Masters tee times, featured groups, how to watch 2024 tournament
Pairings for the Masters’ first two rounds never disappoint, but maybe tournament officials outdid themselves for 2024 and the 88th edition of the year’s first major golf championship that starts Thursday at Augusta National.
The heavyweight groupings are dazzling.
Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele in one group. Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick in another. Then, there’s Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Max Homa together, and Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris.
Although it’s hard to go wrong with all the big guns on hand, the featured groups just seem “right.” Here are a few things to know about this week’s first tee times.
Delivering what golf world wants
The Masters brings together the world’s best players for one of the few times since the PGA Tour/LIV schism, and tournament officials provided what the golf world wanted with the pairings.
Starting with the 10:06 a.m. Thursday group of Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee and Rickie Fowler, the next hour will feature the first bunch of today’s top players.
The best of the best: Scheffler (No. 1 in the world), McIlroy (No. 2) and Schauffele (No.5) at 10:42.
The next wave of heavyweights begins at 1:12 p.m. with the must-see trio of Woods, Day and Homa starting at 1:24. Brooks Koepka (1:36), Jordan Spieth (1:48) and Dustin Johnson (2 p.m.) will be in groups that follow.
Tradition intact, with an asterisk
The tournament’s unwritten law of pairing the defending Masters champion with the winner of the previous year’s U.S. Amateur remains — with a twist.
Yes, Rahm will start defense of his Masters title with 2023 amateur king Nick Dunlap in the threesome (with 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick). But Dunlap is no longer an amateur.
Normally, Dunlap would forfeit his Masters invitation by turning professional, but he qualified for the tournament by winning the PGA Tour’s American Express Championship as an amateur.
The Masters way
PGA Tour tournaments put their featured groups in the middle of the morning and afternoon tee times, and LIV employs a shotgun start.
The Masters differs.
Golfers who tee off in the morning’s featured groups on Thursday will be last out on Friday. Conversely, the late pairings on Thursday go mid-morning on Friday.
Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood will finish at dusk on Thursday. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, FedEx champion Viktor Hovland and Cameron Smith will be in Friday’s final group — just before the Scheffler-McIlroy-Schauffele pairing.
TV coverage
The TV schedule for the tournament looks like this:
Thursday, Round 1: 3-7:30 pm (ESPN)
- Friday, Round 2: 3-7:30 pm (ESPN)
- Saturday, Round 3: 3-7 pm (CBS)
- Sunday, Round 4: 2-7 pm (CBS)
Streaming at Masters.com starts mid- to late mornings daily
2024 honorary starters
A trio of Hall of Famers who collectively won 11 Masters — Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson — again will fill the traditional honorary starters’ role and hit the tournament’s first shots at 7:40 a.m. Thursday.
The first tee time is 8 a.m. with Erik van Rooyen and Jake Knapp going off in a twosome. Lee Hodges, Adrian Meronk and Grayson Murray are first off at 8 on Friday.
Thursday weather forecast in Augusta, Ga.
Thursday comes with some uncertainty given the forecast for poor weather.
There’s a 90% chance of “showers and possibly a thunderstorm” in Augusta on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service, “mainly before 3 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m.” Windy conditions are expected Thursday and Friday.
The good news: The weather will be warm, with highs in the 70s during the tournament and topping out in the mid-80s Sunday.
Thursday Masters featured groups schedule
10:30 AM Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap
10:54 AM Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith
1:24 PM Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
2:00 PM Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood
Honorary starters
10:10 AM Thursday: Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson
Thursday’s tee times
*denotes amateur
10:30 AM Erik van Rooyen, Jake Knapp
10:32 AM Jose Maria Olazabal, Taylor Moore, *Santiago de la Fuente
10:54 AM Danny Willett, Austin Eckroat, Stephan Jaeger
11:06 AM Charl Schwartzel, Luke List, *Christo Lamprecht
11:18 AM Gary Woodland, Thorbjorn Olesen, Bryson DeChambeau
11:30 AM Zach Johnson, Corey Conners, *Jasper Stubbs
11:42 AM Sergio Garcia, Chris Kirk, Ryan Fox
11:54 AM Lucas Glover, Byeong Hun An, Harris English
12:06 PM Phil Mickelson, Sepp Straka, Tony Finau
12:18 PM Nick Taylor, Joaquin Niemann, Russell Henley
12:36 PM Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Rickie Fowler
12:48 PM Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas
1:00 PM Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap
1:12 PM Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
1:24 PM Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith
1:36 PM Lee Hodges, Adrian Meronk, Grayson Murray
1:48 PM Camilo Villegas, Denny McCarthy, Cameron Davis
2:00 PM Mike Weir, Ryo Hisatsune, *Neal Shipley
2:12 PM Vijay Singh, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo
2:24 PM Fred Couples, Adam Hadwin, *Stewart Hagestad
2:42 PM Justin Rose, Eric Cole, Peter Malnati
2:54 PM Akshay Bhatia, J.T. Poston, Shane Lowry
3:06 PM Bubba Watson, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Schenk
3:18 PM Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama
3:30 PM Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon, Tyrrell Hatton
3:42 PM Adam Scott, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
3:54 PM Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
4:06 PM Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim
4:18 PM Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala
4:30 PM Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood
Friday tee times (tentative)
8:00 AM Lee Hodges, Adrian Meronk, Grayson Murray
8:12 AM Camilo Villegas, Denny McCarthy, Cameron Davis
8:24 AM Mike Weir, Ryo Hisatsune, *Neal Shipley
8:36 AM Vijay Singh, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo
8:48 AM Fred Couples, Adam Hadwin, *Stewart Hagestad
9:00 AM Justin Rose, Eric Cole, Peter Malnati
9:12 AM Akshay Bhatia, J.T. Poston, Shane Lowry
9:24 AM Bubba Watson, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Schenk
9:36 AM Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama
9:48 AM Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon, Tyrrell Hatton
10:06 AM Adam Scott, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
10:18 AM Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
10:30 AM Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim
10:42 AM Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala
10:54 AM Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood
11:06 AM Erik van Rooyen, Jake Knapp
11:18 AM Jose Maria Olazabal, Taylor Moore, *Santiago de la Fuente
11:30 AM Danny Willett, Austin Eckroat, Stephan Jaeger
11:42 AM Charl Schwartzel, Luke List, *Christo Lamprecht
11:54 AM Gary Woodland, Thorbjorn Olesen, Bryson DeChambeau
12:12 PM Zach Johnson, Corey Conners, *Jasper Stubbs
12:24 PM Sergio Garcia, Chris Kirk, Ryan Fox
12:36 PM Lucas Glover, Byeong Hun An, Harris English
12:48 PM Phil Mickelson, Sepp Straka, Tony Finau
1:00 PM Nick Taylor, Joaquin Niemann, Russell Henley
1:12 PM Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Rickie Fowler
1:24 PM Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas
1:36 PM Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap
1:48 PM Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
2:00 PM Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith
This story was originally published April 9, 2024 at 2:00 PM.