(Photo credit: Katie Goodale-Imagn Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- With no rain in the forecast and sunny, warm conditions forecast through the weekend, the players in the 2026 Masters said they are at the mercy of the tournament officials setting up Augusta National for the final 54 holes.

'I think this could be the toughest Masters we've played in a while,' Ireland's Shane Lowry said after posting a 2-under-par 70 in Thursday's first round. 'You look at the forecast. They can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend.

'I think over the last few years we've had a day every year where it's been raining or it's been heavy rains. It's kind of helped us a little bit, but I think before the week is out, it's going to get very, very crusty around here.'

Patrick Reed was at 4 under when he struck what he thought was an excellent 7-wood into the par-5 15th hole. The ball landed on the green but bounded over it and down into the water 40 yards away.

Regardless of the bad break, Reed said bring it on when asked about the likelihood of an increasingly difficult Augusta National.

'They could make this place really, really hard if they wanted to,' he said. 'I wouldn't be surprised. We have the best players in the world here. Why not? Challenge us and make it difficult, because it's one of these golf courses, though, if you hit quality golf shots, you're going to get rewarded for it.

'If it's going to firm up and it's going to get faster and faster,' Reed continued, 'you're just going to have to hit quality golf shots and know where you are going to hit the ball.'

The par-5s -- outside of the aforementioned 15th -- were the only holes to play under par on Thursday. The par-4 seventh hole played the hardest at an average of 4.42 shots. The back nine had four of the six hardest holes in the first round, including the closing two holes tying for the fourth-hardest at 4.33.

The first-round scoring average steadily increased throughout the day and finished at 74.65.

Lowry, Reed and defending champion Rory McIlroy, who each took advantage of earlier tee times on Thursday, will go out in the afternoon on Friday, when conditions are expected to be at their firmest and fastest. Northern Ireland's McIlroy, the co-leader at 5-under 67 with Sam Burns, tees off in the second-to-last group at 1:44 p.m.

He said conditions like these are why he switched to a softer golf ball that allows him to generate more spin and stop it quicker on the green.

'I've said for the last few years that I've started to really relish that type of golf. I really want to excel at that type of golf,' McIlroy said. 'When these greens get fast -- last year they got really fast and firm on Sunday -- but I think you're going to see that for the next three days.

'There's still opportunities to shoot really, really good scores,' McIlroy added. 'Look at Justin Rose last year on the final day. But it takes a very, very good, solid round of golf to do that.'

--Derek Harper, Field Level Media