While day one of the US Masters could not have turned out better for Justin Rose, can the Englishman pull off his second greatest triumph yet (behind the UK Open of course!) and take the title from the Yanks?

Justin Rose seems to like the US Masters as he has been up with the leaders at various stages over the last few years, but never quite managed to keep his pace going until the end. Is this year the year? Can he crack the Masters?

When you consider that Rose was Europe’s number one player last year, the mild mannered man from England has been something of a hidden gem to those away from the circuit. He rarely speaks out in the press, he rarely courts controversy yet he keeps chipping away at those leaders on the US circuit. This man has a real chance!

Today was also an interesting day for Ex-Open Champion Sandy Lyle who was up with the leaders until a bogey took him back down the field, but he is still in there. While 50 year old Lyle may have dropped out of the limelight for a number of years, he has still been prominent on the seniors circuit, although after today’s performance perhaps we will see more of the hard working Scot on the main circuit?

The US Masters is one of the premier golf tournaments in the world and who would have guessed we would near the end of this piece without mentioning the legendary Tiger Woods? While Woods is a little off the pace he is far from out of contention because as we have seen before, this is a marathon not a sprint, something Woods has shown is so very well in the past. The next few days will sure make great viewing with Rose and Lyle carrying the flag for the UK.