Masters Week Kicks Off
The Masters at Augusta National officially begins today, and the pre-tournament chatter is focused on a tight favorite group headed by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy — both named among top picks for the week. Aaron Rai won the Par 3 Contest ahead of Jacob Bridgeman and John Keefer, and the Par 3 highlights even featured four holes-in-one that keep fan attention high before competitive play starts (nytimes.com). If you want to watch tee shots, Thursday’s Round 1 coverage windows are laid out for TV and streaming so you can catch the opener live ( ).
Before the first real scorecard was signed at Augusta National, Wednesday’s warm-up stole the show: Aaron Rai won the Par 3 Contest at 6 under, and four different players made holes-in-one in a single afternoon. Justin Thomas, Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley, and Tommy Fleetwood supplied the aces that turned a nine-hole exhibition into the loudest pregame of the week. (golfchannel.com; youtube.com) Rai finished one shot ahead of Jacob Bridgeman and amateur John Keefer, which put an English winner at the top of a contest that is usually remembered more for family photos than trophies. The Par 3 Contest is played on the Wednesday before the tournament, and no winner has ever gone on to win that year’s Masters. (nytimes.com; sports.yahoo.com) Now the actual tournament starts on Thursday, April 9, with the 90th Masters Tournament running through Sunday, April 12, at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The field is 91 players, which means every pairing feels crowded with names people recognize from major championships and Ryder Cup teams. (pgatour.com; usatoday.com) The betting and preview conversation has narrowed to a small front row, and Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are standing in it. The Athletic’s Wednesday big board put Scheffler first and McIlroy second, with Jon Rahm close enough behind them that this week is being framed less like a one-man march and more like a three-man chase. (nytimes.com; nytimes.com) Scheffler’s case is simple: he arrives as a former Masters champion whose game travels cleanly to Augusta’s slopes, shaved runoffs, and fast greens. McIlroy’s case is different: he is the defending champion this week, so every practice-round camera has been following whether he looks like a repeat winner or a target with a giant bullseye on his back. (nytimes.com; pgatour.com) Thursday’s pairings show how quickly that favorite talk turns into must-watch television. Golf Channel listed Jon Rahm with Chris Gotterup and Ludvig Aberg at 1:08 p.m. Eastern time, Jordan Spieth with Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka at 1:20 p.m., and Scheffler with Robert MacIntyre and Gary Woodland at 1:44 p.m. (golfchannel.com) Watching it is easier than it used to be, because Round 1 coverage starts before the main cable window. Golf.com’s Thursday guide says streaming begins at 12 p.m. Eastern on Amazon Prime Video, and television coverage begins at 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. (golf.com) The shape of Masters week is always the same: Wednesday gives you smiling kids in white caddie jumpsuits, and Thursday gives you the first shot that can wreck a major championship. This year’s version just happens to begin with Rai holding the glass trophy, four players already owning an Augusta ace, and Scheffler and McIlroy carrying the weight of the first big golf week of 2026. (golfchannel.com; nytimes.com; golf.com)
