Chappell views wind positively after strong round

While many players talked about the grind of facing heavy winds Thursday, Kevin Chappell looked at it in a positive light after a strong opening round.

Chappell posted four birdies on his way to 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the Masters Tournament. A bogey on No. 18 prevented a clubhouse lead at the time he finished early in the day.

“I think conditions like this help me,” Chappell said. “It keeps me focused a little bit, engages me, and it makes me really get into every shot.”

The 30-year-old from California matched his previous best round from his other Masters appearance in 2012 by handling the high winds with good ball flights. He kept the ball in play off the tee and gave himself chances, evident by 14 of 18 greens in regulation.

Chappell hit a 111-yard approach shot to two feet and made birdie on No. 3. A 30-foot birdie putt on No. 9 and a six-footer for birdie on No. 16 were more highlights as he walked off the course in contention after the first day.

He said the course was playable despite the wind, and he commended Augusta National Golf Club for the setup.

“I did a really good job driving it,” he said. “I was in play off most tees. I picked my spots and sometimes you just have to man up out here and hit the shot, and I was able to do that there on 11, get through 12 with a par.”

Chappell entered this year’s Masters without much fanfare after finishing outside the top 25 in his 11 events leading up to this week, and he lacks history in Augusta, so he could fly under the radar for another day despite being on the first page of the leaderboard.

“I just tried to play as many shots into the wind as I could,” he said. “I feel like I did a good job of that. Any time you shoot under par here in any condition is a good score. I’m happy about that.”

Reach David Lee at (706) 823-3216 or david.lee@augustachronicle.com.