Masters Start Delayed: How To Watch And Who To Follow (Not ...

20 days ago

Forbes

Topline

The Masters, golf’s most celebrated tournament, will tee off Thursday, albeit a few hours later than expected, with plenty of major storylines to follow in 2024’s first major, such as the 48-year-old Tiger Woods staging his longshot bid to capture a record sixth title and ongoing drama between the sport’s fractured leadership amid the power struggle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Always a big draw, Tiger Woods is far from the favorite at this year's Masters.

Getty Images Key Facts

The Masters announced Thursday its start time will be 2.5 hours later than expected due to rain, with the first official shot from the first hole slated for 10:30 a.m. EDT.

That will push back the scheduled start times for all golfers by several hours, with first-round action likely pushing into Friday as golfers at or close to the final tee time of 4:30 p.m. are highly unlikely to finish 18 holes before the sun sets over Augusta National golf club at about 8 p.m.

Among the most notable Thursday tee times are six-time major winner Phil Mickelson at 12:06 p.m., 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama at 12:48 p.m., reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm at 1 p.m., the world’s two top-ranked golfers Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy at 1:12 p.m, Woods at 3:54 p.m. and last year’s runner-up Brooks Koepka at 4:06 p.m. (full list here).

The traditional Masters television broadcast will be on ESPN from 3-7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and CBS from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday and 2-7 p.m. on Sunday, while the Masters’ website and mobile app will feature free streams of alternative broadcasts, such as ones following featured golfers, all tournament long.

Key Background

The first of men’s golf’s four major tournaments, the Masters is beloved by many for its quaint nature, evidenced by its old-time concession menu, ban on spectator phones and limited commercials. Woods, the richest and perhaps most celebrated golfer ever, said this week he believes he can compete for one more Masters win despite a host of health issues, hoping to become the oldest Masters winner in history. As has been the case for majors over the last two years, the Masters is clouded by off-the-course drama involving men’s golf’s two major organizing bodies, the incumbent PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf outfit. Rahm is the most recent notable defector to LIV, inking a reported $300 million-plus deal with the tour eight months after his Masters win, joining the likes of 2023 Masters runners-up Mickelson and Koepka and 2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson. Majors are the only tournaments where LIV and PGA Tour golfers share the course, as the PGA Tour banned LIV Golf defectors from playing in its regular events, and a planned merger between the two organizations—a controversial agreement—has yet to come to fruition.

Big Number

$1.50. That’s how much the Masters’ famous egg salad and pimento sandwiches will go for at Augusta National this week. Johnson, who was the world’s highest-paid golfer last year at $111 million, could buy some 74 million pimento sandwiches based on his gross pay.

Who Is Favored To Win?

Scheffler, the 2022 Masters winner and winner of five PGA Tour events over the last 14 months, is by far the betting favorite to don the green jacket come Sunday at +400, according to FanDuel Sportsbook odds, giving him implied probability to win of 20%. McIlroy is the next most-likely winner according to betting markets at +1000 (10% implied odds to win), and other favorites include Rahm at +1100 (8% implied odds to win) and Koepka at +1800 (5% implied odds). The veteran fan favorites Woods and Mickelson are longshots given below 1% implied odds at +15000 and +30000, respectively.