The turn of the calendar from March to April means the Masters Tournament is just hours away. The first of four major tournaments in professional golf this year kick off at Augusta National Golf Club this week in Augusta, Georgia.
Golf’s biggest stars, past or present, are here as it will be a tournament unlike any other. One of the new changes to this year’s course is the addition of a new tee box on the par-5 13th hole, which extends the hole by 35 yards to approximately 600 yards.
This hole, to conclude Amen Corner, is going to challenge players to hit a good tee shot and make them decide to lay up or go for the green in two with water separating the fairway and the green.
Related: Ranking all 18 holes at the Masters from easiest to hardest
Some of things that are the same to keep the rich tradition of the Masters is that each hole is named in honor of a flower. For example, the opening hole is named Tea Olive for Osmanthus fragrans, a native flower to Southern Asia that belongs to the Olive family.
In addition, more traditions continue with selected former Masters Champions as the honorary starters to signify the beginning of the tournament before the first group tees off on Thursday. The honorary starters are Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, who have won a combined 11 green jackets.
Every golfer in the field had to qualify in some way to participate such as winning a previous Masters Tournament, finishing inside the top 12 from the previous year to having success in another major tournament (i.e. U.S. Open, Open Championship, or PGA Championship).
Related: What makes each of the four major golf tournaments unique?
What channel is the Masters Tournament on?
The Masters Tournament will be televised between ESPN and CBS.
Television schedule for the Masters Tournament (major networks)
| Round | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
| 1 | Thursday, April 6 | 3 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| 2 | Friday, April 7 | 3 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| 3 | Saturday, April 8 | 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. | CBS |
| 4 | Sunday, April 9 | 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. | CBS |
Other coverage for the Masters Tournament
In addition to ESPN and CBS, the Golf Channel will also have its coverage, “Live From the Masters”, from the first practice days early in the week to championship Sunday, following the Green Jacket celebration.
Sirius XM will broadcast The Masters Tournament on each of the four tournament days from 2-7 p.m. ET.
The official Masters.com website will also have coverage from the featured groups to the featured holes and the green jacket ceremony to keep you up to date.
(All times are ET, unless noted otherwise.)
Round 1: Thursday, April 6
Honorary Starters: 8:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Holes 4, 5 & 6: 8:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Featured Groups: 9:15 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Amen Corner: 10:45 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Holes 15 & 16 11:45 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Round 2: Friday, April 7
Holes 4, 5 & 6: 8:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Featured Groups: 9:15 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Amen Corner: 10:45 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Holes 15 & 16: 11:45 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Round 3: Saturday, April 8
Featured Groups: 10:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Holes 4, 5 & 6: 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Amen Corner: 11:45 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Holes 15 & 16: 12:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Round 4: Sunday, April 9
Featured Groups: 10:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Holes 4, 5 & 6: 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Amen Corner: 11:45 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Holes 15 & 16: 12:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Green Jacket Ceremony: 7 p.m.
How much are tickets for the Masters Tournament?
Tickets to walk the grounds for the Masters Tournament are sold out. Tickets are not available on the secondary market.
Masters Tournament tickets are a hot commodity, and the Masters website shows how people can get their tickets for next year.
Payout for the 2023 Masters Tournament
The total purse for the event is $18 million, with the winner claiming $3.24 million. (Note: The Masters unveiled its $18 million purse and prize winnings Saturday)
Who are some of the top golfers in the Masters Tournament?
All of the sport’s best players will participate in the event, highlighted by 15-time major winner and 5-time Masters champion Tiger Woods. This is Woods’ first tournament since competing in his event, The Genesis Invitational, in January.
In addition, a total of 18 players from LIV Golf are also competing this week. This will be the first tournament in the U.S. that will feature players from both LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and John Rahm on the PGA Tour side and Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson from LIV.
Last year, Scheffler won his first green jacket and his fourth victory in six starts that vaulted him to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler is trying to become the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters as Woods most recently won two straight in 2001 and 2002.
Also in attendance this week are players looking to capture their first major championship in Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris. Other past major champions competing this week include a couple of two-time winners in Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa.
| Official World Golf Ranking | PGA Tour FedEx Cup Standings |
| 1. Scottie Scheffler | 1. Jon Rahm |
| 2. Rory McIlroy | 2. Max Homa |
| 3. Jon Rahm | 3. Scottie Scheffler |
| 4. Patrick Cantlay | 4. Keegan Bradley |
| 5. Max Homa | 5. Kurt Kitayama |
| 6. Cameron Smith | 6. Rory McIlroy |
| 7. Xander Schauffele | 7. Chris Kirk |
| 8. Will Zalatoris | 8. Seamus Power |
| 9. Viktor Hovland | 9. Sam Burns |
| 10. Justin Thomas | 10. Tony Finau |
Also read: Who has won the most majors of all time?
5 players who can hoist the Masters Tournament trophy on Sunday
Will Zalatoris
Zalatoris has been a major standout early in his professional career. Although he has yet to win, Zalatoris has six top 10s in nine total major appearances (8 pro starts). In addition, the 26-year-old finished tied for sixth and second in his two previous Masters starts.
Having back surgery to repair two herniated discs during the fall and playing seven events since January has prepared him for the Masters, a place where you want everything to be clicking. Zalatoris’ best moment so far this year was a fourth-place finish at the Genesis Invitational in January.
Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay, who has been one the stars in the game, highlighted by winning the 2021 FedEx Cup, is looking to win his first green jacket this week. Cantlay’s best Masters finish came back in 2019 when he tied for ninth.
One of the keys that favor Cantlay is that he leads the PGA Tour in both par 4 and par 5 scoring. Augusta National is place for players to attack the par 5s with it being the easier holes on the course. In addition, with some of the challenging par 4s Cantlay will encounter this week, the way he has played par 4s this season will have him contending this weekend.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is trying to become the sport’s first Grand Slam Winner since Woods accomplished the feat more than two decades ago. He also is searching for his first major win since the PGA Championship in 2014.
As much as the wind is a factor for McIlroy and the field, other weather elements will come into play as rain will hit the area all week long. As of Tuesday, the chance for no precipitation is on Thursday. For McIlroy, if he wants to complete the career grand slam, he will have to grind it out through all of the elements.
Justin Thomas
Thomas, who won last year’s PGA Championship, comes into the Masters after a couple of top 10 finishes the past two years at Augusta. Although Thomas shot an opening round 4-over 76 and recorded even par 72 on Saturday and Sunday last year, he still wound up fourth among the field in birdies that kept him in contention.
Thomas has the experience around the property, but the goal for him will be to execute shots and take strokes off the board.
Brooks Koepka
The LIV Golf player with the best chance is Koepka, who is coming off of an individual victory at the most recent event in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday. Koepka shot 15-under par last week to become the first player in LIV Golf with multiple victories.
Having that momentum will be key for Koepka on tough Augusta National course, both physically and mentally.
Masters Tournament pairings
Round 1 tee times (all times ET)
7:40 a.m. – Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson (Honorary Starters)
8:00 a.m. – Mike Weir, Kevin Na
8:12 a.m. – Vijay Singh, Scott Stallings, Matthew McClean
8:24 a.m. – Sandy Lyle, Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch
8:36 a.m. – Fred Couples, Russell Henley, Alex Noren
8:48 a.m. – Adrian Meronk, Kevin Kisner, Louis Oosthuizen
9:00 a.m. – Larry Mize, Min Woo Lee, Harrison Crowe
9:12 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Kazuki Higa, Keith Mitchell
9:24 a.m. – Patrick Reed, Adam Svensson, Sahith Theegala
9:36 a.m. – Shane Lowry, Mackenzie Hughes, Thomas Pieters
9:48 a.m. – Bubba Watson, Seamus Power, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira
10:06 a.m. – Abraham Ancer, Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley
10:18 a.m. – Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele (Featured Group)
10:30 a.m. – Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Kurt Kitayama
10:42 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young (Featured Group)
10:54 a.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Sungjae Im
11:06 a.m. – Jose Maria Olazabal, Cameron Champ
11:18 a.m. – Charl Schwartzel, Taylor Moore Aldrich Potgeiter
11:30 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau
11:42 a.m. – Bernhard Langer, Mito Pereira, Ben Carr
11:54 a.m. – Danny Willettt, Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka
12:12 p.m. – Sepp Straka, Harold Varner III, Kyoung-Hoon Lee
12:24 p.m. – Phil Mickelson, Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim
12:36 p.m. – Billy Horschel, Harris English, Ryan Fox
12:48 p.m. – Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Gordon Sargent
1:00 p.m. – Brian Harman, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton
1:12 p.m. – Dustin Johnson, Corey Conners, Justin Rose
1:24 p.m. – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris
1:36 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Sam Bennett (Featured Group)
1:48 p.m. – Tom Kim, Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns
2:00 p.m. – Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau (Featured Group)
Round 2 tee times (all times ET)
(Due to rain, tee times have been moved up 30 minutes.)
7:30 a.m. – Jose Maria Olazabal, Cameron Champ
7:42 a.m. – Charl Schwartzel, Taylor Moore, Aldrich Potgieter
7:54 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau
8:06 a.m. – Bernhard Langer, Mito Pereira, Ben Carr
8:18 a.m. – Danny Willett, Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka (Featured Group)
8:30 a.m. – Sepp Straka, Harold Varner III, Kyoung-Hoon Lee
8:42 a.m. – Phil Mickelson, Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim
8:54 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Harris English, Ryan Fox
9:06 a.m. – Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Gordon Sargent
9:18 a.m. – Brian Harman, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton
9:36 a.m. – Dustin Johnson, Corey Conners, Justin Rose (Featured Group)
9:48 a.m. – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa
10:00 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Sam Bennett (Featured Group)
10:12 a.m. – Tom Kim, Rory McIlory, Sam Burns
10:24 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau
10:36 a.m. – Mike Weir
10:48 a.m. – Vijay Singh, Scott Stallings, Matthew McClean
11:00 a.m. – Sandy Lyle, Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch
11:12 a.m. – Fred Couples, Russell Henley, Alex Noren
11:24 a.m. – Adrian Meronk, Kevin Kisner, Louis Oosthuizen
11:42 a.m. – Larry Mize, Min Woo Lee, Harrison Crowe
11:54 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Kazuki Higa, Keith Mitchell
12:06 p.m. – Patrick Reed, Adam Svensson, Sahith Theegala
12:18 p.m. – Shane Lowry, Mackenzie Hughes, Thomas Pieters
12:30 p.m. – Bubba Watson, Seamus Power, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira
12:42 p.m. – Abraham Ancer, Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley
12:54 p.m. – Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele (Featured Group)
1:06 p.m. – Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Kurt Kitayama
1:18 p.m. – Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young (Featured Group)
1:30 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Sungjae Im