Justin Rose has joined an elite group following his stunning opening round at The Masters.

The Englishman also surpassed Jack Nicklaus in another piece of history at Augusta National having entered the clubhouse as the overnight leader.

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Rose made history with his brilliant opening round at Augusta[/caption]

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He surpassed Nicklaus’ record by leading after day one for a fifth time[/caption]

Rose leads the year’s first Major after carding a seven under par 65 on Thursday.

After starting his round with three consecutive birdies, the 44-year-old added five more before a bogey on the 18th hole to end his day.

Reflecting on his opening round, Rose said: “I’m 44. Golf is not going to get easier for me in the next five, ten years, whatever it’s going to be.

“So your opportunity is less going forward. So you have to make the most of it.”

It leaves the 2013 US Open champion with a three-shot lead over Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg.

Despite not yet getting his hands on the green jacket, Rose has held the lead multiple times across his 20 Masters appearances.

Thursday marked the fifth time Rose has had at least a share of the lead after day one, breaking the record he had shared with Jack Nicklaus.

The golf legend is a record 18-time Major champion, with six of his triumphs coming at The Masters.

Meanwhile, Rose is also now one of six players to have held or shared the lead eight times after any round at Augusta.

Nicklaus has achieved the feat 13 times, just one behind Arnold Palmer’s all-time record.

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Rose has now held or shared the lead after a round at the Masters eight times[/caption]

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The two-time runner-up heads into day two with a three-shot lead[/caption]

Raymond Floyd, Gary Player and Jordan Spieth have all done so eight times during their careers.

Though the former world number one has yet to convert those positions into victory at the tournament.

Instead, he has twice finished second in 2015 and 2017, with the latter result coming after an agonising play-off against Sergio Garcia.

Rose had finished tied with Phil Mickelson for second two years earlier, four shots behind runaway champion Spieth.

After those near misses, it could finally be the Ryder Cup hero’s time to secure a second Major triumph.

He added: “I feel like I’ve played well enough to win this tournament. I just feel like I don’t have the jacket to prove it.

“But you’ve got to be playing the golf to keep creating those opportunities, and the only way to do that is to get your name on the leaderboard. I definitely don’t shy away from it.”

Rose will be paired with Max Homa and JJ Spaun once again for Friday’s second round.

The trio are scheduled to tee off at 1.52pm BST as the seventh group to begin their day.