Meet Justin Harding.
The South African is a surprise leader on Day 1 at Augusta after shooting 3-under 69 in the opening round on Thursday.
The 33-year-old started hot, draining two birdies in his first three holes in his debut at Augusta National. He entered the final hole at 4-under after birdieing the 17th hole, but bogeyed his final hole.
Harding’s unexpected lead almost didn’t happen. He was one of the last golfers to quality for the Masters thanks to the Official World Golf Ranking.
Harding was ranked No. 712 in the world at the end of 2017 before he won five events in the next year-plus. His biggest came at the Qatar Masters, his first European Tour title, last month. He piggybacked the win at Doha Golf Club with a runner-up finish in Kenya last month, which helped him rise from No. 85 to barely inside the top 50 in the world and get his first appearance at golf’s biggest event.
Harding has won seven times on the Sunshine Tour and won twice on the Asian Tour in 2018.
He’s appeared only twice in majors, but was cut both at the Open Championship in 2013 and the PGA Championship last year.