Tiger Woods is back at the masters, plus tons of other talented golfers.
Hello Friends. The first week of April is again upon us and that means all eyes in the golf world are on Augusta for The Masters. Jim Nantz and piano music accompany grass so green you think CBS/ESPN have doctored it.
And there is a Florida State angle here, too, as Florida State's Brooks Koepka makes his Masters debut and Jonas Blixt looks to contend. Koepka is a huge hitter, which is always a recipe for success at Augusta. But Koepka recently suffered a very painful rib injury. While he will play, he has not been right leading up to the event in his preparation and almost certainly won't be at his best. Blixt looks like he should play even better than normal. Blixt tees off at 8:51, Koepka at 1ish.
But oh all the players who do have a chance to win. From Bubba Watson, to Rory McElroy, to Adam Scott, Andel Cabrera, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, and heck, even Sergio.
And then there's the Tiger Woods thing. The former World No. 1 will be playing and everyone will be watching to see if he can make the cut.
We have coverage details below. It begins at 3, so get your stuff done at work and then get in here to discuss The Masters with your community of Florida State fans.
The following information on the TV coverage comes from Brendan Porath at SB Nation.
While the TV coverage is archaically limited, the Masters made admirable and industry-leading efforts over the years to improve their online offerings. This year they will have the usual four-stream setup on Masters.com, covering Nos. 11-13 at Amen Corner, the par-5 15 and par-3 16th, and two featured groups streams. That's the best way to watch golf in the morning each day. The Amen Corner stream is the first one that will go live, beginning at approximately 10:45 a.m. ET the first two rounds.
| Featured Group No. 1 Stream | |||
| Tee time | Players | ||
| 9:24 a.m. | Bubba Watson | Justin Rose | Gunn Yang |
| 12:09 p.m. | Zach Johnson | Jim Furyk | Ernie Els |
| 1:48 p.m. | Tiger Woods | Jamie Donaldson | Jimmy Walker |
| Featured Group No. 2 Stream | |||
| Tee time | Players | ||
| 9:35 a.m. | Adam Scott | Dustin Johnson | Antonio Murdaca |
| 12:20 p.m. | Angel Cabrera | Louis Oosthuizen | Matias Dominguez |
| 1:59 p.m. | Jason Day | Sergio Garcia | Rickie Fowler |
Thursday's first round coverage
Television:
3 - 7:30 p.m.: Live first round coverage - ESPN
8 - 11 p.m.: Replay of first round coverage - ESPN
Online:
3 - 7:30 p.m., 8-11 p.m.: Simulcast of TV coverage on WatchESPN
Available at Masters.com
10:45 a.m. - 6 p.m.: Amen Corner live stream
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Live Masters on the Range
11:45 a.m. - 7 p.m.: Nos. 15 and 16 live stream
12 p.m. - completion (~7:30 p.m.): Featured Group 1 and Featured Group 2 streams
Radio:
2 p.m. - completion: Masters Radio - Masters.com
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- Bubba Watson responds to his peers that dislike him
- Tiger passes the torch to Rory McIlroy in emotional Nike ad
- How the Masters is 'a tradition unlike any other'
- An analytical look at the top Masters chokes and 'clutch' rounds