A charging Jason Day highlighted a mixed bag of results for the Australian contingent in the first round of The Masters at Augusta National.

Day, who made the turn at 2-under, charged on the back nine with a run of five straight birdies from the 12^th before faltering with a bogey at 17 after a poor drive.

The Queenslander salvaged his round with an excellent up and down at the final hole after another poor drive and at 5-under for the day is sharing second place three behind leader Jordan Spieth.

Day and fellow Queenslander John Senden (-1) were the only Australians under par after the first round with Adam Scott (E), Geoff Ogilvy (+2) and amateur Antonio Murdaca all finding the going more difficult.

For Senden a bogey at the final hole wasn’t the finish he was looking for but on the opening day at Augusta any score under par is good.

Known for his ball striking prowess the 43-year-old was well above the field average in greens hit with 13 of 18 of his approach shots finding the putting surface.

Despite being the highest finisher among the Australians in 2014 Senden is often overlooked at Augusta National but has shown it is a venue he can score well at, particularly if he putts well.

Adam Scott was frustrated with his opening score though at even par is far from out of the running.

The 2013 champion looked out of sorts for much of the front nine and while not disastrous he admitted after the round he would have liked to have been a couple better.

"A couple of putts that you should make I missed, on 15 and 16," he told Channel Seven. "I’d like to be able to say I could find one or two out there today."

"The course was kind of there for the taking. If there was a day you felt you could walk out a little confident of shooting something in the 60’s it would’ve been this morning, the greens were very soft and receptive."

While Scott lamented the shots that got away Victoria’s Geoff Ogilvy, returning to the tournament after a two year absence, struggled on the greens and returned a disappointing 74.

Ogilvy finished near the bottom of the field in the putting statistics on greens that several players suggested were slower than expected.

The 2006 US Open champion’s game showed plenty of promise with four birdies but his mistakes proved costly, six bogies too many to be a genuine contender.

Ogilvy will need to fire something in the 60’s tomorrow to get back in touch and while not impossible he has made the task a difficult one.

For Australia’s only amateur in the field, Antonio Murdaca, Augusta National showed its teeth with the 19-year-old seemingly enduring feast or famine during his round.

Paired with Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson, Murdaca didn’t make a single bogey over the 18 holes but every mistake he made was seemingly amplified with four double bogeys to his name at day’s end.

While disappointed with his score Murdaca no doubt learnt plenty not only from his own mistakes but also by watching up close how two of the world’s top-10 players go about their business.

Practise rounds are important but nothing can duplicate tournament conditions, particularly in a major, and it would be a surprise if Murdaca doesn’t improve on his score tomorrow.

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