JD Cuban

By Ryan Herrington
Five months removed from the most unusual Masters in tournament history, it will be business as usual next week at Augusta National. OK, not exactly as usual. There’s no Par 3 Contest, a limited number of patrons will be allowed on the course and there’s the potential for players to be forced to withdraw due to positive COVID-19 tests. But at least we’re back in Georgia in April, which is a step in the right direction.

Being back in Georgia in April also means being back on schedule for how a Masters usually operates. You’ll recall in the fall, the 2½ fewer hours of daylight required Augusta National officials to use a two-tee start for the first and second rounds. Granted, the entire field got to experience the awkwardness of facing Amen Corner early in the round for one day, but it wasn’t something anyone would like a healthy diet of moving forward.

With just 89 players competing next week, everybody starts on the first tee Thursday, beginning with Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lee Elder, making his debut as an honorary starter. Meanwhile, all the traditional Masters pairings seem to be lining up, most notable the defending champion (Dustin Johnson) playing in the same threesome as the reigning U.S. Amateur champion (Tyler Strafaci). And you can bet that the other two amateur participants in 2021 (Joe Long and Ollie Osborne) also will be paired with a former green jacket winners.

Below are the tee times for the first and second rounds on Thursday and Friday.

THURSDAY/First round (all times EDT off first tee. The UAE is 8 hours ahead of Eastern Time)

7:45 a.m. — Lee Elder, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus (Honorary Starters)

8 a.m. — Michael Thompson, Hudson Swafford

8:12 a.m. — Sandy Lyle, Matt Jones, Dylan Frittelli

8:24 a.m. — Ian Woosnam, Jim Herman, Stewart Cink

8:36 a.m. — Sebastian Munoz, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb

8:48 a.m. — Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, a-Joe Long

9 a.m. — Brian Harman, Ian Poulter, Brendon Todd

9:12 a.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Si Woo Kim, Corey Conners

9:24 a.m. — Danny Willett, Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Kisner

9:36 a.m. — Jason Day, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ

9:48 a.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English, Abraham Ancer

10:06 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland

10:18 a.m. — Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

10:30 a.m. — Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, a-Tyler Strafaci

10:42 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy

10:54 a.m. — Patrick Reed, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey

11:06 a.m. — Vijay Singh, Martin Laird

11:18 a.m. — Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Brian Gay

11:30 a.m. — Carlos Ortiz, Mackenzie Hughes, Bernd Wiesberger

11:42 a.m. — Mike Weir, C. T. Pan, Robert MacIntyre

11:54 a.m. — Jose Maria Olazabal, Matt Wallace, Lanto Griffin

12:12 p.m. — Victor Perez, Jason Kokrak, Marc Leishman

12:24 p.m. — Fred Couples, Francesco Molinari, a-Charles Osborne

12:36 p.m. — Zach Johnson, Kevin Na, Gary Woodland

12:48 p.m. — Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar

1 p.m. — Billy Horschel, Tyrrell Hatton, Ryan Palmer

1:12 p.m. — Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler

1:24 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Matthew Fitzpatrick

1:36 p.m. — Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa

1:48 p.m. — Tony Finau, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Thomas

2:00 p.m. — Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa

FRIDAY/Second round

8 a.m. — Vijay Singh, Martin Laird

8:12 a.m. — Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Brian Gay

8:24 a.m. — Carlos Ortiz, Mackenzie Hughes, Bernd Wiesberger

8:36 a.m. — Mike Weir, C. T. Pan, Robert MacIntyre

8:48 a.m. — Jose Maria Olazabal, Matt Wallace, Lanto Griffin

9 a.m. — Victor Perez, Jason Kokrak, Marc Leishman

9:12 a.m. — Fred Couples, Francesco Molinari, a-Charles Osborne

9:24 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Kevin Na, Gary Woodland

9:36 a.m. — Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar

9:48 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Tyrrell Hatton, Ryan Palmer

10:06 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler

10:18 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Matthew Fitzpatrick

10:30 a.m. — Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa

10:42 a.m. — Tony Finau, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Thomas

10:54 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa

11:06 a.m. — Michael Thompson, Hudson Swafford

11:18 a.m. — Sandy Lyle, Matt Jones, Dylan Frittelli

11:30 a.m. — Ian Woosnam, Jim Herman, Stewart Cink

11:42 a.m. — Sebastian Munoz, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb

11:54 a.m. — Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, a-Joe Long

12:12 p.m. — Brian Harman, Ian Poulter, Brendon Todd

12:24 p.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Si Woo Kim, Corey Conners

12:36 p.m. — Danny Willett, Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Kisner

12:48 p.m. — Jason Day, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ

1 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English, Abraham Ancer

1:12 p.m. — Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland

1:24 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

1:36 p.m. — Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, a-Tyler Strafaci

1:48 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy

2 p.m. — Patrick Reed, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey