AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National, where defending champion Scottie Scheffler will try to win his third green jacket, Rory McIlroy will try once again to win his first, and the biggest names in golf will come together amid the Georgia pines for the year’s first major championship.
There are 95 players in the field, the largest in a decade, even without five-time champion Tiger Woods, who underwent surgery in March to repair a torn Achilles tendon. Last year, Woods set the record by making the cut for the 24th time in a row.
There is still a schism among the game’s best players, and just 12 from the breakaway LIV Golf league will be teeing up among the pink dogwoods and blooming azaleas. That includes Jon Rahm, the winner two years ago, and Bryson DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion, who has begun to transcend the game through his popular YouTube channel.
Here is a look at what you need to know leading up to the Masters.
When is the Masters?
The first round begins at about 7:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, when honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson tee off on Tea Olive, the first hole at Augusta National. Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod were the first honorary starters in 1963, but it was not until Byron Nelson and Gene Sarazen took over in 1981 that it became such a treasured tradition.
The rest of the field tees off in groups of three, which will be announced Tuesday. After the second round, the top 50 players and ties make the cut for the weekend and are paired according to score for the final two rounds.
How can I watch the Masters?
The Masters stream on its website begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. and runs throughout the day, and cameras highlight holes and featured groups. The first two rounds are broadcast on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday. CBS takes over Saturday and Sunday with coverage on its Paramount+ platform at noon and on the network beginning at 2 p.m.
What are the betting odds for the Masters?
Scheffler, who has yet to win this season, is the 9-2 favorite, according to BetMGM. McIlory is the second pick at 13-2 following his wins at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship. Collin Morikawa is 14-1 while Rahm and DeChambeau are 16-1.
What is the forecast?
Most of Monday’s practice round was washed out by persistent rain and the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. But the forecast for the rest of the week calls for ideal conditions: plenty of sunshine and highs in the 70s.
Who should I watch at the Masters?
Scheffler, who along with his green jacket and Olympic gold medal won seven times on the PGA Tour last year, got a late start to this season after cutting himself on a wine glass in December. But the world No. 1 comes into the Masters with momentum after a final-round 63 left him one shot back of winner Min Woo Lee in his last start at the Houston Open.
McIlroy has been playing some of the best golf of his career. His collapse in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst last year in his Sunday duel with DeChambeau seems to have made the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland an even bigger sentimental favorite.
Xander Schauffele won two majors last year and is seeking his first green jacket, though he seems to be still rounding into form following a rib injury. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has twice finished second at Augusta National.
The field has players from 26 countries and territories, the most ever for the Masters.
What about Hurricane Helene?
Augusta National lost numerous trees — the club has not divulged the exact number — when the deadly Category 4 hurricane swept into Georgia last September. Four greens had to be repaired, including the par-3 16th known as Redbud, but only the most astute observers will notice areas on the course where the pines have thinned out.
What happened last year at the Masters?
Scheffler shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday, keeping preternatural poise while his closest competitors faltered around Amen Corner, and finished with a four-shot victory over Masters newcomer Ludvig Aberg for his second green jacket in three years.
Aberg was among four players who had a share of the lead on Sunday; he lost ground when his approach went into the pond left of the 11th hole and he made double bogey. Morikawa had two double bogeys to fall out of the hunt, tying for third with Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa, whose own double bogey from the bushes at the par-3 12th ruined his chances.
Tiger Woods closed with a 77 and finished at 16-over 304, the highest 72-hole score of his career.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
6
