Australia's Curtis Luck says a lesson in never backing down from reigning Masters champion Danny Willett has prepared him to fight for round two of the Masters on Friday (Saturday AEST).
Amateur world No.1 Luck had an opening round to forget on his Masters debut with a six-over-par 78 to be a whopping 13 shots back of red-hot leader Charley Hoffman (65).
The 40-year-old Hoffman will start round two four shots ahead of William McGirt (69),with Englishman Lee Westwood (70) a shot back in third at two under.
Perth-product Luck's 2016 US Amateur win secured his ticket to Augusta and ensured the 20-year-old was paired in the traditional grouping with defending Masters champion Willett.
On Thursday, gutsy Englishman Willett began his green jacket defence with a double bogey on the first and dropped another shot on the second, but fought his way back to a 73.
Also in the group was American veteran Matt Kuchar, who similarly dropped three shots in as many opening holes but forced a solid round of 72.
"(Willett and Kuchar) stuck it tough when it didn't start the way they wanted," said Luck.
"They were able to put themselves in positions to play good golf. They just played a lot better than I did."
Luck, who beat a field of professionals to win the Western Australian Open last year, says he feels comfortable on golf's biggest stage.
"It's a different stage, a lot more crowd to deal with but it's exciting too to be out there; it's a cool place to be," said Luck.
"I felt pretty comfortable, I wasn't too nervous. I was nervous on the first tee, but that's a good thing. I just didn't hit it good enough.
"Hopefully, I'll be able to wake on the right side of the bed and get the job done in order to be there on the weekend."
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