By Sean Martin, Golfweek.com
AUGUSTA, Ga. – We’ll cut to the chase. Tiger Woods tees off at 10:35 a.m. on Thursday in the first round of the Masters. Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson will follow three hours later, in the day’s final two groups.
The Masters released its pairings Tuesday. Not that much is needed to get a golf fan excited about the season’s first major, but there are several intriguing pairings, as always. The Big Three – Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus – will tee off at 7:40 a.m. Thursday as the honorary starters. Craig Stadler, Brendan Steele and Tim Clark will tee off 10 minutes later.
Charl Schwartzel starts his title defense at 10:24 a.m. in the group in front of Woods. Schwartzel will play with reigning PGA champion Keegan Bradley, a Masters rookie, and U.S. Amateur winner Kelly Kraft.
Woods will play with Miguel Angel Jimenez and PGA Tour rookie Sang-Moon Bae, the world’s 30th-ranked player. World No. 1 Luke Donald will follow Woods’ group in the 10:46 threesome. He’ll play with Francesco Molinari and Nick Watney.
McIlroy, playing in the day’s second-to-last group, is paired with 2009 Masters champion Angel Cabrera and Bubba Watson. The day’s final group will feature Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner, Hunter Mahan and Peter Hanson, a Swede who’s ranked 25th in the world. Mahan, at No. 4 in the world, is the highest-ranked American and winner of last week’s Houston Open.
Other pairings worth watching:
• 8:45 a.m.: Adam Scott, Bo Van Pelt, Martin Kaymer
• 9:18 a.m.: Kyle Stanley, Jason Day, Bill Haas
• 10:13 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Henrik Stenson, Alvaro Quiros
• 11:41 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Mark Wilson, Graeme McDowell
• 11:52 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter, Patrick Cantlay
• 12:47 p.m.: Mike Weir, Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson
• 1:20 p.m.: Fred Couples, Darren Clarke, Ryo Ishikawa
• 7:40 a.m.:Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus (honorary starters)
• 7:50 a.m.:Craig Stadler, Brendan Steele, Tim Clark
• 8:01 a.m.:Jose Maria Olazabal, Robert Garrigus, Randal Lewis
• 8:12 a.m.:Larry Mize, Paul Lawrie, Anders Hansen
• 8:23 a.m.:Ross Fisher, Ryan Palmer, Harrison Frazar
• 8:34 a.m.:Ben Crenshaw, Robert Karlsson, Bryden Macpherson
• 8:45 a.m.:Adam Scott, Bo Van Pelt, Martin Kaymer
• 8:56 a.m.:Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington, Stewart Cink
• 9:07 a.m.:Aaron Baddeley, Kyung-Tae Kim, Lucas Glover
• 9:18 a.m.:Kyle Stanley, Jason Day, Bill Haas
• 9:29 a.m.:Trevor Immelman, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose
• 9:40 a.m.:Tom Watson, Johnson Wagner, Hideki Matsuyama
• 10:02 a.m.:Matt Kuchar, Geoff Ogilvy, Yong-Eun Yang
• 10:13 a.m.:Gary Woodland, Henrik Stenson, Alvaro Quiros
• 10:24 a.m.:Charl Schwartzel, Keegan Bradley, Kelly Kraft
• 10:35 a.m.:Tiger Woods, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Sang-Moon Bae
• 10:46 a.m.:Luke Donald, Francesco Molinari, Nick Watney
• 10:57 a.m.:Scott Verplank, Sean O'Hair, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
• 11:08 a.m.:Mark O'Meara, Chez Reavie, Martin Laird
• 11:19 a.m.:Sandy Lyle, Simon Dyson, Corbin Mills
• 11:30 a.m.:Ian Woosnam, Edoardo Molinari, Kevin Chappell
• 11:41 a.m.:Louis Oosthuizen, Mark Wilson, Graeme McDowell
• 11:52 a.m.:Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter, Patrick Cantlay
• 12:14 p.m.:Kevin Na, Fredrik Jacobson, Ben Crane
• 12:25 p.m.:John Senden, Jonathan Byrd, Paul Casey
• 12:36 p.m.:Bernhard Langer, Jason Dufner, Charles Howell III
• 12:47 p.m.:Mike Weir, Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson
• 12:58 p.m.:Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk
• 1:09 p.m.:Thomas Bjorn, Scott Stallings, Rory Sabbatini
• 1:20 p.m.:Fred Couples, Darren Clarke, Ryo Ishikawa
• 1:31 p.m.:David Toms, K. J. Choi, Sergio Garcia
• 1:42 p.m.:Angel Cabrera, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson
• 1:53 p.m.:Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Peter Hanson
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