Masters first round: Augusta National yields few birdies in early stages Henrik Stenson surged to the lead in the first round of the Masters on Thursday by recording eagles on two of his first eight holes. The Swede is celebrating his 36th birthday by reaching 6-under par through 11 holes at soggy Augusta National. Stenson made 3s on the two front-nine par-5s to jump ahead of Paul Lawrie, who also has a pair of eagles. The Scot who's best known for winning the 1999 British Open in a playoff over the stumbling Jean van de Velde made eagles on Nos. 13 and 15 and birdied No. He posted a 3-under 69. Tiger Woods is 2-under after just making birdie on No. He also birdied Nos. 3 and 8 but gave a shot back on the par-4 seventh with an approach that went long and left. "Oh, look at that ball," Woods said after the errant swing. Are you kidding? Luke Donald is 2-over through nine. Phil Mickelson tees off at 1:53 Eastern time. Mickelson predicted a "birdie-fest" because of the soft conditions. That has not come to fruition. Bright sunshine burned through some early clouds to bathe Augusta National for the early groups, though thunderstorms are forecast to roll in just after mid-afternoon. By 5 p.m., the chance of rain jumps to 50 percent. Mickelson was among the day's early arrivals, taking a seat behind the first tee to watch Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player strike the traditional ceremonial tee shots. All three found the middle of the fairway, with Player taking long-drive honors. "I don't think any of us can see that far," Nicklaus quipped. We could hear them all land, though. It marked the first time the "Big 3" - so named from their TV competitions in the 1960s -had been united as Masters starters. Palmer took the role starting in 2007, with Nicklaus joining three years later. Player got his invitation last spring. "We have played golf all our lives together," Palmer said. So I think today was very appropriate for the start of the tournament, and I hope it continues for a while. For Palmer, it was his first public appearance since a blood-pressure concern two weeks ago that sent him to an Orlando hospital and caused him to miss Tiger Woods" final holes in winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational. jshain@tribune.com. Read Jeff Shain's blog, The Downswing, at OrlandoSentinel.com/golfblog.