Charley Hoffman surges to Masters lead with four consecutive birdies

Four-time PGA Tour winner Charley Hoffman sat at even-par through his first seven holes on a blustery Thursday at August National Golf Club, but he went on an incredible 10-hole run to close his round, carding nine total birdies to take the clubhouse lead at 7-under par.

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The conditions were less than optimal for scoring at Augusta, and only a dozen players were in red numbers by the time Hoffman finished his round. Jordan Spieth stumbled late with a disastrous quadruple-bogey at the 15th to leave him at 3-over for the tournament — which didn't look like an awful score midway through the day.

Hoffman, however, distanced himself from the field on the second-nine. He birdied holes eight and nine, and ripped off four consecutive birdies from the 14th to the 17th.

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William McGirt carded a 3-under par round of 69, and was the only other player to shoot a sub-70 score. Lee Westwood rebounded from four bogeys on the front nine to end his round at 2-under, while a pack of players highlighted by Phil Mickelson and and Sergio Garcia are six shots back of Hoffman at 1-under.