Masters 2017: Schedule for the week at Augusta National

The Masters is a major golf tournament, but it’s really an experience that stretches beyond the four days of competition. The entire week at August National Golf Club, from Monday to this coming Sunday, is a golf spectacle. The week begins with practice on Monday, and there’s lots going on from that moment until the green jacket gets draped over the winner’s shoulders sometime in the evening on Sunday.

By this point, the field’s set. Georgia native Russell Henley claimed the last spot in it by winning the Shell Houston Open on Sunday. So we’ve got the players, we’ve got the course, and Masters week 2017 is officially and finally here. This’ll be fun.

The betting favorite this week is world No. 1 Dustin Johnson. He’s followed by Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, who have both suffered humiliating Sunday collapses at Augusta in the last six years. (Spieth’s also got a win under his belt from 2015, of course.) Every big name except Tiger Woods is here. The stage is set.

Here’s how the week lines up from Monday to Sunday:

We’re talking about practice.

This is the official practice day at the Masters. Everybody in the field who wants to takes to the course and plays as many holes as desired — typically 18, but to each his own. It’s a big day at the course for autograph hounds and other patrons who just want to take in the atmosphere, perhaps without paying thousands of dollars for a Sunday pass. It’s a relaxing time, with competition still three days out.

Practice runs all day. CBS Sports Network has live coverage from the driving range from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET. You can stream range action from 12-2 and players on the 16th hole from 2-3 at Masters.com.

There’s more practice on Tuesday, with CBSSN and Masters.com both broadcasting from the driving range from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET. It’s another day for players to figure out one of the most vexing golf courses in the world.

It’s worth noting that most players have already gotten to Augusta sometime in the weeks before the tournament to play practice rounds. It’d be nonsense for someone to go into a Masters without at least a couple of rounds under his belt.

The big event on Tuesday is also the most exclusive one: the Masters Champions Dinner, which you can only go to if you happen to have won the Masters before or are a head honcho at Augusta National. (I don’t meet either of these criteria and, thus, cannot attend the Champions Dinner.)

Ben Hogan started the dinner in the 1950s. The tradition is that whoever won the Masters the year prior hosts dinner and picks the menu for his fellow Masters champions. That means Chef Danny Willett is on the clock this year.

Golf.com assembled a helpful list of previous champs’ menus. Spieth’s selections last year were “authentic Texas barbecue (that includes brisket, chicken, and pork ribs), baked beans, corn muffins, and a warm chocolate chip cookie.”

There’s some more practice in the early part of the day. There is lots and lots and lots of practice at any golf tournament, but probably more than usual at the Masters.

The big thing on Wednesday is the tournament’s par-3 competition. That’s the televised event, unique to the Masters, that features some golf legends, current players, and other important people playing on Augusta’s little par-3 course. They’ll get friends or family or celebrities to caddie for them. It’s cute.

ESPN covers the contest from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET. CBSSN and Masters.com have live video from 9-11 in the morning.

The tournament!

Play starts on Thursday morning around 8 a.m. There’s an honorary starting ceremony, and then the players actually get on the course to start golfing for real. The course is jam-packed on Thursday and Friday, and groups get a little bit more staggered after the cut. But the Masters operates differently than golf’s other majors.

Every player at Augusta tees off from the first hole, and then the golfers wind around the course like a slowly uncoiling snake. The field is smaller than at the other majors, so you don’t have players teeing off practically simultaneously at No. 1 and No. 10. If you’re a patron on the grounds or watching on TV, that makes it easier to track. Full television information for the tournament is here.

The Masters tries to finish on Sunday. There’s only a sudden-death playoff if the tournament ends with a tie atop the leaderboard, so there’s no need to plan for a full-day playoff the following day. Whoever wins the tournament typically spends Monday doing a whole lot of media events, because he’s just scored the biggest win of his life.