When is it on?
The first men’s major of the year, the 2023, will begin at Augusta National, Georgia on Thursday, April 6th (Thursday afternoon Irish time). Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson, winners of 11 Masters between them, will launch the tournament as per tradition as honorary starters. The tournament will run until Sunday, April 9th (Sunday night in Ireland).
How can I follow it all?
The Masters is being broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports and NowTV all week. Feature group coverage will begin at 2pm on Thursday, with full coverage from 7.30pm. The Masters is no longer on BBC television at all, after the broadcaster cut ties with Augusta after 56 years of coverage in some form. One of the best ways to follow the Masters is to download the Masters app, where every single shot of the tournament can be watched on your phone.
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What are the tee-times?
Full tee times Thursday/Friday (Irish time, American unless stated)
12.40am Gary Player (honorary starter) Jack Nicklaus (honorary starter) Tom Watson (honorary starter)
1pm/4.06pm Mike Weir (Canada), Kevin Na
1.12pm/4.18pm Vijay Singh (Fiji), Scott Stallings, *Matthew McClean (Ireland)
1.24pm/4.30pm Sandy Lyle (Scotland), Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch
1.36pm/4.42pm Fred Couples, Russell Henley, Alex Noren (Sweden)
1.48pm/4.54pm Adrian Meronk (Poland), Kevin Kisner, Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa)
2pm/5.12pm Larry Mize, Min Woo Lee (Australia), *Harrison Crowe (Australia)
2.12pm/5.24pm Sergio Garcia (Spain), Kazuki Higa (Japan), Keith Mitchell
2.24pm/5.36pm Patrick Reed, Adam Svensson (Canada), Sahith Theegala
2.36pm/5.48pm Shane Lowry (Ireland), Mackenzie Hughes (Canada), Thomas Pieters (Belgium)
2.48pm/6pm Bubba Watson, Seamus Power (Ireland), *Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (Argentina)
3.06pm./6.12pm Abraham Ancer (Mexico), Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley
3.18pm/6.24pm Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland (Norway), Xander Schauffele
3.30pm/6.36pm Adam Scott (Australia), Patrick Cantlay, Kurt Kitayama
3.42pm/6.48pm Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm (Spain), Cameron Young
3.54pm/7pm Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Cameron Smith (Australia), Sungjae Im (Korea)
4.06pm/1pm Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), Cameron Champ
4.18pm/1.12pm Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Taylor Moore, *Aldrich Potgieter (South Africa)
4.30pm/1.24pm J. T. Poston, Francesco Molinari (Italy), Bryson DeChambeau
4.42pm/1.36pm Bernhard Langer (Germany), Mito Pereira (Chile), *Ben Carr
4.54pm/1.48pm Danny Willett (England), Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka
5.12pm/2pm Sepp Straka (Austria), Harold Varner III, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Korea)
5.24pm/2.12pm Phil Mickelson, Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim (Korea)
5.36pm/2.24pm Billy Horschel, Harris English, Ryan Fox (New Zealand)
5.48pm/2.36pm Zach Johnson, Jason Day (Australia), *Gordon Sargent
6pm/2.48pm Brian Harman, Joaquin Niemann (Chile), Tyrrell Hatton (England)
6.12pm/3.06pm Dustin Johnson, Corey Conners (Canada), Justin Rose (England)
6.24pm/3.18pm Matthew Fitzpatrick (England), Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris
6.36pm/3.30pm Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, *Sam Bennett
6.48pm/3.42pm Tom Kim (Korea), Rory McIlroy (Ireland), Sam Burns
7pm/3.54pm Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood (England), Tony Finau
*Denotes amateur
What is the Masters winner’s prize?
The 2022 Masters champion will receive $2.7 million (€2.5 million), but perhaps more significantly, the winner receives the green jacket, along with a lifetime invitation to play in the Masters, a replica of the Masters champion’s trophy that permanently resides at Augusta National, and a gold medal.
What are the Irish prospects?
Pretty good. As it stands, Ireland has four players in the Masters this year, three professionals – Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Seamus Power – all in the top 35 of the world rankings. It comes after last year was the most impressive Irish performance at the tournament to date, with McIlroy finishing second and Lowry finishing tied third behind winner Scottie Scheffler. Power also had a week to remember, finishing tied 27th in his first ever major appearance. There is also the amateur Matthew McClean from Belfast, who makes his debut having won the US Mid-Am last year.
Can Rory finally win it?
In good form this season and having finished second last year, McIlroy will go into the Masters heavily tipped to finally put on the green jacket and join a select group of five players to have won the Career Grand Slam (won every major at least once) – only Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Tiger Woods have completed the feat. McIlroy finished third in his last tournament – the WGC Match Play – and tied second in Bay Hill last month.
Earlier in the season, he won the Dubai Desert Classic and the CJ Cup, and is currently second in the world rankings behind Scheffler. A four-time major winner, McIlroy has not won a major since 2014. He had been in the top 10 seven of his last nine appearances at the Masters.
Who else are the favourites?
Men’s professional golf has been heading for the “big three″ of McIlroy, Rahm and Scheffler. Since the Tour Championship last August, the trio have won 10 events between them. Scheffler is the world number one and defending champion, and recently won the Players Championship. Rahm has won three times in America this year and will be desperate to follow in the great tradition of Spanish at the Masters with Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia former winners. Jordan Spieth is next favourite with the bookies, the 2015 champion has been in the top three five times at Augusta at the age of 29.
Can LIV golfers play in the Masters?
Yes, they can. Augusta National Golf Club elected to keep the same qualifying criteria it used in the past to determine the field. There are 18 players in the 89-man field from LIV Golf, including four other past champions: Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Charl Schwartzel. LIV’s best chance for victory may come from Australian Cameron Smith, who won the most recent major, the British Open, and finished tied third last year. Watch out for any tension between the players this week. “I think it’s going to be more fun knowing that they hate us,” Chile’s LIV golfer Joaquinn Niemann said. “Then go to the majors and beat them.”
Is Tiger Woods playing?
Yes, Tiger is scheduled to play in the Masters, his first event since the Genesis Invitational in February, where he made the cut. Last year at Augusta, Woods remarkably made the cut in his first appearance in over a year. It was one of only two tournaments he completed in 2022, the other a missed cut at the British Open at St Andrews. Since the serious car crash he had in February 2021, the 47-year-old has set a limited schedule including only select events, mostly major championships. Woods is a five-time winner of the Masters, most recently in 2019.
What is the weather forecast for Augusta?
Long-term forecast gives a chance of thunderstorms throughout the week as hot temperatures are expected, with organisers no doubt hoping to avoid disruptions in play. Some windy conditions are forecast for Sunday.
