Golf fans around the world are counting down the hours to the start of the Masters Tournament – which takes place at Augusta National from 7-10 April.
One of the four annual majors in men’s golf, and first of the season, the Masters is “so special” and the “best golf tournament in the world”, said Shane Bacon on CBS Sports. “For golf fans, Masters week is the best seven days of the year.”
From the green jackets to the quirky traditions, this is the “greatest sporting event in America”, said Matthew Miller on Bloomberg.
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Tiger Woods celebrates his 2019 Masters victory at Augusta
(Image credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
When Tiger Woods steps onto the first tee at Augusta on Thursday for the opening round of the Masters, it will be “the culmination of one of sport’s greatest comebacks”, said Jim White in The Daily Telegraph.
Earlier this week, the five-time Masters champion and 82-time PGA Tour winner announced he would make a “game-time decision” on whether he can return to competitive action. And on Tuesday he said that “as of right now, I am going to play”.
The 46-year-old has not competed on the PGA Tour since the 2020 Masters after suffering significant injuries to his right leg and ankle in a February 2021 car accident. The 508 days between the final round of the 2020 Masters and first round of the 2022 Masters would be the second-longest span between competitive rounds of Woods’ PGA Tour career.
Speaking in his pre-tournament press conference, Woods insisted that he would not be making his comeback if he didn’t believe he could win his 16th major title, Sky Sports reported.
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“I don’t show up to an event unless I think I can win it,” he said. “So that’s the attitude I’ve had. There will be a day when it won’t happen, and I’ll know when that is, but physically the challenge this week is I don’t have to worry about the ball striking or the game of golf, it’s actually just the hills out here. That’s going to be the challenge, and it’s going to be a challenge of a major marathon.”
In the first round on Thursday Woods is grouped with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann and will tee off at 3.34pm (BST). In Friday’s second round the trio will tee off at 6.41pm (BST).
2. First and second round tee times
Tiger Woods tees off during a practice round at the Masters on Wednesday
(Image credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
All times below are BST
Round one: Thursday 7 April
13:00 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa), JJ Spaun (US)
13:11 Austin Greaser US)*, Padraig Harrington (Ire), Mike Weir (Can)
13:22 Larry Mize (US), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Sepp Straka (Aut)
13:33 Fred Couples (US), Garrick Higgo (SA), Guido Migliozzi (Ita)
13:44 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Ryan Palmer (US), Vijay Singh (Fij)
13:55 Min-Woo Lee (Aus), Hudson Swafford (US), Cameron Young (US)
14:06 Stewart Cink (US), Brian Harman (US), Harry Higgs (US)
14:17 Aaron Jarvis (Cay)*, Zach Johnson (US), Si Woo Kim (Kor)
14:39 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Luke List (US), Matthew Wolff (US)
14:50 Talor Gooch (US), Jason Kokrak (US), Danny Willett (Eng)
15:01 Max Homa (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Kevin Na (US)
15:12 Daniel Berger (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Kevin Kisner (US)
15:23 Paul Casey (Eng), Bryson DeChambeau (US), Cameron Smith (Aus)
15:34 Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Tiger Woods (US)
15:45 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), James Piot (US)*, Justin Thomas (US)
15:56 Tony Finau (US), Scottie Scheffler (US), Adam Scott (Aus)
16:18 Stewart Hagestad (US)*, Sandy Lyle (Sco)
16:29 Cameron Champ (US), Lucas Glover (US), Erik van Rooyen (SA)
16:40 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (SA), Cameron Davis (Aus), Bernhard Langer (Ger)
16:51 Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Charl Schwartzel (SA), Laird Shepherd (Eng)*
17:02 Takumi Kanaya (Jpn), Justin Rose (Eng), Gary Woodland (US)
17:13 Corey Conners (Can), Russell Henley (US), Lee Westwood (Eng)
17:24 Lucas Herbert (Aus), Seamus Power (Ire), Patrick Reed (US)
17:35 Tom Hoge (US), Keita Nakajima (Jpn)*, Bubba Watson (US)
17:57 Sung Jae Im (Kor), Marc Leishman (Aus), Webb Simpson (US)
18:08 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Thomas Pieters (Bel), Harold Varner III (US)
18:19 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Sam Burns (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
18:30 Billy Horschel (US), Dustin Johnson (US), Collin Morikawa (US)
18:41 Patrick Cantlay (US), Jon Rahm (Spa), Will Zalatoris (US)
18:52 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Xander Schauffele (US), Jordan Spieth (US)
19:03 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US), Rory McIlroy (NI)
Round two: Friday 8 April
13:00 Stewart Hagestad (US)*, Sandy Lyle (Sco)
13:11 Cameron Champ (US), Lucas Glover (US, Erik van Rooyen (SA)
13:22 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (SA), Cameron Davis (Aus), Bernhard Langer (Ger)
13:33 Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Charl Schwartzel (SA), Laird Shepherd (Eng)*
13:44 Takumi Kanaya (Jpn), Justin Rose (Eng), Gary Woodland (US)
13:55 Corey Conners (Can), Russell Henley (US), Lee Westwood (Eng)
14:06 Lucas Herbert (Aus), Seamus Power (Ire), Patrick Reed (US)
14:17 Tom Hoge (US), Keita Nakajima (Jpn)*, Bubba Watson (US)
14:39 Sung Jae Im (Kor), Marc Leishman (Aus), Webb Simpson (US)
14:50 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Thomas Pieters (Bel), Harold Varner III (US)
15:01 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Sam Burns (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
15:12 Billy Horschel (US), Dustin Johnson (US), Collin Morikawa (US)
15:23 Patrick Cantlay (US), Jon Rahm (Spa), Will Zalatoris (US)
15:34 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Xander Schauffele (US), Jordan Spieth (US)
15:45 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US), Rory McIlroy (NI)
15:56 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa), JJ Spaun (US)
16:18 Austin Greaser (US)*, Padraig Harrington (Ire), Mike Weir (Can)
16:29 Larry Mize (US), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Sepp Straka (Aut)
16:40 Fred Couples (US), Garrick Higgo (SA), Guido Migliozzi (Ita)
16:51 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Ryan Palmer (US), Vijay Singh (Fij)
17:02 Min-Woo Lee (Aus), Hudson Swafford (US), Cameron Young (US)
17:13 Stewart Cink (US), Brian Harman (US), Harry Higgs (US)
17:24 Aaron Jarvis (Cay)*, Zach Johnson (US, Si Woo Kim (Kor)
17:35 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Luke List (US), Matthew Wolff (US)
17:57 Talor Gooch (US), Jason Kokrak (US), Danny Willett (Eng)
18:08 Max Homa (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Kevin Na (US)
18:19 Daniel Berger (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Kevin Kisner (US)
18:30 Paul Casey (Eng), Bryson DeChambeau (US), Cameron Smith (Aus)
18:41 Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Tiger Woods (US)
18:52 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), James Piot (US)*, Justin Thomas (US)
19:03 Tony Finau (US), Scottie Scheffler (US), Adam Scott (Aus)
* denotes amateur
3. Players to watch
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Scottie Scheffler enters the Masters Tournament holding the top spot in both the FedExCup standings and Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler has wins in three of his last five starts and is the first player to win three times in a PGA Tour season prior to the Masters since Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas in 2016-2017.
World No.2 Jon Rahm has four consecutive top-tens at the Masters, the longest active streak. The Spaniard, who won the 2021 US Open, also has the longest active streak of top-tens in major championships (five).
With victory this week, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy would become the sixth player to complete the career grand slam – wins in all four majors. He would join an exclusive club alongside Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
4. The history of the Green Jacket
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama celebrates his victory at the 2021 Masters
(Image credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
The winner of the Masters does not just lift the trophy, which depicts the clubhouse at Augusta, they also get the legendary Masters Green Jacket.
First introduced in 1937, the idea was that Augusta National members “would wear these jackets during the tournament to make them stand out to members of the public needing guidance or assistance”, said Dan Parker in Golf Monthly. From 1937-1948 only Augusta National members wore the jackets, but in 1949 Sam Snead became the first winner to be honoured with the now famous Green Jacket.
When the champion is confirmed after the final round on Masters Sunday, a green jacket is “borrowed off an Augusta member with roughly the same build as the winner, before the champion is later measured for their own tailored version”.
Beyond the Green Jacket, the Masters holds “additional prestige as the winner each year has a standing invitation to come back and compete in the event for the rest of their life”, said Zephyr Melton on Golf.com. Should he defend his title, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama would become the first player to win the Masters back-to-back since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
5. Predictions: who will win the Masters?
Jon Rahm plays a practice round ahead of the 2022 Masters
(Image credit: David Cannon/Getty Images)
Staff from PGATour.com have made their expert picks for the Masters. Senior editor Sean Martin has tipped Spain’s Jon Rahm for the win at Augusta. “If he can get the putter back on track, he’s a perfect fit,” said Martin. Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton has backed Brooks Koepka: “The recent series of payoffs are matching the omnipresent swagger, and he’s presumably as healthy as he can be, so the stars are aligned for him to avenge his co-runner-up in 2019.”
Rahm is one of those players who just “gets” Augusta National, said Golf.com’s Jessica Marksbury. “He has all the tools and hasn’t finished outside the top nine in his past four appearances. This is the year.” Also on Golf.com, Josh Berhow admits that world No.1 Scottie Scheffler is a “trendy pick”, but “what’s not to like?”.
Cameron DaSilva on USA Today’s SportsBook Wire said England’s Matt Fitzpatrick can be a contender this week. “Fitzpatrick only has one top-20 finish at the Masters in his career, a tie for 7th in 2016,” said DaSilva. “That feels like ages ago, and he’s only finished under par once at Augusta. Still, he comes in playing well and is a legitimate threat.”
I get the sense that Dustin Johnson is “the player to beat at the top end”, said Shawn Childs on Sports Illustrated. Rahm “looks poised to win his first green jacket”, while Justin Thomas “could fire on any given weekend”.
If you’re looking for a “sleeper pick”, then Ireland’s Shane Lowry is an “appealing option”, said Jacob Camenker on SportingNews.com. “Lowry missed the cut in three of his first four Masters appearances, but in each of the last two years, he has finished within the top 25.”
Action from Augusta National will be live on Sky Sports in the UK, with wall-to-wall coverage on Sky Sports Golf, Red Button, Sky Q and Sky Glass. A free live stream will also be available of the notorious Amen Corner on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel.
Sky Sports Golf’s live Masters coverage
Thursday 7 April
2pm-7.30pm: Featured Groups
7.30pm-12.30am: The Masters day one
Red button (exact timings TBC): 1.30pm On the Range; 2.30pm Holes 4-6; 3.45pm Amen Corner; 4.45pm Holes 15-16; 6.30pm Featured Groups
Friday 8 April
2pm-7.30pm: Featured Groups
7.30pm-12.30am: The Masters day two
Red button (exact timings TBC): 1.30pm On the Range; 2.30pm Holes 4-6; 3.45pm Amen Corner; 4.45pm Holes 15-16; 6.30pm Featured Groups
Saturday 9 April
9am-12pm: Masters Breakfast
3pm-7.30pm: The Masters build-up
7.30pm-12.30am: The Masters day three
Red button (exact timings TBC): 3.15pm Featured Groups; 3.30pm Holes 4-6; 4pm On the Range; 4.45pm Amen Corner; 5.30pm Holes 15-16
Sunday 10 April
9am-12pm: Masters Breakfast
3pm-7.30pm: The Masters build-up
6.30pm-12.30am: The Masters day four
Red button (exact timings TBC): 3.15pm Featured Groups; 3.30pm Holes 4-6; 4pm On the Range; 4.45pm Amen Corner; 5.30pm Holes 15-16
Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.
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