The year’s first major tees off on Thursday

By GolfDigestME.com

An April Masters. With a full complement of patrons. And the return of the Par-3 Contest. And (likely) Tiger Woods competing. If the first men’s major of the year wasn’t always a buzzworthy event, this year’s version is overflowing with anticipation.

Of course, that anticipation is fuelled by many of the traditions in place at Augusta National, including those associated with the early round pairings. This year marks the debut of Tom Watson as an honorary starter. The two-time Masters champion and eight-time major winner will join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player on Thursday morning to kick off the 86th playing of the event.

Meanwhile, other traditional Masters pairings have come to pass, most notable the defending champion (Hideki Matsuyama) playing in the same threesome as the reigning US Amateur champion (James Piot). Joining the pair is Justin Thomas. The other amateurs in the field are also paired with former past champions at Augusta.

Here are the tee times for the opening two rounds this week at Augusta National.

THURSDAY/FIRST ROUND

First tee (all times EDT)

7:40am – Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson (Honorary Starters)

8am – Jose Maria Olazabal, JJ Spaun

8:11am – Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, Austin Greaser (a)

8:22am – Larry Mize, Sepp Straka, Francesco Molinari

8:33am – Fred Couples, Garrick Higgo, Guido Migliozzi

8:44am – Vijay Singh, Ryan Palmer, KH Lee

8:55am – Min Woo Lee, Hudson Swafford, Cameron Young

9:06am – Stewart Cink, Brian Harman, Harry Higgs

9:17am – Zach Johnson, Si Woo Kim, Aaron Jarvis (a)

9:39am – Luke List, Matthew Wolff 32 Mackenzie Hughes

9:50am – Danny Willett, Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch

10:01am – Max Homa, Kevin Na, Shane Lowry

10:12am – Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood

10:23am – Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Paul Casey

10:34am – Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann

10:45am – Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, James Piot (a)

10:56am – Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau

11:18am – Sandy Lyle, Stewart Hagestad (a)

11:29am – Lucas Glover, Erik van Rooyen, Cameron Champ

11:40am – Bernhard Langer, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Cameron Davis

11:51am – Charl Schwartzel, Robert MacIntyre, Laird Shepherd (a)

12:02pm – Gary Woodland, Justin Rose, Takumi Kanaya

12:13pm – Lee Westwood, Russell Henley, Corey Conners

12:24pm – Patrick Reed, Seamus Power, Lucas Herbert

12:35pm – Bubba Watson, Tom Hoge, Keita Nakajima (a)

12:57pm – Marc Leishman, Webb Simpson, Sungjae Im

1:08pm – Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III

1:19pm – Abraham Ancer, Tyrrell Hatton, Sam Burns

1:30pm – Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa

1:41pm – Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm

1:52pm – Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele

2:03pm – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy

Augusta is prepped for the Masters. Ben Walton

FRIDAY/SECOND ROUND

First tee

8am – Sandy Lyle, Stewart Hagestad (a)

8:11am – Lucas Glover, Erik van Rooyen, Cameron Champ

8:22am – Bernhard Langer, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Cameron Davis

8:33am – Charl Schwartzel, Robert MacIntyre, Laird Shepherd (a)

8:44am – Gary Woodland, Justin Rose, Takumi Kanaya

8:55am – Lee Westwood, Russell Henley, Corey Conners

9:06am – Patrick Reed, Seamus Power, Lucas Herbert

9:17am – Bubba Watson, Tom Hoge, Keita Nakajima (a)

9:39am – Marc Leishman, Webb Simpson, Sungjae Im

9:50am – Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III

10:01am – Abraham Ancer, Tyrrell Hatton, Sam Burns

10:12am – Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa

10:23am – Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm

10:34am – Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele

10:45am – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy

10:56am – Jose Maria Olazabal, JJ Spaun

11:18am – Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, Austin Greaser (a)

11:29am – Larry Mize, Sepp Straka, Francesco Molinari

11:40am – Fred Couples, Garrick Higgo, Guido Migliozzi

11:51am – Vijay Singh, Ryan Palmer, KH Lee

12:02pm – Min Woo Lee, Hudson Swafford, Cameron Young

12:13pm – Stewart Cink, Brian Harman, Harry Higgs

12:24pm – Zach Johnson, Si Woo Kim, Aaron Jarvis (a)

12:35pm – Luke List, Matthew Wolff 32 Mackenzie Hughes

12:46pm – Danny Willett, Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch

1:08pm – Max Homa, Kevin Na, Shane Lowry

1:19pm – Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood

1:30pm – Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Paul Casey

1:41pm – Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann

1:52pm – Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, James Piot (a)

2:03pm – Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau