The opening round of the Masters is well underway as PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars unite to battle it out for the most coveted prize in sport, yet one LIV player has already endured a torrid start. LIV Golf heavyweights Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are squaring up against the cream of the PGA Tour, including defending champion Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, at Augusta.

Carlos Ortiz is also among those from the Saudi-backed circuit teeing it up at Augusta National, but the Mexican suffered a significant blow in his opening few holes on his way to a disastrous score. Within just his first five holes, Ortiz found himself at +7 after a calamitous start to his round. Ortiz racked up bogey, double bogey, and bogey again across his opening three holes, sitting perilously close to the foot of the leaderboard after a further double bogey on the fifth. He then parred four consecutive holes before dropping another shot at the 10th.

After birdies on the 13th and 15th brought down his score, Ortiz finished his opening round with back-to-back bogeys on the final two holes to end on +8. Only three players recorded a worse opening round..

LIV Golf star Ortiz had shown promising form earlier this year, finishing sixth in Hong Kong and eighth in South Africa, along with a T-4 finish at the US Open at Oakmont after closing rounds of 67 and 73.

"I mean, it's impressive," said Ortiz at Augusta National Golf Club ahead of the event. "That's the only impression. It doesn't get much better than this.

"Everything, the way they do everything here, the way the golf course is, and the weather, too. It's a treat being here." Ortiz also claimed victory at the PGA Tour's Houston Open in 2020, becoming the first Mexican to triumph on the PGA Tour in 42 years.

"I think everything is kind of working," said Ortiz ahead of the Masters. "Obviously golf is always a work in progress, but I think the game is pretty solid. It's been good for a while now. So just keep working on it."

Ortiz will tee it up alongside PGA Tour and TGL star Max Homa and Naoyuki Kataoka for the opening two rounds of the Masters, with Homa making his seventh Masters appearance having accumulated six victories on the American circuit throughout his career.

Kataoka ended his first day +12, making it a certainty he will miss the cut. Homa ended evens.

"That's a really good question," said Homa, referring to the challenges of Amen Corner. "I think if it's windy, you could almost say it's pretty random. Like it's a lot of -- you're guessing. When it's calm, the challenge would just be to execute if it's calm.

"I mean, they're obviously difficult golf shots. But I think a bit of creativity on 11 and 13, and then 12 you just gotta hit a good shot. But, yeah, it depends the conditions."