Masters: If the TV numbers are down, it will be a full-blown panic for the sport of golf
2024 Masters tee times: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy lead marquee pairing; Tiger Woods set for Thursday afternoon
Tee times for this year's Thursday and Friday at the 2024 Masters have been released, and there will be several compelling pairings for this year's opening rounds. Past champions and potential future ones will be on the tee box together.
With rainy weather on the way, the morning/afternoon pairings take on an extra significance. Thunderstorms are projected to hit Augusta National Thursday morning, with rain forecast for the entire day. That could give the afternoon pairings an advantage, or force them to complete their first round on Friday.
Thursday's marquee pairings are as follows:
12:48 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas
1:00 p.m.: Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap
1:12 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
1:24 p.m.: Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cam Smith
3:54 p.m.: Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
4:06 p.m.: Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim
4:18 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala
4:30 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood
Unlike some other tournaments, the Masters doesn't tend to create gimmicky matchups for the sake of some cheap attention. LIV Golf players are scattered throughout the pairings, for instance, some with amateurs, some with lesser-known players, some with PGA Tour stars.
Here is a list of the full Thursday/Friday tee times:
Thursday/Friday
10:30 a.m./11:06 a.m.: Erik van Rooyen, Jake Knapp
10:42 a.m./11:18 a.m.: Jose Maria Olazabal, Taylor Moore, *Santiago de la Fuente
10:54 a.m./11:30 a.m.: Danny Willett, Austin Eckroat, Stephan Jaeger
11:06 a.m./11:42 a.m.: Charl Schwartzel, Luke List, *Christo Lamprecht
11:18 a.m./11:54 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Thorbjorn Olesen, Bryson DeChambeau
11:30 a.m./12:12 p.m.: Zach Johnson, Corey Conners, *Jasper Stubbs
11:42 a.m./12:24 p.m.: Sergio Garcia, Chris Kirk, Ryan Fox
11:54 a.m./12:36 p.m.: Lucas Glover, Byeong Hun An, Harris English
12:06 p.m./12:48 p.m.: Phil Mickelson, Sepp Straka, Tony Finau
12:18 p.m./1:00 p.m.: Nick Taylor, Joaquin Niemann, Russell Henley
12:36 p.m./1:12 p.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Rickie Fowler
12:48 p.m./1:24 p.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas
1:00 p.m./1:36 p.m.: Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap
1:12 p.m./1:48 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
1:24 p.m./2:00 p.m.: Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith
1:36 p.m./8:00 a.m.:Lee Hodges, Adrian Meronk, Grayson Murray
1:48 p.m./8:12 a.m.:Camilo Villegas, Denny McCarthy, Cameron Davis
2:00 p.m./8:24 a.m.: Mike Weir, Ryo Hisatsune, *Neal Shipley
2:12 p.m./8:36 a.m.: Vijay Singh, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo
2:24 p.m./8:48 a.m.: Fred Couples, Adam Hadwin, *Stewart Hagestad
2:42 p.m./9:00 a.m.: Justin Rose, Eric Cole, Peter Malnati
2:54 p.m./9:12 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, J. T. Poston, Shane Lowry
3:06 p.m./9:24 a.m.: Bubba Watson, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Schenk
3:18 p.m./9:36 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama
3:30 p.m./9:48 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon, Tyrrell Hatton
3:42 p.m./10:06 a.m.: Adam Scott, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
3:54 p.m./10:18 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
4:06 p.m./10:30 a.m.: Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim
4:18 p.m./10:42 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala
4:30 p.m./10:54 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood
So much about the Memorial felt as though golf was back to normal.
Thousands of fans surrounded the 18th hole, with tournament founder Jack Nicklaus sitting behind the green as he waited to greet the winner. Patrick Cantlay had a firm grip on the crystal trophy, just like he did two years ago the last time spectators roamed Muirfield Village.
It even rained, though not for very long.
But so much about Cantlay's playoff victory Sunday over Collin Morikawa made this Memorial unlike any of the previous 45 editions.
This was as much about who won as who didn't even play.
Cantlay, like everyone else at Muirfield Village, felt horrible than Jon Rahm went from tying tournament records — a 54-hole score of 18-under par and a six-shot lead — to being notified of a positive COVID-19 test that knocked him out of the final round.
What would have happened?
“Such a weird situation and so unfortunate because — me included — everyone knows it would have been a totally different day had that not happened,” Cantlay said. “But there's nothing I could do about it.”
Cantlay walked off the 18th green Saturday evening facing a six-shot deficit and trying to figure out how low he would have to go in the final round to even have a chance. Morikawa had finished in the group ahead. He was in the clubhouse when his girlfriend sent a text to tell him what happened to Rahm.
“I went downstairs to look at the TV and you see what happened to Jon and it's awful,” Morikawa said. “He deserved to go out and play really well, and he was 18 under. The rules are rules and you have to follow guidelines.”
Padraig Harrington suffered a fate similar to Rahm. He had a five-shot lead in the Benson & Hedges International Open on the European Tour in 2000 when the club asked for scorecards of the winner to post in the clubhouse. That's when it was discovered Harrington never signed his card in the first round. The penalty was disqualification.