Masters 2015: TV schedule and coverage for Thursday’s opening round

From the moment Rory McIlroy made his final putt to win the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, the focus has been on Augusta National and the first round of the 2015 Masters. The win gave McIlroy the fourth major championship of his career, but he’s still a Masters victory shy of completing the career grand slam. He’ll get a chance to add the green jacket to his closet this year, but will have to top a strong list of contenders.

McIlroy enters the week at Augusta as the No. 1 player in the world and not far removed from the dominant form he showed last summer. If he’s going to win, however, he needs to get off to a better start than he did last year. McIlroy barely made the cut at Augusta last season after shooting a second-round 77. He was so far down the leaderboard heading into the weekend, he was actually the first player to tee off on Saturday morning. He was a non-factor on Sunday despite moving up to a tie for eighth with a solid finish. He’s now the betting favorite to win the Masters and all eyes will be on him beginning Thursday.

While McIlroy has been in good form recently, no one in the world may be playing better than Jordan Spieth is right now. The 21-year-old finished second to Bubba Watson last season and has a win and two second place finishes in his last three events. He appears primed to contend for his first major.

McIlroy, Spieth and others will be playing for their first green jacket, but Tiger Woods will be back at Augusta and playing for his fifth Masters victory. Woods is back in the field after missing the event last year for the first time in his career. There was plenty of doubt he would play this season after taking an extended break following some early season disasters. But Woods is comfortable enough with his game to make his return to competitive golf. The early returns in practice and during the Par-3 Contest were positive, but Woods still has an uphill path to contention after not playing for two months.

The Masters doesn’t receive the exhaustive television coverage of the other majors thanks to some restrictions from Augusta National, but ESPN will still broadcast live for more than four hours. The coverage will run from 3 to 7:30 p.m. ET, allowing viewers to catch the afternoon wave. That will include Woods’ group on Thursday. The coverage will also be available on WatchESPN for those with access.

In addition to the television coverage, CBSSports.com and Masters.com will also provide a few online streams for bonus coverage. This is the earliest possible way you can watch live. That will include featured group streams and streams dedicated to Amen Corner and Nos. 15 and 16. On Thursday, defending Masters champ Bubba Watson will be among the players in the featured group streams. Justin Rose, Zach Johnson, Woods, Adam Scott and others will also be featured.

Here are all your media options 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.