2015 Masters: Tee times, pairings, featured groups for Thursday’s round

We are getting so close to go-time. After three days of press conferences, practice rounds, and range sessions, the 79th Masters will finally get underway around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer strike their ceremonial tee shots. A lot of our pre-tournament questions will start to be answered tomorrow morning.

The Masters is an ultra-exclusive event. There are less than 100 players in the field, which is a little different than the other major championships. Because of the smaller field, every player will go off from the first tee. And that’s the way Augusta National likes it. The Masters is able to get the entire field out on the first tee in enough time to make sure that everyone has plenty of time to finish their rounds before it gets dark. The other majors send 150 players off split tees from sun up to sun down.

The one potential complication, as always, is the weather. A quick look at the forecast reveals that there is a chance of rain each day except Sunday and it could be heavy at times. If play is halted for any time, we could see the tee sheet shift in the tee sheet a little bit. It will really need to come down for Augusta to become unplayable.

Assuming everything goes according to plan, the first group will head out at 7:45 a.m. ET. With all due respect to players like Byron Meth and Ben Crane, things really start to get good around 9 a.m. when Patrick Reed, Keegan Bradley, and Ian Poulter hit the course. At different points during their careers, all three of these guys have been Ryder Cup heroes and antagonists. Their personalities should make for an entertaining early morning grouping.

The last two Masters champions, Bubba Watson and Adam Scott go off in consecutive groups at 9:24 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. Dustin Johnson, a trendy pick this week, will join Scott and they’ll be on the Masters.com featured groups stream.

Of the morning tee times, the most popular group will undoubtedly by the threesome of Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, and Ryan Moore. Rory begins his quest for the career grand slam at 10:41 a.m. and Phil Mickelson will be out to prove that he isn’t done yet. Two of the most popular golfers in the world will be joined by Moore, who joked that he was the main attraction in the group. Whoever your headliner is, this will be the group to watch Thursday morning.

This is the best opening round of the year. We wait 12 months for the Masters to return and now it’s here. The full tee sheet for the first round: