AUGUSTA, Ga. — After a long, often chaotic first part of the week, the 86th Masters gets underway today with as much anticipation as one can remember a major championship carrying. Much of that obviously revolves around Tiger Woods teeing it up for the first time since his horrific car accident in February 2021, and he’s taken almost all of the oxygen out of August National for the last three days. However, there are plenty of other storylines that will begin to unfold starting Thursday morning.
Chief among those is Rory McIlroy’s bid for his first Masters and the elusive career grand slam. Asked about this Wednesday, his answer was tremendous:”I love Augusta National. I love the Masters. I’ve had wonderful times here and not so wonderful times. But I keep coming back every year, and I’ll keep coming back as long as they’ll let me.” That’s how many people feel about the Masters, and it’s likely that one more name — perhaps Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas or McIlroy himself — will this year be added to the list of folks who will be able to keep coming back forever.
Watch the 2022 Masters streaming now with Masters Live as we follow the best golfers in the world throughout Augusta National with Featured Groups, check in at the famed Amen Corner and see leaders round the turn on Holes 15 & 16. Watch live for free on desktop and mobile via CBSSports.com and CBS Sports App. Also available on Paramount+.
CBS Sports will update this story with scores and highlights from the Masters below. Check out the live scores at the top of this story, a more detailed leaderboard, Round 1 tee times and our complete Masters TV schedule / coverage guide.
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Reigning Masters champion to play through pain
Reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who withdrew from the Valero Texas Open a week ago with a neck injury, is on the range preparing for an 11:15 a.m. tee time. All signs point to him giving it a go. However, there has been a trainer tending to his right wrist, which has tape around it, and he has grabbed it on several occasions as he’s been warming up. Something to keep an eye on as Round 1 gets underway, as it seems he’s clearly going to be playing through pain this week.
“Last couple of weeks have been a struggle,” he said earlier in the week. “But I’ve had a lot of treatment the last couple of days. . . It’s probably the best I felt in a long time.”
Matsuyama says he suffered the injury in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March, and it has hampered his training and preparation to try and go back-to-back with it at Augusta National.
“I haven’t really been able to hit a full shot, a hundred percent full shot in a long time, so that’s still a question,” he said. “But I feel like the treatment I’ve been receiving is helping. I’m on the road to full recovery.”
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Tiger Woods looking to tie Jack’s Masters record
With five career wins at Augusta National, Tiger Woods this week can tie Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of wins at the Masters with six. A win for him would also break Nicklaus’ record of longest years between first Masters win and last Masters win, which is currently 23 years. (Woods’ 2019 win was separated 22 years from his first in 1997.) As it stands, Woods is No. 2 all-time in total Masters wins and No. 2 in major championship wins — both trailing only Nicklaus.
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I’m about to head out to the golf course to see how it’s playing and what’s going on. Nothing of note has taken place thus far, although, as Will Knights pointed out, the course is playing extremely long after tons of rain over the last few days. That’s one thing to keep an eye on as the tee times unfold today.
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Featured groups for Thursday at the Masters
Round 1 of the Masters is already underway, and featured group coverage is coming soon. Here’s a look at the Thursday schedule, which starts in just under two hours with — who else?! — Tiger Woods teeing it up at 11:04 a.m. The times are pushed back 30 minutes from the original schedule due to a weather delay this morning.
All times below are ET.
11:04 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann
11:26 a.m.: Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau
2:00 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa
2:22 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele
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The 2022 Masters field is set
The field stands at 91 out of 108 invitees as the Masters begins. That means Tiger Woods is now officially playing the Masters with a tee time set for 11:04 a.m. ET. Of the 91 golfers, 20 are first-timers, including six amateurs.
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Olazabal gets first birdie of the week
The first player off tee No. 1 has the first birdie of the week here at the 2022 Masters. Jose Maria Olazabal turned in a 3 on the par-4 fourth hole to kick off his opening round. Had a beautiful approach on his second shot to within about six yards and converted it to move to 1 under.
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This from Kyle Porter previewing the 2022 Masters was really, really good. He ran through the nine golfers he thinks have the most realistic shot at winning. No surprise, betting favorite Jon Rahm tops the list. My pick is No. 8 in his rankings.
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Thoughts as the Masters begins
We out here. The Masters is officially underway, and all the Tiger hoopla from the beginning of the week will be channeled into the actual tournament. I’m fascinated to watch that transition today. Obviously Big Cat will continue to suck up most of the oxygen and, if he shoots 68, perhaps even more of it. However, if he goes out in 74 or 75, the view of the tournament will slowly start to shift elsewhere as we look to crown a new champion this year.
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Masters expert picks
Before you finalize your Masters pool, here’s one last look at what our team of experts — Kyle Porter, Chip Patterson, Jacob Hallex, Adam Silverstein and myself — had to say about who will win (and who won’t). Lot of Jordan Spieth love, plenty of Tiger skepticism and two picks for Justin Thomas to win it all and claim his first green jacket.
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Still drizzling at Augusta
Good morning to all and welcome to Masters week. Round 1 is set to begin here at 8:30 a.m. ET after a weather delay this morning. Hopefully will be the last of them, but weather has thus far been a huge factor already this week — Par 3 contest was canceled early Wednesday and tornadoes rolled into the area earlier in the week. Weather today calls for scattered showers.
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