Augusta, GA (Best E Casino) - Champions Tour regular and 1998 Masters champion Mark O'Meara got off to a flying start on Thursday at Augusta.

The 51-year-old O'Meara had a stellar run on the back nine to move up the leaderboard.

He birdied the par-four third to get his round going, but things took a turn for the worse from there. O'Meara dropped to two-over par with bogeys on five, seven and 10.

He headed to Amen Corner four strokes behind the leaders, but that is where he made his move.

O'Meara climbed up the leaderboard as he ran off three straight birdies through Amen Corner.

"I birdied 11, 12, and 13...that's always nice when you get around those holes," O'Meara said.

He parred the next two before a birdie on the par-three 16th moved O'Meara to minus-two. At that point, his playing partner Ian Poulter stood atop the leaderboard.

After carding an ace at the 16th, Poulter was at three-under, but he stumbled to a bogey on the 17th meaning he and O'Meara were tied for the lead.

O'Meara then bogeyed the last to fall one back of Poulter. What made the 71 all the more impressive was the fact that O'Meara hit only nine of 18 greens in regulation.

"One-under par, I played all right," admitted O'Meara, whose last tour win came at the 1998 British Open. "I made a couple of bad putts. I'm just pleased to shoot under par anytime I play Augusta National."

That was O'Meara's first sub-par round at Augusta since he shot 70 in the second round of the 2004 Masters. He last finished under par for the championship in 2001, when he tied for 20th place at minus-five.

O'Meara claimed his Masters title in his 15th start at Augusta, which set a record for most number of attempts before a victory. He closed with rounds of 68-67 that week to defeat 1992 Masters winner Fred Couples.

The then 41-year-old O'Meara closed with three birdies in the final four holes, including birdies on 17 and 18, to beat Couples by a single shot.

Outside of that win, O'Meara hasn't had a ton of success at Augusta. He tied for fourth in 1992 behind Couples and shared eighth in 2003. O'Meara has missed the cut at the Masters six times, including each of the last two years.