Masters 2015 live streaming: How to watch Thursday’s round online

The PGA Tour season has been officially underway for months, but the golf season reaches a new level on Thursday with the first round of Masters 2015. The best golfers in the world have once again descended on Augusta National for the first major of the year.

The 97-player field is loaded with several strong contenders for the green jacket. Two-time champion Bubba Watson is back to defend his title and make a run for his third Masters victory in four years. Rory McIlroy is fresh off a dominant close to 2014 and on a quest to complete the career grand slam. Jordan Spieth is playing as well as anyone in the world and is a very strong contender following a second-place finish last season. Spieth is one of the betting favorites heading into the first round, just behind McIlroy.

Of course, Tiger Woods will also be in attendance. Woods, who missed the Masters last year due to an injury, is part of the field following another extended layoff. Woods has not played since the Farmers Insurance Open in early February. He was not in very good form the last time he played a competitive round, but indications from practice this week have his game in a better place than the last time we saw him. Whether that means he is good enough to play at a high level and compete for a fifth green jacket remains to be seen.

With some major tournaments, viewers can watch nearly every shot live as it happens thanks to extensive live television and online coverage. That isn’t quite the case at the Masters with Augusta National restricting how much coverage is aired. It won’t be wall-to-wall, but there will be extended coverage on Thursday with viewers able to watch a few hours of live golf both on television or online.

ESPN will handle the first round television duties with the broadcast scheduled to run from 3 to 7:30 p.m. ET. Players will begin teeing off at 7:45 a.m., but viewers will only be able to watch many of those teeing off in the afternoon wave. On Thursday, that will include Woods who is scheduled to go off at 1:48 p.m. and should only be a few holes into his round when coverage begins. Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler will form another notable afternoon pairing. Viewers with cable subscriptions can also catch the action online with a stream from WatchESPN.

McIlroy, Watson, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson will be among the top players teeing off in the morning and well before the television coverage window. Viewers can still catch a glimpse of those guys, thanks to a few online streams. CBSSports.com and Masters.com will provide several online options, including one of Amen Corner and another dedicated to Nos. 15 and 16, the iconic par-5 and par-3. There will also be featured group streams in the morning and afternoon. Players in the featured groups streams can be found here.

Here is the full coverage schedule for the first round. All times Eastern.

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Live Masters on the Range - CBS Sports Network

3 - 7:30 p.m.: Live first round coverage - ESPN

8 - 11 p.m.: Replay of first round coverage - ESPN

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

3 - 7:30 p.m.: Masters In-Depth

12 p.m. - completion: Featured Group 1 and Featured Group 2 streams (Thursday’s groups here)