Better late than never, right? That should be the tag line for this year’s COVID-delayed Masters Tournament, which gets underway Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Traditionally the first major on the PGA calendar, the 84th edition of the Masters will be the third and final major staged in 2020. The 7,475-yard Par 72 course is one of the most iconic in all of golf with legendary holes like “Golden Bell” on 12 (a challenging, 155-yard Par 3) and 13’s “Azalea” (one of Augusta’s four Par 5s), a harrowing stretch collectively known as “Amen’s Corner.”
Bryson DeChambeau, the tour leader in driving distance, is Bovada’s betting favorite at +750 with world No. 1 and 2020 FedEx Cup Champion Dustin Johnson right behind at +900. DeChambeau scored his first major victory in September, lapping the field with an impressive six-under showing at Winged Foot, site of this year’s U.S. Open. Johnson’s best finish at a major this year came in August when the 36-year-old finished runner-up to first-time winner Collin Morikawa at the PGA Championship in San Francisco.
DeChambeau will hit the back nine with opening-round partners Louis Oosthuizen and Jon Rahm Thursday at 7:33 AM ET with DJ teeing off at noon alongside fellow American Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. Reigning Masters champ Tiger Woods, whose five green jackets rank second all-time to only Jack Nicklaus, will set out with Shane Lowry and amateur qualifier Andy Ogletree, beginning Thursday morning at 7:55. Other past champions making the trip to Augusta this week include Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006 and 2010), Bernhard Langer (1985, 1993), Jose Maria Olazabal (1994, 1999), Bubba Watson (2012, 2014), Fred Couples (1992), Sandy Lyle (1988), Larry Mize (1987), Patrick Reed (2018), Charl Schwartzel (2011), Adam Scott (2013), Vijay Singh (2000), Jordan Spieth (2015), Mike Weir (2003) and Danny Willett (2016).
Following suit with policies adopted by Harding Park and Winged Foot, no spectators will be permitted at this year’s Masters Tournament due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. 2017 champ and 40th-ranked Sergio Garcia was scratched from the 92-player field earlier this week after testing positive for the virus. ESPN will anchor Thursday and Friday’s television coverage with CBS handling the weekend slate. Taking a rare week off from his NFL announcing duties, Jim Nantz will return to the booth to call his 32nd Masters.
Opening round tee times and groupings are listed below:
7:00 AM ET
1st Hole
Corey Conners, Canada
Lucas Glover, USA
C.T. Pan, Chinese Taipei
7:00
10th Hole
*Yuxin Lin, China
Sandy Lyle, Scotland
Jimmy Walker, USA
7:11
1st Hole
Charles Howell III, USA
Jazz Janewattananond, Thailand
Brandt Snedeker, USA
7:11
10th Hole
Marc Leishman, Australia
Hideki Matsuyama, Japan
Webb Simpson, USA
7:22
1st Hole
Andrew Landry, USA
*Lukas Michel, Australia
Larry Mize, USA
7:22
10th Hole
Adam Hadwin, Canada
Kevin Kisner, USA
Scottie Scheffler, USA
7:33
1st Hole
Matt Kuchar, USA
Kevin Na, USA
Lee Westwood, England
7:33
10th Hole
Bryson DeChambeau, USA
Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa
Jon Rahm, Spain
7:44
1st Hole
Jason Kokrak, USA
Xander Schauffele, USA
Henrik Stenson, Sweden
7:44
10th Hole
Paul Casey, England
Tony Finau, USA
Patrick Reed, USA
7:55
1st Hole
Jason Day, Australia
*Abel Gallegos, Argentina
Charl Schwartzel, South Africa
7:55
10th Hole
Shane Lowry, Ireland
*Andy Ogletree, USA
Tiger Woods, USA
8:06
1st Hole
Tyler Duncan, USA
Lanto Griffin, USA
Vijay Singh, Fiji
8:06
10th Hole
Ian Poulter, England
Jordan Spieth, USA
Gary Woodland, USA
8:17
1st Hole
Rafael Cabrera Bello, Spain
Matt Wallace, England
Mike Weir, Canada
8:17
10th Hole
Nate Lashley, USA
Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland
Si Woo Kim, Korea
11:05
1st Hole
Sung Kang, Korea
Erik Van Rooyen, South Africa
11:05
10th Hole
Justin Harding, South Africa
Shugo Imahira, Japan
Nick Taylor, Canada
11:16
1st Hole
*John Augenstein, USA
Rickie Fowler, USA
Danny Willett, England
11:16
10th Hole
Byeong Hun An, Korea
Sebastian Munoz, Colombia
Chez Reavie, USA
11:27
1st Hole
Abraham Ancer, Mexico
Phil Mickelson, USA
Bernd Wiesberger, Austria
11:27
10th Hole
Tommy Fleetwood, England
Bubba Watson, USA
Matthew Wolff, USA
11:38
1st Hole
Tyrrell Hatton, England
Collin Morikawa, USA
Adam Scott, Austalia
11:38
10th Hole
Billy Horschel, USA
Franceco Molinari, Italy
Cameron Smith, Australia
11:49
1st Hole
Matthew Fitzpatrick, England
Brooks Koepka, USA
Justin Thomas, USA
11:49
10th Hole
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Africa
Bernhard Langer, Germany
J.P. Poston, USA
12:00 PM
1st Hole
Patrick Cantlay, USA
Dustin Johnson, USA
Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland
12:00
10th Hole
Fred Couples, USA
Max Homa, USA
Dylan Frittelli, South Africa
12:11
1st Hole
Cameron Champ, USA
Zach Johnson, USA
Justin Rose, England
12:11
10th Hole
Jose Maria Olazabal, Spain
Andrew Putnam, USA*
James Sugrue, Ireland
12:22
1st Hole
Victor Perez, France
Sungjae Im, Korea
Brendon Todd, USA
*Amateur qualifier
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