out of 10 greens so far and found six out of eight fairways. In other words, his game is in very decent nick.

McIlroy is blocked out by some trees down the left of the difficult par-four fifth, but he hooks a superb shot under the branches and sends the ball scuttling up the fairway and on to the green.

It can't beat the slope and trundles back down to the fringe, from where he gets up and down to remain level par. A fine four after another wayward drive.

It's another bogey for Players champ Cameron Young, however, and he slips to two over.

Image source, Reuters

It's pretty solid stuff from Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Reed on the seventh, both hitting the fairway, both hitting the green and both having birdie chances - the American more so as he's closer.

Neither can make them but it's two stress-free pars and the more you have of those around Augusta National the better.

The par-five eighth next up is where you have to try and step on the gas a bit and pick up a shot.