Masters opens; Scheffler favorite

The Masters started Thursday morning with the kind of opening only Augusta National does: Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson hit the ceremonial tee shots at 7:25 a.m. Eastern time before the first competitive groups went out. The tournament runs April 9 through April 12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. (espn.com) (golf.com) Scottie Scheffler opened the week as the betting favorite, and the reason is simple: he is already a two-time Masters champion and is trying to win a third green jacket in a five-year span. ESPN’s betting preview listed Scheffler ahead of Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Rory McIlroy. (espn.com) That matters at Augusta because this course rewards players who already know its tricks. Augusta National is a par-72 layout listed at 7,565 yards, and every year it asks players to hit the right shelf on the green, not just the green itself. (cbssports.com) (golf.com) The field is one of the few in golf where the rival tours still collide in the same place. GOLF.com’s tournament guide notes that players from the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour, the DP World Tour, and LIV Golf are all in the 2026 field together at Augusta. (golf.com) Round 1 began in threesomes, which changes the rhythm of the day because the field moves in tighter waves instead of pairs spread farther apart. ESPN’s tee sheet for the first two rounds says the 90th Masters started that way from the opening tee times. (espn.com) The early television window is built more like a menu than a single broadcast. ESPN’s coverage page lists featured holes from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, featured groups from 9:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and the main television broadcast later in the day. (espn.com) Before the tournament even started, Augusta had already delivered one of its annual odd little side shows. The Wednesday Par-3 Contest produced four holes-in-one, from Justin Thomas, Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley, and Tommy Fleetwood, while Aaron Rai won the nine-hole event at 6 under par. (youtube.com) That contest has its own strange piece of Masters folklore attached to it. ESPN’s highlight package pointed out that no Par-3 Contest winner has ever gone on to win that same year’s Masters, which leaves Rai carrying a fun curse into the real tournament. (youtube.com) The biggest names are scattered through the Thursday draw because that is how Augusta turns one course into an all-day event. CBS Sports and ESPN both built their coverage around Scheffler, McIlroy, and other headline groups, which means the first round is less one opening bell than a rolling handoff from breakfast to sunset. (cbssports.com) (espn.com) So the tournament opens with two clocks running at once. One is the live leaderboard for 72 holes, and the other is the longer Augusta clock that asks whether Scheffler can join the tiny group of players with three Masters wins while the rest of the field tries to keep him from turning familiarity into another jacket. (cbssports.com) (espn.com)