Jack Nicklaus kicked things off by taking a mulligan as the honorary starter. As hilarious as the situation was, the first round of the 2026 Masters Tournament created many more iconic moments in the first round. We’re here to look at five of them. So let’s get right to it.

Xander Schauffele goes shopping

Off the eighth hole, Xander Schauffele hit a great drive that was close to landing near the fairway. He only missed the short grass by a whisker. But that was the least of his worries as the two-time major champion had another major problem.

Instead of the rough, his ball landed in a fan’s shopping bag from the Augusta National merchant shop. In a weird but comical interaction, he had to coordinate with the course officials to determine where the ball would be placed. However, it would have been hilarious to see him hit it out of the bag.

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Anyway, they decided to drop the ball exactly where it is placed in the shopping bag. As he carefully picked up the ball, the bag was removed from underneath. He dropped it right there and continued to play his round. Going into the Masters Tournament, Schauffele must have expected to find the rough, bunkers, and maybe even the water. But even he could never have anticipated landing in a patron’s shopping bag.

Aldrich Potgieter from one end of the green to the other

Sitting only a few feet away from the cup, Aldrich Potgieter didn’t have the worst shot to find the green. He just had to chip over the bunker and land softly on the shortest grass of the first hole. However, what followed was nothing short of a nightmare for the South African pro.

He ended up overshooting the ball and putting a lot of power into it as well. Instead of landing safely on the green, the ball flew half down it before bouncing into the other side. In fact, he was put in a far worse position than he originally was with his third shot.

It took him three more strokes to drop the ball. He ended up scoring a double bogey to kick off his 2026 Masters Tournament campaign. Couldn’t have had a worse start, even if he imagined it.

3 feet of hell for Shane Lowry

Do you think Potgieter had it bad on the first hole? Well, at least he had to maneuver the ball to find the green first. On the other hand, Shane Lowry was struggling to sink the ball three feet away from the hole.

He had a great start to the tournament as he scored two birdies in the first couple of holes. On the fourth, it looked like he was going to go 3-under par after an excellent approach shot. But he couldn’t finish the hole from three feet away from the cup.

Instead, the ball rolled on the other side of the green. He missed the par putt by seven feet. Then another bogey putt by three feet. Finally, the Irishman sank the ball from three feet to score a double bogey. All his efforts in the first couple of holes were flushed down the drain as he was sitting at even par now. Not what he would have imagined when he drove from the par-3 fourth hole.