AUGUSTA, Ga. — On Thursdays in early April, at least, Justin Rose must think to himself, “What’s the big deal?”

He can think that way because he’s got the numbers. When he shot 4-under Thursday to seize a share of the first-round lead in the 72nd Masters, it was the third time in 13 trips at Augusta National Golf Club that he had shot in the 60s.

On all three occasions it’s been the first round.

Two things come to mind when you consider that. One, with the young Englishman being 22-over par in all other rounds other than the first at Augusta National, there’s good reason to calm your enthusiasm about what he posted Thursday. And two, if you’re thinking that shooting 68 is no big deal at Augusta National, then think again.

Ask Adam Scott, a splendid player with portfolio. The PGA Tour wins (six, if you count the unofficial one in Los Angeles in 2005) prove that he’s got game and you get the feeling he could shoot 67 in his sleep — except at Augusta, that is. After opening with a 75 Thursday, he had played 23 rounds here without breaking 70.

Or ask Charles Howell, he of the local address. Thursday’s 78 was painful for many reasons and it put him in danger of missing the cut for the third time in the last four years. It also stretched to 21 the number of rounds he’s played at Augusta without ever having shot in the 60s.

Perhaps your first reaction is that it’s proof positive that these young stars have come along at the wrong time, that they unfortunately won’t have the chance to play the 6,900-yard course that their forefathers had in the 1930s and ‘40s and ‘50s and up until 2002 when everyone arrived to discover that Augusta National was now stretched to 7,270, which grew to 7,445 in 2006.

Well, you can store away that pity. Put it in a box and save it for a time when those chaps are struggling to make only $2 million in a season. Despite all the gushing stories about dramatic charges and eagles at 13 and 15 and balls rolling forever and scores in the 60s, this monument to the genius of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie has never, ever been a pushover.

Rather, it’s always been a course that required a patience that would only come after a certain amount of time.

Consider, instead, this number: 76.

It’s what Sam Snead shot in the opening round of 1937, his Masters debut. It’s also what Arnold Palmer (1955) and Jack Nicklaus (1959) posted in their first-ever competitive rounds here. Sure, these lads would go on to understand the nuances of Augusta National, but not immediately. Snead didn’t record a score in the 60s until his 12th trip, Nicklaus didn’t do that until his 16th. While Palmer shot in the 60s in his fourth Masters round, over the course of his illustrious career here, he only did it a total of 19 times.

Breaking 70 at Augusta National simply isn’t as easy as some would have you believe. OK, so memories of Nicklaus’s closing 65 in 1986 and Nick Faldo’s fourth-round 67 in 1996 and the 63s shot by Greg Norman and Nick Price still reverberate, but take note that Ben Hogan needed 11 rounds before he went sub-70 and he did it just 17 times in 98 rounds. Billy Casper? He didn’t shoot in the 60s until his 17th round and only 13 times did he do it in his Masters career. One more? How about Seve Ballesteros? He broken 70 in his seventh trip around Augusta, but only 14 times in his brilliant career here.

You could argue that some of the younger players have had similar results. Sergio Garcia has broken 70 three times in 31 rounds, Paul Casey twice in 11 trips, while Luke Donald is equal with Rose, that is, three times in 13 rounds.

No, that hasn’t translated into victory for any of these players, but it’s an indication that while the course has been extended roughly 500 yards since the glory days of Palmer and Nicklaus, it hasn’t exactly gone from a pushover to an impossible task.

The scoring average in Thursday’s first round was 74.18 when five players broke 70 and 18 were under par.

Fifty years ago when Palmer won the first of his four Masters? The first-round scoring average was 74.237, five players broke 70 and 17 were under par.

Did I hear someone say, “The more things change, the more they remain the same?”

Which at Augusta National would be translated thusly: “It’s a tough, tough course, boys, but if you play well, control your irons, direct your approaches to the appropriate places on the green, and make a few putts, you can score.”