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Masters week got off to an inauspicious start Monday when rain mostly washed out activity at Augusta National (those who won the patron ticket lottery will be refunded and allowed to come back on Monday of the 2026 event).
But Tuesday’s proceedings brought back the usual Masters joy as sunny skies and crisp temperatures rising into the mid-60s washed away the memory of rain. Top players held media sessions, Scottie Scheffler served his champion’s dinner and tee times were announced.
The weather looks brilliant for the remainder of the tournament as sunny skies and mild temperatures will greet patrons and participants throughout the 2025 Masters.
It’s time to watch some golf (and as a reminder, we have expanded TV coverage this year).
Here are five of the Thursday-Friday groupings I will have my eye on as the chase for the green jacket gets underway. And below is the complete list of tee times. As is tradition, all players tee off the first hole throughout the tournament (barring the threat of weather like we had in 2019). All times Eastern.
1. Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia (1:12 p.m./9:58 a.m)
There is some sublime youthful talent in this trio—and one veteran searching for his elusive Masters title.
You know the story of Rory McIlroy, ready to make his 17th start in the Masters. This is the 11th time he has come into the first major of the year with a chance to complete the career Grand Slam. The Masters has proven to be a mental block for him at times although he has seven top-10 results at Augusta dating back to 2014.
McIlroy, who has been in terrific form with two early wins in 2025, was all business in his press conference.
“It’s just narratives. It’s noise. It’s just trying to block out that noise as much as possible. I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year. Look, I understand the narrative and the noise and there’s a lot of anticipation and buildup coming into this tournament each and every year but I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job.”
He is joined by budding superstar Åberg—who I have at No. 3 on my big board of potential winners—and the 23-year-old Akshay Bhatia, twice a PGA Tour winner in his nascent career.
2. Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jose Luis Ballester (10:15 a.m./1:23 p.m.)
Going off relatively early on Thursday, the group of Scheffler-Thomas-Ballester is sure to provide some fireworks.
Scheffler, the pre-tournament favorite and defending champion, has yet to win so far in 2025 after collecting nine victories in 2024. He’s been getting back into better form recently but he doesn’t bring the same momentum into this week as he did last year.
Thomas is in the midst of a nearly three-year winless drought that dates back to the 2022 PGA Championship. He has mixed results at Augusta, finding himself in the top 10 just twice. However, Thomas has been in solid form for several months and is considered a top-five player in the world by Data Golf.
Spain’s Jose Luis Ballester is the U.S. Amateur champion. Countryman Jon Rahm said he can roll out of bed and reach 190 mph of ball speed so that will be fun to watch.
3. Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood (1:34 p.m./10:26 a.m.)
Speaking of Rahm, everyone is curious how the 2023 Masters champion will rebound after a decidedly poor major performance last year.
Rahm’s move to LIV is well in the past and so are the questions about his decision. He’s been quietly playing some great golf on LIV and is in better form coming into this Masters compared to last year’s edition.
“Not my favorite major season last year,” Rahm said. “I think, last year, the state of my game was being unfairly judged based on how I played here and at the PGA (Championship) compared to how I really played throughout the whole year. While I understand why, I don’t think it was the most fair state of my game. … (I) feel like I’m playing much better golf coming into this week.”
He will be joined by Wyndham Clark who has greatly struggled in majors since his 2023 U.S. Open triumph. Clark is down to No. 34 in Data Golf but showed signs of life with a T5 at Houston.
Tommy Fleetwood is a proper player who has the game to get around Augusta National better than just about anyone else—but does he have the stomach to get into contention and do anything with the opportunity?
4. Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry (1:23 p.m./10:15 a.m.)
I’m excited for this trio of major champions.
The headliner is DeChambeau, fresh off a 2024 U.S. Open victory and a stellar year. He finally found something at the Masters a year ago finishing T6 and inspiring confidence this could be the year he puts all the pieces together.
Matsuyama has been solid but quiet on the major front since winning the Masters in 2021. That’s also how you could describe his form in 2025 as he won in Hawaii early but hasn’t generated much else. He missed the cut at the Players and Texas Open. As always, the putter will determine how serious of a contender he will be.
Most golf fans wouldn’t guess that Shane Lowry is No. 7 in Data Golf and among the most consistent bets you can make in majors. He has missed just two major cuts since his 2019 Open Championship win and he’s gobbled up 13 top-25 results in that span. Lowry only has one top-10 finish at the Masters, however.
5. Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland (1:01 p.m./9:47 a.m.)
There are some gorgeous golf swings in this grouping.
It’s hard to ignore Schauffele although many are trying to after he suffered a rib injury coming into the season. After winning two majors last year, a healthy Schauffele would have figured to be a sure-fire contender at a course where he always seems to be lingering in contention.
“I’ve never really dealt with injury before, so I’ve never really been sidelined,” Schauffele said Monday. “I’m trying to find all the positives to attach to the situation and me not being hurt before and sitting at home thinking all these thoughts. Watching everyone else play golf and sort of fly by me, it’s been very motivating.”
He will be joined by Hovland who has been mercurial of late with great play (winning the Valspar) and poor play (missing four of five cuts prior to that victory). He’s a wild card.
Adam Scott is now a borderline top-50 player in the world who makes a lot of cuts but doesn’t get into contention very often. His last Masters’ top-10 finish came in 2017.
- 7:40 a.m./10:48 a.m.: Davis Riley, Patton Kizzire
- 7:51 a.m./10:59 a.m.: Kevin Yu, Jhonattan Vegas, Nicolai Højgaard
- 8:02 a.m./11:10 a.m.: Mike Weir, Michael Kim, Cameron Young
- 8:13 a.m./11:21 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Joe Highsmith, Chris Kirk
- 8:24 a.m./11:38 a.m.: Danny Willett, Nico Echavarria, Davis Thompson
- 8:35 a.m./11:49 a.m.: Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, *Noah Kent
- 8:52 a.m./noon: Cameron Smith, J.T. Poston, Aaron Rai
- 9:03 a.m./12:11 p.m.: Fred Couples, Harris English, Taylor Pendrith
- 9:14 a.m./12:22 p.m.: Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Stephan Jaeger
- 9:25 a.m./12:33 p.m.: Patrick Reed, Max Greyserman, Byeong Hun An
- 9:36 a.m./12:50 p.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel, Nick Dunlap
- 9:47 a.m./1:01 p.m.: Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee
- 9:58 a.m./1:12 p.m.: Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
- 10:15 a.m./1:23 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, *Jose Luis Ballester
- 10:26 a.m./1:34 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton
- 10:37 a.m./1:45 p.m.: Tony Finau, Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry
- 10:48 a.m./7:40 a.m.: Cam Davis, Rafael Campos, Austin Eckroat
- 10:59 a.m./7:51 a.m.: Angel Cabrera, Laurie Canter, Adam Schenk
- 11:10 a.m./8:02 a.m.: Jose Maria Olazabal, Thriston Lawrence, Brian Campbell
- 11:21 a.m./8:13 a.m.: Bubba Watson, Matthieu Pavon, *Evan Beck
- 11:38 a.m./8:24 a.m.: Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- 11:49 a.m./8:35 a.m.: Charl Schwartzel, Denny McCarthy, *Hiroshi Tai
- 12 p.m./8:52 a.m.: Max Homa, Justin Rose, J.J. Spaun
- 12:11 p.m./9:03 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Nick Taylor, *Justin Hastings
- 12:22 p.m./9:14 a.m.: Sergio Garcia, Lucas Glover, Daniel Berger
- 12:33 p.m./9:25 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Rasmus Højgaard, Matt Fitzpatrick
- 12:50 p.m./9:36 a.m.: Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley, Sungjae Im
- 1:01 p.m./9:47 a.m.: Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland
- 1:12 p.m./9:58 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia
- 1:23 p.m./10:15 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry
- 1:34 p.m./10:26 a.m.: Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood
- 1:45 p.m./10:37 a.m.: Sahith Theegala, Sepp Straka, Sam Burns
*Denotes amateur
Top Photo Caption: Rory McIlroy tees off the 18th hole during a Tuesday practice round prior to the 2025 Masters. (GETTY IMAGES/Richard Heathcote)
The post Masters Tee Times: 5 Groupings To Watch Thursday And Friday appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
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