Stewart Cink entered the Masters riding the good vibes of his 13-under, sixth-place finish at the Shell Houston Open two weeks ago. It was arguably his best showing since winning the 2009 British Open.

But he didn’t drive the ball as well as has been the past few months in Thursday’s first round at Augusta National, hitting eight of 14 fairways. The result was a 3-over finish.

“…This course has little patience for defensive play,” he said in a text message. “But at least it’s still early and there’s time to make up some ground.”

Cink closed with a birdie on 18 to head into Friday’s second round on a positive note. He is scheduled to tee off at 1:19 p.m. Friday.

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