When Kessler Karain sat down for an interview at the Credentialed Podcast, he stood up for two people, including his brother-in-law, Patrick Reed, and Jordan Spieth. Talking about the star golfers, Karain warned patrons from taking them lightly. He said, “Those are two guys that you never want to bet against at Augusta like regardless of their form.” However, Karain’s claims seem to fall flat now that Reed has played his first round. So, what went wrong?

Having played the first round, Reed was present at the post-round press conference at Augusta National. He was asked to sum up his day 1. His answer was as honest as it could get. Reed replied, “P*** poor. Pretty simple. Hit it fine, missed it in the wrong spots, and putted like a blind man. I expected the greens, just from previous years when they kind of have that type of look, I just kept leaving putts short. I thought they’d be faster. Just kept leaving them a little short. When I finally got the ball to the hole, didn’t have the right read. Hit the ball fine and putted horribly.”

Patrick Reed’s reaction makes sense. And it’s all because of Patrick Reed’s moderate performance during the first round. The golfer played two bogeys on Magnolia and Camellia (holes 5 and 10, respectively) and made three birdies on Yellow Jasmine (hole 8), Carolina Cherry (hole 9), and Azalea (hole 13). The rest were even pars. His score after that round? 71, and now he stands at T10.

However, the 2018 Masters champion has decided to learn from his first round and says the major issue came with a lack of putts at Augusta National. “You have to make putts out here. At least I feel like the ball was starting straight. Just couldn’t get the ball to the hole.” However, we are only in the first round of the Masters, and a lot can happen in the next three rounds. So, if anything, Patrick Reed needs to focus on his next round for now.

However, aside from Reed, how is Karain’s other favorite doing? Well, much worse than Reed for sure! Jordan Spieth made four bogeys on Flowering Crab Apple (4), Golden Bell (12), Azalea (13), and Chinese Fir (14). Additionally, he made 5 birdies and 1 double bogey (Camellia). His score? 73, and he sits at T42. Now, with Karain’s confident bets set aside for now, let’s take a look at how fellow LIV golfers are doing in contrast.

How is the LIV Golf roster doing at Augusta National for the 2025 Masters?

Last year, the highest LIV Golf finish came with Bryson DeChambeau’s 5th position. The question is: who will take home the glory to make LIV proud this year? Round one is ongoing, so we will likely see a lot of position changes in the coming times. However, let’s begin with the 2023 Masters champion, Jon Rahm. Jon Rahm started from the front 9 and, so far, has only played 14 holes. During these games, he has already made five bogeys on par-5 Pink Dogwood (2), par-3 Flowering Crab Apple (4), par-4 Pampas (7), par-4 Camellia (10), and par-4 White Dogwood (11). His current score is 59, and he sits at T63. The 2020 Masters champion, Dustin Johnson, sits at T50. Why? Well, starting from the front nine, Johnson made four bogeys on Flowering Peach (3), Flowering Crab Apple (4), Camellia (10), and Firethorn (15). His round 1 score? 74!

“Lefty” is done with his first round. The 3x Masters champion, however, is leading a poor round. For instance, thanks to his 5 bogeys, he sits at T63. The “Lefty” was confident ahead of the Masters, but the question is: will Phil Mickelson improve in the coming rounds? Yet to be seen! The next LIV golfer, Bubba Watson, is doing much better than the other golfers we have looked at so far. With only one bogey on Carolina Cherry (9) and a double bogey on White Dogwood (11), he sits at T11 with a score of 71! Sergio Garcia is doing better than many of the LIV players. Having started from the front 9, Garcia locked two bogeys on Juniper (6) and Carolina Cherry (9) and sits at T26 with a score of 68 for now.

At the time of writing this article, Brooks Koepka is at T37, Bryson DeChambeau is sitting at a much stronger position (T6), and Joaquin Niemann is at T27. Cameron Smith is sitting at T11 with a score of 71! Tyrrell Hatton is definitely deserving of patron’s attention at T5. He has a score of 69 and will likely get better in the future! Charl Schwartzel, however, sits at T51. Will it get better?