Masters 2016: Tee times and pairings set for Thursday, Friday

One of the big items on the Tuesday schedule at Augusta, aside from the Champions Dinner, is the release of pairings and tee times for the first two rounds. The green jackets at Augusta tend to get creative with some of their groups, but they’re not as fun as some of the other majors. The U.S. Open has been known to put all the portly figures together, or players with a past history of contentiousness. The Masters knows you want to see the big names play together but they’re not going to oblige your every request like some of the other majors, who are fine putting Tiger and Phil out in a group.

The Masters did an especially anti-climactic job of breaking up the biggest names this year, which is deflating for the first two days. There’s no overwhelming favorite or headliner this year, but most eyes will be on defending champion Jordan Spieth. He’ll begin his defense playing alongside Paul Casey and amateur phenom Bryson DeChambeau

Spieth will try to become the fourth ever back-to-back Masters winner, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo. It’s a limited and elite group and the odds are against it. Spieth did so much of his damage last year in the first two rounds, racing out to the 36-hole record at the Masters. His 8-under 64 in the opening round backed up by his 6-under 66 on Friday gave him a good five-shot cushion for the weekend. Justin Rose would make it slightly interesting and get within three over the weekend, but it was pretty much a cruise for Spieth.

The green jackets would like to guard against that kind of record scoring this year, so you probably won’t see another 64 in the first round. But we should know whether a repeat is in the works by Friday night after Spieth plays 36 with Casey and DeChambeau. The amateur is getting almost as much pub as Spieth this week and it will be fun to watch the two play together for 36 holes -- perhaps a preview of two contemporaries that will battle at Augusta for the next 20 years.

The favorite Jason Day comes to Augusta fighting off the flu and weight loss from the sickness. It’s hopefully just a speed bump for Day, who is the new No. 1 player in the world and has played like it for the past three weeks. He’s on a Tiger Woods-like winning pace over the last nine months, and making the Masters the third leg of three straight wins would be another Tiger simulation. He’ll begin his week at 7/1, slightly ahead of Spieth and Rory McIlroy, and play with Matt Kuchar and Ernie Els for the first 36 holes.

Here are all your tee times for the first two rounds: