The 86th edition of the Masters gets underway on Thursday morning from Augusta National Golf Club.

Hideki Matsuyama will return to the iconic Georgia golf course to defend his 2021 title, seeking to become the first back-to-back Masters winner since Tiger Woods (2001-02), who, by the way, will make his long-awaited return to big-league tour competition.

Woods will headline the day’s first marquee grouping which will also include South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann. They will go off at 10:34 a.m., local time.

In the next featured group, the 30-year old Matsuyama will be joined by world No. 7 Justin Thomas – the betting favorite, and amateur James Piot, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. The trio has a tee time of 10:45 a.m.

A third marquee group in the morning (10:56 a.m.) will include world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, alongside 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott, and Tony Finau.

The afternoon will feature four marquee groups, with ten of the 12 players all ranked inside the world top 20, including major-winning superstars Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm.

McIlroy will be seeking to complete the career grand slam, while Koepka and Morikawa could match Spieth with three legs to the slam (Koepka needs Masters and Open, while Morikawa needs Masters and U.S. Open).

The Skinny

The MASTERS
Dates: Apr. 7-10, 2022
PGA Tour Debut: 1934
PGA TOUR Week: 23 (of 43)
Course: Augusta National GC
Where: Augusta, GA
Distance: Par 72, 7435 yards
Architect: Alister McKenzie, Bobby Jones
Field: 91 (by invitation)
Format: Stroke, 72-holes
Cut: 36 holes
Purse: $11,500,000
Winning Share: $2,070,000
FedExCup Pts: 600
OWGR Pts: 100
2021 Champion: Hideki Matsuyama

Featured Groups

Round 1

1. Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann (10:34am)
2. Hideki Matsuyama, James Piot (a), Justin Thomas (10:45am)
3. Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, Tony Finau (10:56am)
4. Billy Horschel, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa (1:30pm)
5. Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Will Zalatoris (1:41pm)
6. Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland (1:52pm)
7. Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Matt Fitzpatrick (2:03pm)

Round 2

1. Billy Horschel, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa (10:34am)
2. Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Will Zalatoris (10:45am)
3. Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland (10:56am)
4. Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Matt Fitzpatrick (1:30pm)
5. Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann (1:41pm)
6. Hideki Matsuyama, James Piot (a), Justin Thomas (1:52pm)
7. Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, Tony Finau (2:03pm)

How to Follow The MASTERS

TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 3-7:30 p.m. (ESPN); Sat: 3-7 p.m. (CBS); Sun: 2-7 p.m. (CBS)

STREAMING: Thu-Fri: 8:30 a.m. (Masters.com), 8:45 a.m. (ESPN+); Sat-Sun: 10:15 a.m. (ESPN+), 11 a.m. (Masters.com)

RADIO: Thu-Sun: 2-7 p.m. (CBS Radio, Sirius 208, XM 92)
All times Eastern

LINKS: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | PGATour.com

The MASTERS: Tee Times