Golf: Expected thunderstorms delay start of 2024 Masters Tournament
April 11 (UPI) -- Expected thunderstorms pushed back the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament by at least two-and-a-half hours, tournament officials announced Thursday morning.
The first major of the season was set to tee off at 8 a.m. EDT at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The round is now scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on the first tee.
Fans will be allowed on site at 9:30 a.m., while the honorary starters ceremony will be held at 10:10 a.m. World No. 52 Jake Knapp and No. 63 Erik van Rooyen will be the first active competitors to tee off, as part of Group 1.
No. 12 Hideki Matusyama, No. 28 Justin Thomas and No. 31 Will Zalatoris are expected to start the first round at 12:48 a.m., about 12 minutes after Group 1. No. 3 Jon Rahm -- the defending champion -- No. 10 Matt Fitzpatrick and No. 70 Nick Dunlap will start 12 minutes later.
The first round will begin at 10:30 a.m. off the No. 1 tee. Updated tee times are available below.
The Honorary Starters Ceremony will begin at 10:10 a.m.
Patron gates will open at 9:30 a.m. #themasters— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
No. 1 Scottie Scheffler -- the tournament favorite -- No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 5 Xander Schauffele will tee off in the next group at 1:12 p.m. No. 6 Viktor Hovland, No. 4 Wyndham Clark and No. 68 Cameron Smith will tee off at 1:24 p.m.
No. 959 Tiger Woods, No. 11 Max Homa and No. 21 Jason Day will tee off at 3:54 p.m. No. 33 Brooks Koepka, No. 8 Brian Harman and No. 23 Tom Kim will start the next group at 4:06 p.m. No. 18 Jordan Spieth, No. 9 Ludvig Aberg and No. 15 Sahith Theegala will start 12 minutes later.
No. 13 Tommy Fleetwood and No. 20 Collin Morikawa and No. 336 Dustin Johnson will tee off in the final group at 4:30 p.m.
The 89-player field includes 18 former Masters champions. Rahm, McIlroy, Schauffele, Koepka, Matsuyama and Spieth join Scheffler as the top expected contenders for the green jacket.
The first two rounds of the Masters will air Thursday and Friday on ESPN. The final two rounds will air Saturday and Sunday on CBS. Streaming coverage of the Masters will be available on Masters.com, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app.
No rain is in the forecast from Friday through Sunday in Augusta.
