Golf
All the Masters tee times Thursday: When does Rory McIlroy start?
Here’s when Masters contenders will begin the chase on Thursday for a green jacket at Augusta National.
Rory McIlroy hits out of a bunker on the second green during a practice round at the Masters golf tournament, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Augusta. McIlroy won the 2025 Masters. (Jason Getz/AJC)
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AUGUSTA — The 2026 Masters Tournament begins Thursday with Rory McIlroy aiming to defend his title at Augusta National.
McIlroy tees off at 10:31 a.m. in a group that includes Thomasville amatuer Mason Howell.
The tournament will go off without either Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson in the field for the first time since 1994.
Former champions Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Reed are among the betting favorites alongside those in the hunt for a first green jacket, including Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young.
2026 Masters Thursday first round tee times and groups
- 7:40 a.m.: John Keefer, Haotong Li
- 7:50 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Max Homa, Carlos Ortiz
- 8:02 a.m.: José María Olazábal, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Aldrich Potgieter
- 8:14 a.m.: Angel Cabrera, Sami Valimaki, Jackson Herrington (amateur)
- 8:26 a.m.: Charl Schwartzel, Max Greyserman, Ryan Fox
- 8:38 a.m.: Vijay Singh, Matt McCarty, Rasmus Højgaard
- 8:50 a.m.: Kurt Kitayama, Kristoffer Reitan, Casey Jarvis
- 9:02 a.m.: Bubba Watson, Nicolas Echavarria, Brandon Holtz (amateur)
- 9:19 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Sam Burns, Jake Knapp
- 9:31 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Gerard, Nick Taylor
- 9:43 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Jason Day
- 9:55 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia
- 10:07 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
- 10:19 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley
- 10:31 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell (amateur)
- 10:43 a.m.: Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren
- 11:03 a.m.: Samuel Stevens and Sungjae Im
- 11:15 a.m.: Andrew Novak, Tom McKibbin, Brian Campbell
- 11:27 a.m.: Mike Weir, Wyndham Clark, Mateo Pulcini (amateur)
- 11:39 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Michael Kim, Nicolai Højgaard
- 11:51 a.m.: Danny Willett, Davis Riley, Ethan Fang (amateur)
- 12:03 p.m.: Adam Scott, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman
- 12:15 p.m.: Fred Couples, Min Woo Lee, Fifa Laopakdee (amateur)
- 12:27 p.m.: Sergio Garcia, Aaron Rai, Jacob Bridgeman
- 12:44 p.m.: Harry Hall, Corey Conners, Michael Brennan
- 12:56 p.m.: J.J. Spaun, Maverick McNealy, Tyrell Hatton
- 1:08 p.m.: Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Åberg
- 1:20 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
- 1:32 p.m.: Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas
- 1:44 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
- 1:56 p.m.: Harris English, Marco Penge, Si Woo Kim
About the Author
Fletcher Page is Athens bureau chief covering northeast Georgia for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
