How many leaders after Round 1 have won the Masters? Well, not many

The first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament was highlighted by the play of Charley Hoffman, who finished the day with a score of 65 and a 7-under that earned him the top spot on the leaderboard. On a day in which golfers had to battle incredibly high winds, causing problems on holes like Nos. 1, 15, and 18, Hoffman’s score was just the second one that finished inside the 60s. In fact, he was a whole 10 shots better than the average score on the day (75).

Hoffman’s four-stroke lead and his overall outing on Thursday are quite impressive, and if he continues to play like he currently is, he’ll be in a great spot to put on that coveted green jacket on Sunday afternoon. But while the first round is encouraging for Hoffman moving forward, it doesn’t exactly mean it’ll be easy for him to go on and win it all on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some of the few to be able to either lead or co-lead after the first round and go on to win the whole thing in the last 40 years.

Steve Ballesteros, 1980: Ballesteros opened the tournament with a score of 66 on the first day, and he wound up as the tournament’s winner on Sunday. He had a 69 and 68 on Friday and Saturday, and then shot a 72 on Sunday to hold off Gibby Gilbert and Jack Newton to get the victory. Ballesteros is still the youngest Masters champion in the tournament’s history.

Ben Crenshaw, 1984: Crenshaw won his first-ever Masters in 1984, and he had an impressive opening round, shooting a 67. His Friday and Saturday rounds were a little higher, shooting a 72 and then 70 before heading into his final round. On Sunday, his score went back down to 69, and he defeated Tom Watson by two strokes, finishing 11-under.

Trevor Immelman, 2008: One of the more recent first-round leaders to go on to win the tournament on Sunday was Trevor Immelman. At the age of 28, Immelman became the youngest Masters winner since Tiger Woods. Like Thursday of this year, weather conditions affected how the golfers played on Sunday, with the average score being 74.66. Immelman scored two 68s on Thursday and Friday, followed by a 69 on Saturday. His Sunday score went up to 75, but he’d already built up a big enough lead to hold on by three strokes over Woods.

Jordan Speith, 2015: Spieth’s rise to become one of the hottest golfers in the world was solidified with his performance at the Masters two years ago. In his first two rounds, he scored a 64 and then a 66, followed by a 70 on Saturday. He repeated that 70 on Sunday, and was able to hold a comfortable lead over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose, beating them both by four strokes at 18-under.

Hoffman’s scoring averages for his past Masters outings haven’t been quite as low as where he finished today. But just going off of his past scoring at Augusta, he has a good shot to stay close to his opening round of 65 on Thursday.

And a further comparison of his score in relation to some from past PGA Tour events this season makes his score even more impressive.

Given how few golfers have been able to maintain their leads after the first round and win it all, it’s obvious that the odds are stacked against Hoffman. But it’s not like it hasn’t been done before, especially when looking at how Hoffman has scored during this tournament in the past. If he continues to play like he did on Thursday, he could stay pretty close to 65.

It won’t be easy, but putting up that score with the blustery conditions that were on-hand Thursday should definitely give Hoffman a confidence boost heading into the next few rounds of the weekend.