Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler will play alongside Justin Thomas and US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester when the 89th Masters tees off Thursday at Augusta National. World number two Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, was grouped with Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg and American Akshay Bhatia for the first two rounds in tee times announced Tuesday by the famed club.
Two-time Masters winner Scheffler and fellow American Thomas, a two-time PGA Championship winner, will join Spanish amateur Ballester at 10:15 a.m. (1415 GMT). Four-time major winner McIlroy, the Northern Ireland star who would complete a career Grand Slam with a Masters victory, and his group tee off at 1:12 p.m. American Davis Riley is set to hit the first competitive tee shot on Thursday at 7:40 a.m. German Bernhard Langer begins his 41st and final Masters at 8:35 a.m.
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Other top contenders are spread early and late in the opening-day field. Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, Australian Min Woo Lee and Chilean Joaquin Niemann tee off two groups ahead of Scheffler at 9:47 a.m., followed by Aussie Jason Day, US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson at 9:58 a.m. Just behind Scheffler’s trio will be three-time major winner Jordan Spieth, South Korean Tom Kim and England’s Tyrrell Hatton at 10:26 a.m.
In the afternoon, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka and fellow American Russell Henley join South Korean Im Sung-jae at 12:50 p.m., and just behind them at 1:01 p.m., and just ahead of McIlroy’s group, will be Aussie Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland, and reigning British Open and PGA Championship champion Xander Schauffele. The group behind McIlroy’s trio includes reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, and Ireland’s Shane Lowry at 1:23 p.m. Just 11 minutes later will start 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm of Spain, England’s Tommy Fleetwood, and American Wyndham Clark.
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