As we inch closer to the 86th running of The Masters – a tradition like none other since 1934 (minus three dormant years of World War II) – here are the threesome pairings for Thursday from Augusta National:
THURSDAY TEE TIMES
8:30 a.m. – Andrew Landry, Adam Long, Corey Conners
8:41 a.m. – Ian Woosnam, Keith Mitchell, Kevin Tway
8:52 a.m. – Mike Weir, Shane Lowry, Kevin O'Connell
9:03 a.m. – Angel Cabrera, Aaron Wise, Justin Harding
9:14 a.m. – Danny Willett, Brandt Snedeker, Takumi Kanaya
9:25 a.m. – Fred Couples, Si Woo Kim, J.B. Holmes
9:36 a.m. – Branden Grace, Emiliano Grillo, Lucas Bjerregaard
9:47 a.m. – Charl Schwartzel, Charles Howell III, Eddie Pepperell
9:58 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Tony Finau, Henrik Stenson
10:09 a.m. – Adam Scott, Hidiki Matsuyama, Kyle Stanley
10:31 a.m. – Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Viktor Hovland
10:42 a.m. – Charley Hoffman, Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman
10:53 a.m. – Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland
11:04 a.m. – Tiger Woods, Haotong Li, Jon Rahm
11:15 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Smith
11:26 a.m. – Sandy Lyle, Michael Kim, Patton Kizzire
11:37 a.m. – Trevor Immelman, Martin Kaymer, Devon Bling
11:48 a.m. – Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Stewart Cink
11:59 a.m. – Jose Maria Olazabal, Kevin Na, Thorbjorn Olesen
12:10 p.m. – Bernhard Langer, Matt Wallace, Alvaro Ortiz
12:32 p.m. – Alex Noren, Keegan Bradley, Matthew Fitzpatrick
12:42 p.m. – Vijay Singh, Billy Horschel, Jovan Rebula
12:54 p.m. – Kevin Kisner, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Shugo Imahira
1:05 p.m. – Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar
1:16 p.m. – Francesco Molinari, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Tyrrell Hatton
1:27 p.m. – Bubba Watson, Patrick Cantlay, Satoshi Kodaira
1:38 p.m. – Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Day
1:49 p.m. – Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
2 p.m. – Jordan Spieth, Paul Casey, Brooks Koepka
RELATED
FOUR QUICK OBSERVATIONS
1. Covering the five pairings from 8:41 a.m. to 9:25 p.m., each threesome has at least one former Masters champion (Ian Woosnam, Mike Weir, Angel Cabrera, Danny Willett, Fred Couples).
2. The second wave of pairings with at least one former champion runs from 9:47 to 10:31 a.m. (Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Patrick Reed).
3. Tiger Woods (11:04 a.m.) and Rory McIlroy (11:15 a.m.) will be just one group apart for the day, essentially guaranteeing large crowds for all 18 holes.
4. The Masters officials often play the humility card, but they possess a flair for TV dramatics, as well.
Check it out: The star power for the final six pairings should make for great theater as the sun sets to the West.
In one final 55-minute flurry at the first hole, viewers will have great access to Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar (Georgia Tech alum), Francesco Molinari (last year's PGA champion), Bubba Watson (two-time Masters champ), Dustin Johnson (world's top-ranked golfer), Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson (three-time Masters champ), Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka (three major titles in the last two years) and Jordan Spieth, my personal pick to be wearing the famed green jacket on Sunday evening.
