The best day on so many golfers’ calendars has been delayed 218 days from its traditional April date, but it’s finally here. This November Masters has a different feel to it—making it one of the most intriguing golf tournaments of our lifetime. The anticipation of what a fall version of the Masters ends Thursday as golfers compete in the 84th edition of the Masters Tournament.
There are a lot of firsts this week—the only time Augusta National will host this great tournament outside of April. It’s the first stroke-play major tournament contested in November since the 1889 Open Championship. And the players will be teeing off on split tees Thursday and Friday for the first time since 2005, trying to finish each day with the lack of daylight in the fall.
(Scroll down for the latest, minute-by-minute updates)
The players will likely be fighting to finish Thursday given forecasted thunderstorms in the morning and scattered storms in the afternoon. Though the weather has improved from earlier indications days ago, so perhaps we’ll get a little lucky. After all, golfers need this in 2020—the familiar sights and sounds of the Masters, albeit with no patrons and autumnal hues . . . it’s something we’re all looking forward to.
Lucas Glover, Corey Conners and C.T. Pan will tee off on No. 1 after Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player kick off things with the ceremonial first tee shots. And Sandy Lyle, Jimmy Walker and amateur Yuxin Lin will start their days off on the difficult 10th hole. Click here to see all the Thursday and Friday tee times.
7:19 a.m.: All three players in the opening group off No. 1 (Lucas Glover, Corey Conners and C.T. Pan) found the fairway with their tee shots, and they all walk away with pars on the opening hole.
The group off No. 10 had a bit of a tougher time. Jimmy Walker, Sandy Lyle and Yuxin Lin are all over-par after playing 10. We’ll see if that split-tee start continues to play tougher for the players off 10. It might be an easier tee shot with a wider fairway, but that approach to the 10th hole is TOUGH to start your day. Just ask Jimmy Walker, who found himself behind the green, somewhere where patrons would’ve normally been in years past, and he ended up with a bogey.
7:10 a.m.: The ceremonial first tee shots have been hit by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, and the 84th Masters is officially underway! Our dogged reporter Daniel Rapaport said Player striped his opening tee shot, while he couldn’t see Jack’s ball. It’s still a little dark—and misty at Augusta—so we’ll give Rapaport a pass. Here’s an early look at the first-tee ceremony.
7 a.m.: There’s a steady mist right now at Augusta National as legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial opening tee shots. The heavy stuff isn’t expected just yet, but possible later on. Here’s a not-so-pretty look at the current radar over Augusta, Ga.: