Masters

The spotlight is shining on Tiger Woods as this year's first major championship kicks off. Follow along for live coverage, leader board updates and analysis ...

In the wake of major blowback from fans and fellow professional players, Mickelson lost several sponsors and quickly issued a statement of regret, saying he “desperately” needed to step away from the game. He and contemporaries such as Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are among the characters that rivet golf fans’ eyeballs to televisions any time they’re in contention. But tee shots that find the deep sand leave a blind approach, meaning many have decided to steer well clear of the bunkers, resulting in a more difficult second shot from the fairway. “We’re still going to continue doing it, and hopefully we’ll have something soon.” Things started off poorly for Harry Higgs in his Masters debut after a wayward approach led to a bogey at the par-4 first hole. Dahmen spurred the wanton shirtlessness the day before, saying if a tweet of his got enough retweets, Higgs would take it off at No. 16 in the final round. But his approach landed well short of the hole and trickled off the green into the fairway, and he left himself with a 10-foot uphill par putt after his chip, which he made. He got out of trouble by laying up and chipped to within about a foot for par. Woods’s par-save attempt dribbled off to the right, and his bogey-six sent him back to even par. Woods nearly scored a birdie at the difficult par-4 fifth hole, when he stuck his approach within 10 feet. After bogeying his first hole, Niemann got it back with a birdie at the par-3 fourth. Smith, a pretournament favorite to win after top 10 finishes in three of his last four Masters appearances and two PGA Tour victories this season, put his opening tee shot into a deep fairway bunker and his third shot well over the hole, ending with a 6 after his bogey putt rimmed away.

The 11th and 15th have been changed to offer balance between risk and reward but the 13th remains toothless.

“I hope that he would feel that we continue to carry the tradition and values we thought were so important in the game.” The club have always caught between the old and the new, the desire to do right by the traditions, and to keep improving, too. “So that probably has been a counter to doing anything.” The club’s co-founder Bobby Jones loved that hole, which he said offers players “a tempting and dangerous” decision about whether to bend the tee-shot around the corner so they can reach the green in two. The players hit it so long off the tee they are left with a short iron into the green. They often tinker with the course, but these changes are a little more drastic than usual, the idea, as always, is to make sure it is still a course that offers the right balance between risk and reward.

Just 13½ months after a car crash left Woods with leg injuries so severe that doctors considered amputation, he is scheduled to tee off on Thursday morning ...

Friday and Saturday will feature cooler and blustery weather with lows in the 40s and afternoon highs in the upper 60s Friday, while struggling to reach 60 degrees on Saturday. Sunny skies each morning will give way to mostly cloudy skies during the afternoon. And 50-1 shots do win: Mine That Bird in the 2009 Kentucky Derby for one. He has not played on the PGA Tour for 17 months, and 14 months ago he severely injured his right leg in a car crash. There is also a “Track” tab on the website to follow the tournament. The Masters Tournament app is free to download and available on Apple and Android. Fans can follow golfers and create their own personalized leaderboards of their favorite players. After a cold start Sunday morning with lows in the 30s, temperatures rebound into the lower 70s for the afternoon under sunny skies and lighter winds. Woods is down in about 20th place, giving him an equal chance of winning as, say, the likes of Matthew Fitzpatrick and Corey Conners. If one of them wins instead, expect smaller headlines. He is 46, and age eventually limits even the greatest athletes. It allows fans to see all the shots by their favorite players through a player’s profile or through the “My Group” function. At the same time, plenty of golfers are much, much bigger prices than 50-1. “The pain is there, but he’s dealt with that before,” Couples said. Today, he and Justin were pretty serious.

After a brief delay following overnight storms, the 86th Masters is under way. Follow here for updates.

Day 1 Preview: Tiger Woods Ready to Return to Spotlight AUGUSTA, Ga. -- News and updates from Round 1 at the Masters, times ET. Day 1 Masters Updates: Follow Tiger Woods at Augusta, More News and Notes

Come through the 11, 12th and 13th holes at Augusta National unscathed and you could be well set, but come a cropper and you can slip down the leaderboard fast.

Coverage is also available on Sky Sports Golf (Sky channel 405) via the red button. It is called Azalea with approximately 1,600 azaleas decorating the hole from tee to green. Hole No 11, a par four called White Dogwood, has been extended by 15 yards this year.

A slow start in the first round at Augusta National brought the Californian to a full boil.

However, after breaking his club on the 4th hole Thursday, he saved par from the bunker. The former Oklahoma State star got off to a double bogey-bogey-bogey start. Then after his tee shot at the par-3 4th came up short in the bunker, he took out his frustration on his iron.

The two-time winner at Augusta relished his first chance on Thursday to tee it up alongside fellow legends he lovingly called 'two old goats.'

“Not like these guys, but I had a pretty good career. “Life is a process,” Watson said. “I've seen several in the middle with Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen.

Birdie helps Woods make the turn with an even-par 36, leaving him three strokes behind early leader Joaquin Niemann.

“And a challenge that I’m up for.” His career was in jeopardy after the car wreck left him confined to a hospital bed for three months. The biggest question is how Woods holds up over 18 holes for four straight days. I don’t have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint,” Woods said Tuesday. “Walking is the hard part. But he bounced back with a tricky downhiller from 8 feet to save par at No. 9. “I can hit it just fine.

Check out full 2022 Masters tee times for Round 2 at Augusta National on Friday, featuring Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and more.

Looking to make a (legal!) wager yourself? 10:56 a.m. – Jose Maria Olazabal, J. J. Spaun 11:51 a.m. – Vijay Singh, Ryan Palmer, Kyoung-Hoon Lee 10:23 a.m. – Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm 9:06 a.m. – Patrick Reed, Seamus Power, Lucas Herbert 8:55 a.m. – Lee Westwood, Russell Henley, Corey Conners 8:22 a.m. – Bernhard Langer, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Cameron Davis 8:00 a.m. – Sandy Lyle, Stewart Hagestad If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. 8:11 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Erik van Rooyen, Cameron Champ Woods will switch to an afternoon tee time for Round 2. Pricing may vary.

14 months after almost losing a leg, he takes a shot at a sixth US Masters title.

Approach to 20 feet. No. 17, 440 yards, par 4: Driver to second cut on right side. Approach to 25 feet, below and left of hole. No. 13, 510 yards, par 5: Drive to centre of fairway. No. 11, 520 yards, par 4: Driver to middle of fairway. Approach to front of green, rolled back to fairway. Approach to front of green, rolled back to fairway. Pitch to short of green. No. 7, 450 yards, par 4: Fairway metal to pine straw past the right side of fairway. Approach to 15 feet. No. 5, 495 yards, par 4: Driver to fairway. Approach to front of green, rolling just back onto the fairway.

AUGUSTA, Ga.—Whatever physical ailment that has been plaguing Paul Casey of late apparently hasn't gone away, and on Thursday he withdrew from the Masters ...

He led after the first round in 2020 with a 65 only to end up T-38. The Englishman was T-26 last year. It was the last event Casey completed and he ended up third. Casey, 44, was scheduled to go off at 10:53 a.m. with Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, who won the Players Championship last month.

Longtime honorary starters Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were joined this year by Tom Watson as they strolled through a gathering of Augusta National members, ...

What matters is after a patron-less Masters in the fall of 2020 and a limited gallery last spring, the first tee was surrounded once again to honor this tradition unlike any other. The men, with 11 Masters wins between them, did their duty—first Player, followed by Nicklaus and then Watson—striking their shots to begin the 2022 tournament in earnest. Other players who have been Honorary Starters include Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen, Ken Venturi, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus, Player and Lee Elder. Watson is the latest to join these ranks, named as an honorary starter this past January.

Honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and newcomer Tom Watson struck ceremonial tee shots Thursday to signal the start of the 86th Masters golf ...

The late Arnold Palmer had joined Nicklaus and Player for many years in the starters' role and last year, the late Lee Elder -- the first black golfer to compete in the Masters -- was among the ceremonial starters. They met for a group hug and took photos after their work was done. Spectators crowded around the first tee for a glimpse of the former Masters champions.

No 5, 495 yards, par 4: Driver to fairway. Approach to 15 feet. Birdie putt lipped out. Tap-in. Par. Score: Even. Status: tied for 7th.

Chip to 6 feet. Approach to 20 feet. No 17, 440 yards, par 4: Driver to second cut on right side. No 13, 510 yards, par 5: Drive to centre of fairway. No 11, 520 yards, par 4: Driver to middle of fairway. Approach to front of green, rolled back to fairway. Approach to front of green, rolled back to fairway. Pitch to short of green. No 7, 450 yards, par 4: Fairway metal to pine straw past the right side of fairway. Approach to 15 feet. No 5, 495 yards, par 4: Driver to fairway. Approach to front of green, rolling just back onto the fairway.

Anthony Kim hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the 2009 Masters. Getty Images. If the Masters is about anything, it's about history.

Nicklaus played the final round of the Masters 37 times. It was in the final round, with a 3-iron from 222 yards. Yet still it seems we are drawn to records at the Masters more than any other tournament in golf. The next closest competitors in this category are Raymond Floyd, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Angel Cabrera and Mickelson, all stuck at three, so Tiger’s probably holding onto this one for a while. Phil Mickelson is the next closest at 18, yet still several good Masters finishes away from matching. Playing the same course makes it feel as though, once a year, time stands still and we can watch the current greats compete against the scores of past champions (as well as that year’s field).

There was little to indicate that Woods nearly lost his right leg 14 months ago in a devastating car wreck.

Woods' career was in jeopardy after the car wreck left him confined to a hospital bed for three months. “A loss of concentration there,” he moaned. A sloppy bogey at the par-5 eighth brought some groans, but Woods' brilliant short game kept him from posting one of those big numbers that can spell doom at Augusta. Yep, there's still a long way to go. His lone tournament in the 508 days since he last competed was a just-for-fun event in December in which he rode in a cart and was paired with his 13-year-old son, Charlie. Woods was out of the public eye until last November, when he posted a video of him swinging a club with a simple message, “Making progress.” “I felt good,” Woods said. Woods failed to make solid contact with his first shot: a 264-yard drive that faded behind a bunker on the right side of the fairway. His approach rolled off the front of the green, but he sank a 10-foot putt to save par, bringing another huge roar from the patrons. The ball climbed up a ridge on the green and stopped 2 feet short of the flag, leaving Woods with a gimme that put him in red numbers for the first time. He was just three strokes off the lead - with roughly half the field still on the course - after making three birdies, a pair of bogeys and a whole lot of solid pars — many of them salvaged by his deft touch around the greens. He walked among the azaleas with just the slightest hint of a limp.

AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB, AUGUSTA GEORGIA | Moments in life often turn into memories. And we hope that moments in our imagination one day become reality.

After a few minutes of stressful shopping, I walked out of the golf shop to see patrons marching in the wrong direction. One of the guys was a teacher from Texas that won the lottery in 2019. If she is a student of the game, she may find herself back at the sacred grounds as a competitor. On 16, I watched players stuff it next to the pin and skip it across the pond. When I arrived onsite, Aimee and I started our speed walking to see as much of the plush land as possible. On Tuesday, the weather forecast was something storm chasers dream of, but to Masters attendees was a nightmare. She quickly hit me with, “Do you want to go to Augusta?” It was a “yes” that came off almost as natural, excited and doubtless as the one I’d said to my fiancé when he asked me to marry him a few months back. For the duration of the week, green was a constant in my outfits on and off the golf course. As a lover of the game of golf, it’s a week in April I’d look forward to every year. In the spirit of a “Tradition Unlike Any Other,” I created a few of my own. When those two intersect, and we live out the moments we had only imagined before, it becomes a highlight in the movie of our lives – one of the many short films we will play over and over in our minds for as long as we live. In middle school, I’d sit in class with my phone perched on my backpack with hopes that my teacher wouldn’t see the pink azaleas reflecting in my eyes.

He couldn't quite bend over to read the putts on Augusta National's tricky greens. Otherwise, there was nothing to indicate that Tiger Woods nearly lost his ...

Woods' career was in jeopardy after the car wreck left him confined to a hospital bed for three months. “A loss of concentration there,” he moaned. A sloppy bogey at the par-5 eighth brought some groans, but Woods' brilliant short game kept him from posting one of those big numbers that can spell doom at Augusta. Yep, there's still a long way to go. Woods failed to make solid contact with his first shot: a 264-yard drive that faded behind a bunker on the right side of the fairway. “I felt good,” Woods said.

Tiger Woods has defied the odds to post an under-par opening round to begin his quest for a sixth US Masters title and complete an incredible sporting ...

Chip to 6 feet. No. 17, 440 yards, par 4: Driver to second cut on right side. No. 13, 510 yards, par 5: Drive to centre of fairway. No. 11, 520 yards, par 4: Driver to middle of fairway. Approach to front of green, rolled back to fairway. Approach to front of green, rolled back to fairway. Pitch to short of green. No. 7, 450 yards, par 4: Fairway metal to pine straw past the right side of fairway. No. 5, 495 yards, par 4: Driver to fairway. Approach to front of green, rolling just back onto the fairway. "You just can't not watch him," said Australia's Cameron Smith, among those tied for the lead after shooting a 68. Woods' career was in jeopardy after the car wreck left him confined to a hospital bed for three months.

Cameron Smith's fine round of 68 started and finished with double bogeys while Danny Willett opened with 69 and Tiger Woods with 71.

His 69 was matched by Danny Willett, who is looking to end a dismal Augusta run since donning the Green Jacket in 2016. Scheffler also came unstuck at the last but only by way of a bogey. No chance; birdies at the 13th and 16th – he converted from 29ft there – contributed to a day’s work under par. He cut a frustrated figure after a wasteful dropped shot at par five eighth and was again agitated following a pulled drive at the tricky 9th. He played perfectly controlled golf for six holes – at which point he was one under – before a wayward tee shot at the 7th. Cameron Smith, seeking to become the only player other than Woods to claim the Players Championship and Masters in the same year, again proved his Augusta specialism.

In his first competitive round of golf in 508 days, Woods mixed three birdies with two bogeys at Augusta National to sit three behind clubhouse leader ...

Sure, he could have posted a number for the rest of the field to catch. He planned to work out any lingering angst by spending 30 minutes on a stationary bike back at the house he’s renting. He’ll be in there with a good chance to win.” You need to hit your irons close, and you need to be really good with the putter.” His iron on the par-three sixth landed a foot from the hole. Besides, he has grown comfortable among the Georgia pines, never missing a cut in five starts and putting together a runner-up finish to Dustin Johnson in 2020. A chip-in from off the green on the par-four fifth provided a welcome jolt. He doesn’t have to excel at either thanks to a world-class short game, the kind that lends itself to getting a green jacket draped over your shoulders on Sunday afternoon. Smith is well aware he could have gone even lower save for a pair of wayward approach shots at the first and the last. The 28-year-old Australian’s opening round at the Masters started and ended with double bogeys. Smith’s game is an anachronism of sorts, one brought into stark contrast while playing alongside Bryson DeChambeau, who never met a driver he didn’t like to mash. There was plenty of time to stew if Smith wanted.

Masters LIVE: Tiger claims he can equal Nicklaus' record; Aussie's bold 43-year call.

2:35 a.m. - Bubba Watson, Tom Hoge, Keita Nakajima (a) 1:18 a.m. - Sandy Lyle, Stewart Hagestad (a) 1:51 a.m. - Charl Schwartzel, Robert MacIntyre, Laird Shepherd (a) 12:45 a.m. - Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, James Piot (a) 2012: Bubba Watson (USA) 2014: Bubba Watson (USA) I actually want to go there and play well and have a chance to contend. 2015: Jordan Spieth (USA) 2018: Patrick Reed (USA) “I’m not just there to accept my green envelope and say that I’ve played. 2019: Tiger Woods (USA) 2020: Dustin Johnson (USA)

The only man to shoot all four rounds in the 60s at Augusta National was at it again Thursday with a 68 — and he had a prime seat for the day's main ...

The Masters groups players in threesomes the first two rounds, but Smith and Bryson DeChambeau played in a twosome after their third, Paul Casey, withdrew due to back issues. Augusta saw torrential downpours for most of the day Tuesday, off and on Wednesday and Thursday morning, but Smith called course conditions “amazing” despite the soaking. The Smith-DeChambeau twosome played quick enough that they found themselves waiting for the threesome ahead to clear. In between, it was pure bliss: pinpoint accurate iron shots (he hit 14 of 16 greens in regulation), phenomenal drives (10 of 12 in the fairway) and even a chip-in on the par-4 fifth — his first birdie of the day and one that triggered quite a run. Smith only felt its bite on No. 1 and 18, where errant tee shots resulted in the pair of doubles. By noon Thursday, the skies cleared, the sun shined and the wind was whipping. And so, as most do when in the presence of Tiger Woods, Smith dropped what he was doing — which was playing a great round of golf at, ahem, the Masters — to admire the 46-year-old, 15-time major champion. Business in the front, party in the back, some might say. In fact, after Thursday’s round and despite hiking some 11,000 steps across Augusta National, Smith planned to return home for a 30-minute ride on a stationary bike. Smith did it all while one group in front of the main attraction. But on this day, Mullet Man bested Big Cat. Smith continues what’s been a sizzling start to his 2022 season. The 28-year-old, mullet-wearing Australian carded a 6 on each of the par-4 first and 18th holes.