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Rory McIlroy will begin his pursuit of his fifth major and first for 11 years at the Masters - Mike Segar /REUTERS
The Masters is the first of the year’s four major golf tournaments, a fixture that emphasises that spring has indeed sprung in the northern hemisphere and the most picturesque of the sporting calendar’s perennials.
When does the Masters start?
This year’s tournament, the 89th staging, begins on Thursday, April 10, and concludes on Sunday, April 13.
The traditional par three contest will be held on Wednesday, April 9, the third practice day open to ‘patrons’ along with Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8.
The par three contest began in 1960 and traditionally features members of the players’ families caddying for them and sometimes being given the opportunity to play a shot. It was won last year by Rickie Fowler who would go on to prove the rule that no winner on the Wednesday has ever gone on to win the Green Jacket on Sunday.
How can I watch the Masters on TV?
In the UK, the Masters is broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports Golf and large parts of it will also be on the network’s flagship channel, Sky Sports Main Event. In the United States, CBS will continue to broadcast the tournament as it has done in an unbroken run starting in 1956.
Free-to-air coverage is on the Masters website, where viewers can watch every individual shot a few minutes after it happens.
Radio coverage of the tournament in the UK is on Talksport and Talksport 2.
The BBC deal to show highlights at the end of play of rounds three and four, having previously held exclusive live rights for decades, expired in 2023 and has not been renewed. Consequently Sky is the sole rights-holder.
Alternatively, you can also bookmark this page and return to follow the tournament on our live blog, with commentary and analysis from James Corrigan and Oliver Brown from Augusta National.
Where is the Masters held?
Unlike the US Open, PGA Championship and the Open, the Masters is the only one of the four majors that is held at the same course each year.
Augusta National Golf Club is in the north east of the city of Augusta and of Georgia, close to the state line with South Carolina. The Peach State institution is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world. Membership is by invitation only and restricted to about 300 members, among them Bill Gates, Peyton Manning and Rex Tillerson. The course is not open to the public and can be played only at the invitation of a member.
The club’s exclusivity used to extend to barring African Americans and women from membership, only admitting its first African American member, Ron Townsend, in 1990 and first women, Condoleeza Rice and Darla Moore, in 2012.
The course was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene last October which uprooted trees and left fairways gouged but round-the-clock work for six months has restored it to its usual glory.
Credit: EurekaEarthPlus/X
What is the Masters prize money?
This year’s total purse is expected to be $20 million (£15.5 million), the same as it was last year when it was raised from $18 million. The winner will receive $3,600,000 (£2.8 million), the runner-up $2,160,000 (£1.67 million), third place $1,360,000 (£1.05 million) with incrementally less prize money until the man in 50th who will take home $50,400 (£39,000)
The winner is also awarded a replica of the official trophy (which never leaves the club). The champion golfer also receives a gold medal and, most coveted of all, a green jacket.
There are also trophies for finishing second, being the leading amateur golfer, recording the lowest score of the day, making a hole in one, an eagle and an albatross.
How do players qualify for the Masters?
Officially players are invited to play in the Masters rather than qualify for it through an ‘open’ qualification process like those held for the US Open or the Open Championship.
But technically there are qualifying criteria, starting with being a past winner, 19 of whom are expected to play this year. Fifteen, who are entitled to play, including Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tom Watson, no longer accept the invitation. The top 12 players from the 2024 Masters also earn a place.
All top 50 players in the world rankings on January 1 are entitled to be in the field as well as all PGA Tour event winners in 2024, all players who finished in the top-four of the other three majors last year and any major winner from 2020 onwards.
Any player in the world’s top 50 the week before the Masters will also be invited. The Masters also reserves the right to invite wildcard players.
The rest of the field is made up of the winners of the amateur game’s most distinguished events, making up a total field of about 90 players which is significantly smaller than most tournaments.
At this year’s Masters Britain and Ireland’s invitees so far are Danny Willett, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwod, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose, Robert MacIntyre, Aaron Rai, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
Will LIV golfers be at the Masters?
Yes, but diminishing in number given their absence from most tournaments carrying world ranking points on the tours they left.
The LIV golfers who have received invitations to the 2025 Masters are Bryson DeChambeau (because he won the 2020 US Open), Cameron Smith (who won the 2023 Open Championship), Brooks Koepka (who won the PGA Championship in 2023), Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, Sergio García, Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson (who are all past Masters champions), Tyrrell Hatton (in the top 12 at last year’s Masters) and Joaquín Niemann (who, like last year, has received a special invitation).
Will Tiger Woods be playing?
No. It was revealed at the beginning of March that the five-time winner at Augusta had undergone surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon.
How do you get tickets for the Masters?
Tickets for this year’s tournament have sold out unless you are willing to pay StubHub prices, starting at around £1,400. Tickets at more reasonable prices for the 2026 Masters via the official route are open for application from June 1-20 this year. Tickets are allocated by ballot, with successful applicants notified in July, giving them nine months to plan their visit.
A ticket via that route for one of the three days of practice costs $100 (£77.00). A ticket for one of the tournament days is $140 (£108).
What is the Champions Dinner?
All surviving Masters champions who are able to attend sit down to dinner in their Green Jackets two nights before the tournament proper for the event officially known as the Masters Club Dinner.
The previous year’s winner chooses the food, and this year they will sit down to Scottie Scheffler’s second go at the menu incorporating most of the elements of his first dinner in 2023 after his first victory at Augusta National the year before.
Drawing on his Texan tastes, he is subjecting the guests to cheeseburger sliders and firecracker shrimps for starters, followed by a main course of rib-eye steak or blackened redfish and a warm chocolate chip skillet cookie with vanilla bean ice cream for pudding. He has added two new starters this year, Texas-style chilli, and, with a nod to the freak hand injury he sustained in January while using a broken glass as a pasta cutter, “Papa Scheff’s” meatball and ravioli bites.
The full list of Masters winners
What are the first-round tee times?
All times BST
12.40pm
Davis Riley, Patton Kizzire
12.51pm
Kevin Yu, Jhonattan Vegas
1.02pm
Mike Weir, Michael Kim, Cameron Young
1.13pm
Zach Johnson, Joe Highsmith, Chris Kirk
1.24pm
Danny Willett, Nicolas Echavarria, Davis Thompson
1.35pm
Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, Noah Kent (A)
1.52pm
Cameron Smith, JT Poston, Aaron Rai
2.03pm
Fred Couples, Harris English, Taylor Pendrith
2.14pm
Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Stephen Jaeger
2.25pm
Patrick Reed, Max Greyserman, Beyong Hun An
2.36pm
Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel, Nick Dunlap
2.47pm
Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee
2.58pm
Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
3.15pm
Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jose Luis Ballester (A)
3.26pm
Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton
3.37pm
Tony Finau, Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry
3.48pm
Cameron Davis, Rafael Campos, Austin Eckroat
3.59pm
Angel Cabrera, Laurie Canter, Adam Schenk
4.10pm
Jose Maria Olazabal, Thriston Lawrence, Brian Campbell
4.21pm
Bubba Watson, Mathieu Pavon, Evan Beck (A)
4.38pm
Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
4.49pm
Charl Schwartzel, Denny McCarthy, Hiroshi Tai (A)
5.00pm
Max Homa, Justin Rose, JJ Spaun
5.11pm
Dustin Johnson, Nick Taylor, Justin Hastings (A)
5.22pm
Sergio Garcia, Lucas Glover, Daniel Berger
5.33pm
Patrick Cantlay, Rasmus Hojgaard, Matt Fitzpatrick
5.50pm
Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley, Sungjae Im
6.01pm
Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland
6.12pm
Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Akshay Bhatia
6.23pm
Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry
6.34pm
Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood
6.45pm
Sahith Theegala, Sepp Straka, Sam Burns
Second round tee times
7.40am
Cameron Davis, Rafael Campos, Austin Eckroat
7.51am
Angel Cabrera, Laurie Canter, Adam Schenk
8.02am
Jose Maria Olazabal, Thriston Lawrence, Brian Campbell
8.13am
Bubba Watson, Mathieu Pavon, Evan Beck (A)
8.24am
Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
8.35am
Charl Schwartzel, Denny McCarthy, Hiroshi Tai (A)
8.52am
Max Homa, Justin Rose, JJ Spaun
9.03am
Dustin Johnson, Nick Taylor, Justin Hastings (A)
9.14am
Sergio Garcia, Lucas Glover, Daniel Berger
9.25am
Patrick Cantlay, Rasmus Hojgaard, Matt Fitzpatrick
9.36am
Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley, Sungjae Im
9.47am
Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland
9.58am
Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Akshay Bhatia
10.15am
Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry
10.26am
Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood
10.37am
Sahith Theegala, Sepp Straka, Sam Burns
10.48am
Davis Riley, Patton Kizzire
10.59am
Kevin Yu, Jhonattan Vegas
11.10am
Mike Weir, Michael Kim, Cameron Young
11.21am
Zach Johnson, Joe Highsmith, Chris Kirk
11.38am
Danny Willett, Nicolas Echavarria, Davis Thompson
11.49am
Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, Noah Kent (A)
Noon
Cameron Smith, JT Poston, Aaron Rai
12.11pm
Fred Couples, Harris English, Taylor Pendrith
12.22pm
Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Stephen Jaeger
12.33pm
Patrick Reed, Max Greyserman, Beyong Hun An
12.50pm
Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel, Nick Dunlap
1.01pm
Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee
1.12pm
Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
1.23pm
Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jose Luis Ballester (A)
1.34pm
Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton
1.45pm
Tony Finau, Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry
What are the latest odds?
- Scottie Scheffler 5/1
- Rory McIlroy 13/2
- Ludvig Aberg 14/1
- Jon Rahm 16/1
- Colin Morikawa 16/1
- Bryson DeChambeau 20/1
- Xander Schauffele 20/1
- Justin Thomas 25/1
- Hideki Matsuyama 28/1
- Joaquín Niemann 30/1
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