Brandel Chamblee is the first rookie in six years to lead The Masters after the first round.

To win The Masters on the first try is a daunting task, one accomplished by just two players. Yet none of that history seems to bother Brandel Chamblee.

The journeyman PGA Tour player thrust himself among the first-round contenders Thursday, shooting a 3-under-par 69 to share the top spot with Davis Love III, Scott McCarron and Nick Price.

He birdied the 18th hole, then sat back and enjoyed his stature atop the leaderboard.

"I've read everything there is to read about Augusta and you hear how it's a pretty tight ship. And it is," Chamblee said. "Essentially, they open it up for one week. That's the intriguing thing about this place. Everybody wants to see it and they can't get in here but one week of the year.

"Personally, I think this is a wonderful place, and gosh, I'd love to be a member here. Who wouldn't?"

Lifetime privileges come to those who win The Masters. Thinking that is a bit premature for Chamblee or any of the players, since the leaderboard is jam packed with 33 players within four shots of the lead.

If Chamblee sounded a bit giddy, perhaps it is because he didn't know any better.

Those with the experience of playing Augusta National know the hazards that lurk. They strive to avoid them. Sometimes, they can't help it.

"The more you play here, the more you figure out where not to hit it,' said McCarron, who also birdied the 18th hole to tie for the lead. "And sometimes I think you get focused in on where not to hit it."

Chamblee was one of 17 players to complete his round under par. If that wasn't a surprise to him, it certainly was to just about everyone else.

Although he finished fifth a few weeks ago at the Bay Hill Invitational, he had not shown much inclination to compete at the highest level in major championships. Chamblee had missed the cut in seven of his eight majors. He's also missed the cut in four of six Players Championships, including this year.

And he's been toiling on the PGA and Nike tours for most of the last 15 years, never cracking the top 50 on the PGA money list until last year, when he won the Greater Vancouver Open and earned a career-high $755,936.

That victory was his ticket to Augusta, and although he cherished it, he did not choke on it.

Chamblee, 36, would have been excused had he raced to the first tee on Thursday morning. He arrived in Augusta on Saturday and has been itching for the tournament to begin.

"I played a number of practice rounds and felt pretty comfortable," said Chamblee, who lives in Phoenix with his wife and son. "I had never played here before, but I know this golf course just from watching TV like everybody else. I didn't know how I was going to handle the first day. You never know how you're going to feel. I was hoping that I could come out and try to stay loose and relaxed and hit the shots that I've been hitting. And I did."

No Masters rookie has led after the first round since Tom Lehman in 1993. You have to go back to 1979 to find a Masters rookie who won. Fuzzy Zoeller did it that year in a playoff over Tom Watson and Ed Snead. The only other player to win The Masters in his first attempt was Gene Sarazen in 1935, the second year of the tournament.

Chamblee appeared unfazed.

"Every day will be a new day for me," he said. "I think I know what to expect, but I'm not really sure. I'm just going to try to hit good shots and play good golf."

Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, is a regular contributor to ESPN Golf Online. His golf column appears every Tuesday.