12:30 p.m.: Thursday’s groupings
The groupings are out for Thursday’s opening round.
Some highlights:
At 7:40 a.m., the honorary starters will get the event under way: Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, together again. It’s sure to draw a crowd and you’d have to believe the threesome won’t be happy with the expected temperature in the low 40s.
Stewart Cink of Georgia Tech and Tim Clark officially begin the day at 7:45 a.m. in one of two twosomes for the day, while the rest of the field will be in groups of three.
Eight of the next nine groups have at least one Masters champion in the threesome. Don’t miss Tom Watson at 8:51 a.m., Angel Cabrera at 9:13 a.m. and Fred Couples at 9:24 a.m.
Defending champion Adam Scott is in a group at 10:30 a.m. with Jason Dufner of Auburn, the reigning PGA champ, and Matthew Fitzpatrick, of Great Britain who is in the field as the U.S. Amateur champ.
In what may be among the more entertaining groups, at 10:52 a.m., you can follow Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy.
In the afternoon, Matt Kuchar of Georgia Tech is off at 12:20 p.m. with Louis Oosthuizen and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.
Two significant afternoon groups are at 1:04 p.m. with Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson, and then at 1:15 p.m. with Bubba Watson, Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia.
Three-time winner Phil Mickelson tees it up at 1:48 p.m. with Ernie Els and Justin Rose.
And in the final group, Harris English and Russell Henley, former teammates for four years at the University of Georgia, are grouped with Lee Westwood.
Check back for a complete list.
10 a.m.: Back to work
Tuesday’s patrons – Masters-speak for fans – got such a better deal than Monday’s. Out came the sun, down came the weather warning signs, and all was right in golfer’s Disney World again.
The customers with their prized $50 practice round tickets squish-squished their way up the hill to the first tee and dispersed to all corners of the property. While the course and the spectating areas played wet Tuesday, forecasters call for steady drying and mild temperatures all through the weekend.
It was a day to take the temperature of the big names in the field.
Now that Tiger Woods is a no-show, Phil Mickelson stands in as the player in the field with the most Masters titles (three). And he hasn’t been feeling too good either, having withdrawn from the Texas Valero Open two weeks ago with an injury more associated with Braves hitters, a strained oblique. But he was off early Tuesday on a practice round – with Rickie Fowler, Jason Dufner and Dustin Johnson. With an interview room appointment later in the day to discuss his current state.
We’ll also hear from many of the pre-tournament favorites: defending champion Adam Scott, FedEx Cup champion Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, U.S. Open champ Justin Rose, and young first-timer Jordan Spieth.
Check back for updates.
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