sport news Danny Willett rolls back the years to remind us of one of Augusta's greatest ... trends now A mad scientist and a placid assassin took control of the leaderboard, but it was an Englishman with an iffy shoulder who stumbled most unexpectedly into our field of vision on a compelling first day at the Masters. As ever, Danny Willett knows how to spring a surprise. None will ever match the greatest one of all, when he won this tournament in 2016, but his opening 68 here was a brilliant ride and a nice reminder of his better times. In the bigger picture, no one would necessarily forecast him being up there for long, nor that his presence will cause tremors among Bryson Dechambeau and Scottie Scheffler, who set the pace on seven and six under respectively. But Willett possesses a fine story in its own right owing to the fact he had not played since September because of shoulder surgery and was initially warned he would be out for up to 18 months. As recently as Monday he said he was only 80-20 in favour of playing, so his four-under-par round was a delight, especially a closing run of three birdies in his final four holes. On an opening day hit by a two-and-a-half hour delay because of the stormy morning weather, and in which the likes of Tiger Woods ran out of light to complete their rounds, that was a fine way to capitalise on the softened conditions. The same would not be said of Rory McIlroy - he was erratic in shooting 71 and will resume six behind Dechambeau in his ever-lasting mission to break the Augusta curse. Danny Willett rolled back the years at the Masters to surprise many fans at Augusta National The Englishman, who has only just recovered from shoulder surgery, posted a card of 68 The 2016 Masters Champion admitted that his successful first round was ‘unexpected' He is also five back of Scheffler, his playing partner for the first two rounds. That might already be too far. Quite simply, one of them makes too many mistakes and the other is just so reliably consistent - Scheffler didn't make a single bogey in his 66. When he found himself in a sticky situation, most glaringly in the bunker behind the par three 12th, he went and holed it for his third of six birdies. But that's to be expected of the world No 1. He is a machine. Less was anticipated of Dechambeau, whose character and game exist less within the margins. He was exceptional on a course that has not typically been his friend - his best finish here was a tie for 21st in 2016, the year Willett won. Willett finished up his first round four under-par with seven birdies Since then he has gained bulk, lost bulk, dabbled in all manner of physics and joined LIV, where he seems to have rediscovered his form. He was always a bit of an outsider and has found comfort at last in the comfort of golf's outlaw band. Good for him. His round started with three straight birdies and closed with three in four holes. The highlight was a Houdini shot from the pine straw at 15, playing a seemingly mad three-wood from 230 yards, threading the trees, carrying the creek and holding the green for one of his eight birdies. It was hard to tell if one of his remarks on that second stroke was a joke: 'It clipped the tree and hit four pine needles rather than five, so it worked out perfectly.' McIlroy had no such joy with his day. He opened with a booming drive, a controlled wedge, and a missed 10 footer, but it got worse from there. There were doubts over whether he would even be able to play this week after his injury Willett said his opening round would give him more confidence heading into Friday The second hole summed it up, starting with a drive into the trees and a recovery that clipped a branch. Stood in the fairway with a wedge in his hand, the world No 2 then flew over the green and ended up needing to hole a four-footer to save a bogey six. It's set to be sunny for the rest of the tournament, despite Thursday's weather delay His trip to Butch Harmon had been geared around fixing both his mind and his short game, but the early signs were not promising. He was again too loose with distance control on his wedges and at times on the front nine he was outwardly exasperated. When he took a step forward, picking up a stroke on the third, he promptly gave it back via the sand at the next. A birdie on eight ensured he was soon level again, but playing in a growing breeze, his game was a little too off in too many departments. On the way in, he briefly sat seventh after birdies at 12 and 14, but he missed a short putt for a stroke on 16, bogeyed 17 and then clattered an approach into the crowd on his way to par at the last. The sight of Scheffler playing such steady golf to his side must have left him envious. Rory McIlroy endured a bizzare first round that he has experienced several times before here Bryson Dechambeau was a treat to watch on Thursday carding three straight birdies to start World No 1 Scottie Scheffler didn't drop a single stroke in his first front nine, hitting two birdies Willett's mood was far brighter. He said: 'I think I might take the next six months off. No, it's completely unexpected. Sometimes that happens, whatever. 'You make a couple of birdies and your mind starts thinking, "All right, I can do it". It was nice to keep chilled out. Really happy.' Defending champion Jon Rahm carded a disappointing 73 and Matt Fitzpatrick squandered a golden chance for progress when he fell from four under through 14 to one under by the close. Among the later starters, and therefore those with no hope of completing their rounds, Tiger Woods opened his loop with a birdie. The place went berserk, naturally, and it will help in his hopes to avoid a first missed-cut here as a professional. At the time of going to press he was slugging away at one under through eight. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility