The quest to win the first major championship of 2026 begins on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club


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The 2026 Masters will officially begin at 7:25 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 9, when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit the ceremonial tee shots off the first tee in one of the great Augusta National Golf Club traditions. After three of the tournament's greatest champions open play, the rest of the 91-player Masters field will begin their quest to join them as Masters champions.

The favorites, sleepers, past champions and potential surprise contenders will all be off and running as early as 7:40 a.m. Defending champion Rory McIlroy begins his quest to become the first back-to-back Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001-02 at 10:31 a.m., playing alongside Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell.

The world No. 1 and heavy favorite, Scottie Scheffler, will be on the opposite side of the tee sheet, going off in the penultimate group at 1:44 p.m. with Robert MacIntyre and Gary Woodland. Other featured groups on Thursday morning include Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele, teeing off two groups before McIlroy at 10:07 a.m. Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa and Russell Henley will be next on the tee at 10:19 a.m.

In the afternoon, Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup and Ludvig Åberg will tee off at 1:08 p.m., followed by Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka at 1:20 p.m. The latter may be the surprise grouping of the first two rounds.

Check out the full list of first-round tee times and pairings for the 90th Masters below, and don't forget to dive into the 2026 Masters TV schedule and coverage guide so you know exactly when and how to watch throughout the week.

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Posted by Temmy
Thu, April 09, 2026 1:33pm