Masters shifts to live play

The Masters stopped being a week of guesses on Wednesday, April 8, when Augusta National shifted into live action with the Par 3 Contest and the release of Round 1 groupings for Thursday’s opening round. Rory McIlroy arrived as the defending champion after winning the 2025 Masters for his first green jacket and career Grand Slam, while Scottie Scheffler opened the week as the betting favorite. (pgatour.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com) That change matters because Masters week always has two parts. The first part is theater and forecasting, with practice rounds, ceremonial shots and betting talk, and the second part is the actual tournament, which begins Thursday, April 9, in threesomes at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. (pgatour.com) (espn.com) The Par 3 Contest is the bridge between those two parts. It is a short-course exhibition played on Wednesday, and it has become a family-heavy Augusta tradition because players often let children and spouses caddie while galleries get one last relaxed look before scorekeeping starts for real. (nytimes.com) Then Thursday morning turns the whole property into a schedule. ESPN’s live listings for April 9 showed featured coverage beginning before the main television window, with streams for holes 4, 5 and 6 at 5:45 a.m. Eastern, featured groups at 6:15 a.m. Eastern, Amen Corner at 7:45 a.m. Eastern, holes 15 and 16 at 8:45 a.m. Eastern and the main telecast at noon Eastern. (espn.com) (pgatour.com) The field is deep enough that tee times work like movie trailers for the next two days. ESPN’s published groupings showed Rory McIlroy paired with Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell at 7:31 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, while Scottie Scheffler was grouped with Robert MacIntyre and Gary Woodland at 1:44 p.m. Eastern. (espn.com) (pgatour.com) Other groups explain why the pre-tournament chatter has been so loud. Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick were set for 7:07 a.m. Eastern, while Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup and Ludvig Aberg were scheduled for 1:08 p.m. Eastern, giving broadcasters and bettors a full day of marquee names from the first wave to the last. (espn.com) (cbssports.com) The betting market has centered on one name more than any other. Golfweek reported on April 7 that Scheffler was the favorite entering the week, and Golf Channel’s odds snapshot listed him at +495 as of Tuesday afternoon, ahead of Jon Rahm at +910, Bryson DeChambeau at +1050 and McIlroy at +1175. (golfweek.usatoday.com) (golfchannel.com) McIlroy’s place in that market says a lot about how hard Augusta is even for champions. The PGA Tour’s event history shows McIlroy won the 2025 Masters at 11-under-par, and Golfweek noted that no player has successfully defended a Masters title since Tiger Woods won in 2001 and 2002. (pgatour.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com) That is why so much coverage this week has sounded less like old-fashioned tournament previewing and more like a stock market before the opening bell. Golfweek published separate pieces on odds, sleeper picks, viewing plans and betting promotions, while Golf Channel and CBS Sports pushed first-round leader angles, outrights and prop-style forecasts. (golfweek.usatoday.com 1) (golfweek.usatoday.com 2) (golfchannel.com) (cbssports.com) That tone is not accidental, because golf broadcasts now build prediction culture directly into the product. The PGA Tour said this season includes expanded betting coverage with “PGA Tour Live