AUGUSTA, Ga. — William McGirt didn’t remember the hole, but he remembered the moment.
The leaderboard overlooking the par-5 13th hole at Augusta National needed to be updated on Thursday. After rolling in a long birdie putt to take the outright lead, the Fairmont native looked up just in time to witness the shuffle, with his name appearing at the top.
“I’m sure you probably saw something on TV. I forget what hole it was, but they put my name up on the top of the leaderboard,” he said. “We’re walking along, and I look at B (caddie Brandon Antus) and I go, ‘Hey, look up there.’ We both kind of got a laugh out of it.”
It was quite the Masters debut for McGirt, who carded a 3-under-par 69 to take the early clubhouse lead before Charley Hoffman posted a 7-under 65.
With the wind whippping at Augusta National, McGirt saw an opportunity, stood his ground and delivered with his grind-it-out style of golf.
“I was not upset to see (the wind) blowing. I love it when it plays tough,” he said.
“I’m not the kind of person that’s going to get in a shootout with anybody. If it’s going to be 20‑, 22‑under par, then I’m playing for about 15th. I love it when it’s tough. And this place, when it plays like it did today, I mean, this can be one of the hardest golf courses you’ll ever see.”
With gusts of wind reaching 35 mph and the trees overlooking the course swaying, McGirt did what he does best: kept the ball in front, took advantage of his opportunities and got up-and-down for par.
“Luckily, I think this is the first time all year that we’ve played in wind like this where I’ve actually had a bunch of good numbers,” McGirt said.
“It seems like we’ve been dead in between clubs most of the year, and today it seemed like it kind of turned and we got good numbers. And when I missed shots, I seemed to miss it in the right spot and was able to get it up‑and‑down. You know, chipped it pretty well. Putted it pretty well. And all in all, it was a pretty solid day.”
McGirt carded four birdies and one bogey, making the turn at 1 under before taking the lead with a pair of birdies on the final nine holes on Nos. 13 and 16.
With a personal gallery of friends and family from North and South Carolina looking on, McGirt nearly aced the par-3 16th before settling for a short birdie putt to move to 3 under. He went on to par the final two holes to take the clubhouse lead.
The extra support was an added bonus for McGirt, who lives roughly three hours away from Augusta in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
“It’s really neat to be this close to Augusta, live this close to Augusta, and have this many people here supporting you,” he said. “You know, I could be from really far away and have nobody here, other than two or three people. It’s just cool to have had that many people here supporting you.”
As impressive as the birdies were, his par saves throughout the day were just as gritty. With testy putts on Nos. 7 and 10, McGirt delivered, calmly sinking putts on the tricky Augusta greens to give himself a chance to make a move down the stretch.
“If I had had a better lie in the bunker on (No.) 3 in the fairway bunker, I might have gone bogey‑free today,” he said. “Great saves today. I think starting out on No. 1, I hit it hole‑high, right, which is not good to that flag. Got it up there to about five or six feet. So really started the day with a good save right out of the bat.”
From the opening tee shot, McGirt had his nerves in check — even as the starter on the opening hole said: “Fore, please, William McGirt now driving.”
“Believe it or not, I was not nervous at all today,” he said. “I really even surprised myself. This is something I’ve kind of prepared myself for or tried my best to prepare myself for. You know, hitting the tee shot the first day, and I didn’t want to get out there and not be able to get the ball to sit on the tee or not be able to get the driver to sit still. I’ve tried to do everything I could to prepare myself, but I was very calm. Surprisingly.”
And it’s clear that he has soaked in every moment throughout the week, from watching Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player honor the late Arnold Palmer with their ceremonial tee shots, to making the drive down Magnolia Lane, to buying a his share of merchandise.
“I wanted to make sure I enjoyed it, because, I mean, I don’t know if this is going to be a one‑time thing or if I’m going to be back every year,” he said.
“I’d love to be back every year, but I’m not going to walk away and go, gosh, I wish I would have enjoyed it more or wish I would have done this or wish I would have done that.”
