Rory McIlroy gets morning start to Masters title defence

Rory McIlroy testament set in motion his edgar lee masters rubric defence th alongside world No. 3 Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell.

McIlroy, bidding to become only ‌the fourth player to repeat as Masters champion, will go out in the 15th group at 10:31 a.m. ET, two groups behind Bryson DeChambeau, Matt ​Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele.

Top-ranked Scottie ​Scheffler, looking to hold three major titles at the same time following wins at last year's PGA ​Championship and British Open, will tee off in the ⁠day's penultimate group ⁠with Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and ‌2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland.

Former Masters champion Jon Rahm, one of 10 players from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit in the field at Augusta National this ⁠week, will set off at 1:08 p.m. In the company of Masters debutant Chris Gotterup and Sweden's Ludvig Aberg.

They will be followed ‌around the course by a trio consisting of five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, who is playing his first major since leaving LIV, 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose and ​Jordan Spieth.

Nick Taylor will be the first of three Canadians to open play Thursday at 9:31 a.m. With Keegan Bradley and Ryan Gerard.

Rory McIlroy wins the Masters, recap with Myles Dichter of Basement Golf

Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion from Brights Grove, Ont., starts at 11:27 a.m. Alongside Wyndham Clark and Mateo Pulcini.

At 12:44, Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., will tee it up with Harry Hall and Michael Brennan.

Masters debutant John Keefer will hit the first competitive shot of the week ⁠when he sets out at 7:40 a.m. ET alongside China's Li ⁠Haotong after honorary starters Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom ⁠Watson ⁠hit shots off the ​first tee.

The forecast for Thursday is for a low of 8 C and a high of 23 C with partly cloudy skies and breezy conditions.

McIlroy beat Rose in a playoff at last year's Masters to become the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam ⁠of golf's four majors.

The field is 91 players, keeping with another Masters tradition. Augusta National prefers fewer than 100 players in the field, and it's been that way dating to 1967.

Other than the blooms peaking a little early, not really. Players long have suspected tweaks here and there without saying so. All that's known is the front of the 17th tee was reduced by 12 yards and the tee marker was relocated to make the scorecard show 450 yards (up from 440 yards).

The most interesting of the 22 newcomers is Chris Gotterup. He's only the third player since World War II to win four times before he plays in his first Masters. Gotterup first qualified by winning the Scottish Open. He won the Sony Open and Phoenix Open earlier this year.

Three players from the top 20 in the world are making their debut — Ben Griffin, who played in his first Ryder Cup last September, and Riviera winner Jacob Bridgeman, who went to nearby Clemson.

Scheffler is the betting favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, which lists the world's No. 1 player at +550. He is followed by former Masters champion Jon Rahm (+1000), McIlroy and DeChambeau (+1200), and then Ludvig Aberg and Xander Schauffele (+1400).

​For three decades at the Masters, the roars that echoed loudest off the towering pines at Augusta National belonged to two men.

This week, for the first time since 1994, neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson will be there to summon them, and golf is quietly reckoning with what that means.

It is a jarring reality for fans who ‌have come to associate the year's first major not just with pristine fairways and Sunday drama, but with the electric crackle that follows those two names as they navigate their way around the course.

Woods, 50, is on an indefinite break from golf while seeking treatment following a recent car crash while Mickelson, 55, cited a family health matter ​for his decision to withdraw.

That means there will be two empty seats at ​the table when former Masters winners gather this week for the Champions Dinner in the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club.

"Obviously there's two that won't be with us this year, which is a shame, but hopefully ​they will be with us in the future, and I'm sure they will be with us in ⁠the future," defending champion Rory McIlroy ⁠told reporters.

Tommy Fleetwood said one of his most memorable preparations for this year's Masters was sharing Augusta National with his two oldest sons, an experience that underscored how much fatherhood now shapes his life ‌in golf.

The Englishman told reporters Tuesday that a recent visit to Augusta with Oscar and Mo offered a fresh reminder of the weight and wonder of the place.

"I don't want to say you forget, because ​I'm always aware of how special Augusta National ​is and what a privilege it is just to be playing here," he said.

"But watching the two boys, a 19 and a 17-year-old, ​be pretty emotional on the first tee, watching that firsthand gives ⁠you a bit ⁠of perspective of just how special it ‌is and how much I appreciate it. That was very cool and memories that we'll always have."

For Fleetwood, fatherhood has become central to how he sees both golf and ambition. He said his children are his ⁠biggest source of motivation, pushing him to be the best version of himself and to lead by example rather than force of personality.

The world No. 4, still chasing a Masters ‌breakthrough, said he tends to imagine achievements not as trophies but as moments, and these experiences always include his family. Sharing victories with them, he said, gives success its deepest meaning.

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