A DROPPED shot at the final hole took the edge off an otherwise solid opening round for Eddie Pepperell at the Masters.

The Abingdon golfer, making his Augusta debut, paid for an errant tee shot, which led to a bogey.

It saw him sign for a two-over par 74, still firmly in contention to make the cut.

An excellent approach to the par-five second hole saw the 28-year-old pick up an early birdie, but missing the green proved costly at the fifth and sixth, where six-foot par putts were both missed.

Pepperell got back to level par for his round with an impressive response at the seventh, where he nailed a 166-yard iron shot to three feet for a birdie.

The round threatened to unravel at the start of the back nine.

A bogey on the tenth was followed by further dropped shots at the 13th – where he found water – and the 14th to go three-over par.

But despite driving into the trees at the par five 15th, another terrific approach shot set up a birdie.

Another shot was picked up thanks to an 11-foot putt at the short 16th, but the bogey at the last undid some of the good work.

It left the Frilford Heath member five shots behind early clubhouse leader Justin Harding.

His second round starts at 5.43pm (BST) on Friday.