Rory, Bryson, Scheffler top Masters storylines heading to Augusta
Rory McIlroy chases the Grand Slam, Scottie Scheffler eyes a third green jacket, and Bryson DeChambeau seeks his first at the 2025 Masters.
The 89th Masters Tournament is finally here, with the world’s best golfers taking on the picturesque Augusta National Golf Club in pursuit of the coveted green jacket.
Defending champion and World No. 1-ranked player Scottie Scheffler leads the field into the first major championship of the 2025 golf season. Scheffler outlasted Ludvig Aberg by four strokes to claim the title a year ago.
Who will win it this year? That’s what the next four days of competition will determine.
Among the top challengers in this year’s field: World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who only needs a Masters victory to complete the career grand slam. In addition, there’s 2023 winner Jon Rahm, 2021 champ Hideki Mastuyama and 2020 victor Dustin Johnson.
USA TODAY Sports will provide complete coverage of Thursday’s opening round. Follow along for live updates here:
1. Justin Rose -7 (Finished)T2. Corey Conners -4 (F)T2. Scottie Scheffler -4 (F)T2. Bryson DeChambeau -4 (16)T5. Tyrell Hatton -3 (F)T5. Ludvig Aberg -3 (16)
You can get the latest leaderboard updates and tee times here.
Where to watch the Masters: TV channel, streaming Thursday
TV coverage of the Masters begins at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN with coverage live via streaming on Masters.com, the Masters app and Fubo, which is offering a free trial. Select holes and groups will also be available via ESPN+.
TV channel: ESPN (starting at 2 p.m. ET)Live stream: Masters.com, ESPN+ and Fubo (Fubo offers a free trial subscription)
Watch the 2025 Masters from Augusta with Fubo
DeChambeau has come on strong in the back nine. After a bogey on 12, DeChambeau has bounced back to birdie 13, 15, and 16. Unfortunately, his tee shot on 17 wound up in the pines off the fairway, so his streak might come to an end just as soon as it began.
Looking to get closer to leader Justin Rose, McIlroy took a risk, attempting to chip onto a downhill green on Hole 15. Less than an hour prior, Patrick Cantlay attempted the same shot, but ended up finding the water not once, but twice. McIlroy clearly didn’t learn from his peers’ mistake.
Prior to the shot, the broadcasters even noted that it was much better to leave that shot very short, but McIlroy’s ball just kept rolling and by the time it passed the hole, it was already in the water. McIlroy wound up with a double bogey to move to 2-under.
After a terrific 17 holes, Justin Rose finished Round 1 with his worst hole of the day, which still was not bad. Rose’s tee shot found its way into the bushes off 18, and although he spent considerable time debating whether or not he could go through the trees or perhaps come back on hole 10, Rose eventually decided to just punch his ball back onto the fairway.
Rose’s birdie shot was a great on, landing in the middle left of the green, but it was still a considerable distance from the cup. Rose could not make the par putt, but had a tap-in for bogey. Rose finishes the day at three strokes up on the rest of the field.
It’s been all Justin Rose all day. The 16th hole is no cakewalk either. Par 3’s are notoriously much more nerve-racking considering the smaller margin of error. However, that didn’t both Rose clearly. Rose laid a beautiful tee shot into the middle of the green, setting himself up for an easy two-putt. Of course, he didn’t need two putts. Rose nailed the long birdie putt to put himself four strokes up on the rest of the field.
Rose moves to three shots ahead on the leaderboard, absolutely dominating Round 1 at Augusta. Rose sunk his seventh birdie of the day thanks to a mid-length putt on 15. Rose has been phenomenal with his putter all day, but such a commanding lead on Day 1 could lead to major disappointment if he is unable to hold it throughout the weekend.
As the day marches on, Rory McIlroy has gotten better and better, hitting back-to-back birdies on 8 and 9 to enter the back nine at 3-under, tied for fourth.
Clearly, the turn did not affect his momentum. McIlroy parred Hole 10 thanks to a terrific approach from the bunker, leaving the ball less than two feet from the green. Although he only scored a par on the hole, the result could have been much worse. As it stands, McIlroy remains top-5 on the leaderboard.
The reigning Masters champion is looking strong in the first round yet again. After seven consecutive pars, Scheffler needed something to break his way in order to gain some ground on the leaders. On 16, he got exactly that with a huge birdie to move to -4 on the day.
Scheffler is still two strokes off the leader, Justin Rose, but 16 holes with no bogeys is always a huge plus.
While we’ve seen a few stellar performances, Nick Dunlap is having the opposite. Through 15 holes, Dunlap sits at 13-over, six strokes behind second-to-last place Noah Kent.
Dunlap has not hit a birdie all day, hitting bogeys on 1, 3, 4, 9, 13, and 14. He’s hit double bogeys on 11, 12, and 16, as well as a triple on 5.
For those wondering, he’s still a long ways off from the worst round in Masters history. That distinction belongs to Charles Kunkle, who shot a 23-over 95 in 1956.
Perennial fan favorite Fred Couples provided a glimpse of his old magic during Thursday’s opening round.
The 1992 champion eagled the par=4 14th hole by knocking it in with a fairway wood from 191 yards out.
Couples, 65, had two birdies and three bogeys on his card for an opening-round 71 — one under par.
The first Amen Corner eagle of the 2025 Masters belongs to Collin Morikawa.
After a 300-yard drive on the 545-yard par 5, Morikawa hit the green from 196 yards out, giving himself a 35-foot putt for the eagle.
Knocking it in to a rousing roar from the patrons, Morikawa jumped from 1-under to 3-under par – moving him into a four-way tie for first with Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose.
Davis Martin and Michael Kim were the first to complete their opening rounds in red figures. They have the clubhouse lead at 1-under 71.
The first round of the 2025 Masters has started, and there have been suggestions for improving the game. ESPN host Scott Van Pelt joined The Dan Patrick Show to preview the 89th edition of the tournament and discussed the potential introduction of a shot clock in golf.
“The bottom line is, yeah, golf would benefit greatly if there were sort of a clock that we knew when it started and when it hits zero, you get a warning and then you get a penalty,” Van Pelt said. “Because the game does take a long time to get moving.” — Elizabeth Flores
Look out everyone, the defending champ isn’t giving up his green jacket without a fight.
Scottie Scheffler showed he means business from the get-go on Thursday morning, by birdieing two of his first four holes. The second one was a thing of beauty on the par-3 fourth.
After hitting his tee shot 62 feet from the hole, Scheffler rammed the birdie putt in the hole – the first time he’s ever birdied No. 4 in his Masters career – to move up the leaderboard.
Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard didn’t play the first two holes very well in Thursday’s opening round, digging himself into an early hole with a bogey and double-bogey.
But he righted the ship with birdies on Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 to get back into red figures and tie for the lead at 2 under par.
In his Masters debut last year, Højgaard was inside the top six after each of the first three rounds – and briefly led the tournament on Saturday – before finishing in a tie for 16th.
As the Masters gets underway, columnist Dan Wolken offers up five bold predictions for how this week will turn out. Among them:
This year will produce the lowest (real) winning score since 2015The winner of the Masters will eagle No. 13 on SundayThere will be a first-time Masters winner this year
Check out more bold predictions and Wolken’s thoughts from Augusta.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Ken Griffey Jr. has come out of retirement — sort of.
The Kid, donning a camera around his neck, was among a group of credentialed photographers during the Honorary Starter ceremony to kick off the 89th Masters.
Griffey is working this week for Masters.com. It’s his first time covering the tournament. — Doug Stutsman, Golfweek
The traditional Augusta National staples will all cost the same as they did last year. In fact, the price of the egg salad and pimento cheese sandwiches hasn’t gone up since 2002.
Egg Salad: $1.50Pimento Cheese: $1.50Masters Club: $3.00Pork Bar-B-Que: $3.00Savory Tomato Pie: $3.00Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich: $3.00
Beverages, too, remain the same as last year.
Soft drinks: $2.00Iced tea/bottled water: $2.00Beer/wine: $6.00
Augusta National also serves a special wheat ale called “Crow’s Nest,” which replaced Blue Moon ale in 2021 and also sells for $6.00.
Make no mistake, the Masters is a colossus whether LIV exists or not. To golfers and hardcore fans, it’s special because it’s a major. To the common sports viewer who watches this tournament and maybe a few others, it’s the visual effects – the sparkling white sand, the vividly pink flowers, the perfectly mowed grass − that inspire imagination and awe.
But the PGA Tour-LIV split has made this week something different, even a level above what the Masters was before. Golf fans just don’t get many tournaments like this anymore. That’s a sad commentary on the state of the game but another layer of mystique for a 365-acre tract of Georgia land that was already the biggest thing in the sport. — Dan Wolken
Davis Riley and Patton Kizzire were first off the tee at Augusta National as the opening twosome in the 95th Masters.
Riley made par on the 445-yard par-4 hole. Kizzire carded a bogey.
The patrons get their first look at a former champion when Mike Weir (2003) tees off in the third group at 8:02 a.m.
The Masters has a long history of reverence for the game of golf. That’s why three of the greatest players to ever tee it up at Augusta officially got this year’s tournament underway by hitting the ceremonial first tee shots.
For the fourth consecutive year, honorary starters Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson took their turns on the tee, much to the delight of the adoring patrons. The threesome combined for a total of 11 green jackets during their playing careers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the 2025 Masters Tournament is officially underway,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said after Watson hit the last tee shot. “Enjoy the tournament.”
Masters tee times today
Notable tee times. For a full list of tee times, you can find Thursday’s here.
All times Eastern
Zach Johnson: 8:13 a.m.Collin Morikawa: 9:47 a.m.Phil Mickelson: 9:58 a.m.Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas: 10:15 a.m.Jordan Spieth: 10:26 a.m.Bubba Watson: 11:21 a.m.Max Homa: 12 p.m.Dustin Johnson: 12:11 p.m.Patrick Cantlay: 12:33 p.m.Brooks Koepka: 12:50 p.m.Adam Scott: 1:01 p.m.Xander Schauffele: 1:01 p.m.Rory McIlroy: 1:12 p.m.Hideki Matsuyama: 1:23 p.m.Bryson DeChambeau: 1:23 p.m.Jon Rahm: 1:34 p.m.
The first day of the Masters is set for lovely spring weather, with a high around 76 degrees and calm winds between five and eight miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
Things are expected to be much different come Thursday night, however, as there’s a chance of showers. The National Weather Service projects a 50% chance of rain.
The NWS also says that Thursday night rain is only expected to be between a tenth and a quarter of an inch. — Austin Curtright
Mark Giannotto, USA TODAY: Collin Morikawa
“Morikawa currently ranks second behind only McIlroy in strokes gained tee-to-green in 2025. It’s perhaps gone under the radar because Morikawa is searching for his first win in more than 18 months and fell short again with a chance to win this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. But he has three top-10 finishes in five starts this season, in addition to winning the PGA Championship and British Open previously. Maybe he’s ready to prove his mettle at The Masters.”
DraftKings Network: Xander Schauffele
“Schauffele started this season late due to a rib injury and, after looking rusty in his first two starts, came alive at the Valspar Championship … gaining an eye-popping 11.2 strokes on approach at the Copperhead Course. This number set a career-high for Schauffele … The 31-year-old is notorious for playing his best golf at major championships and Schauffele is a very intriguing early bet at this number.”
BetMGM: Ludvig Aberg
“Aberg came extremely close to ending the Masters debutant winless run last April, ultimately settling for a runner-up finish. Illness plagued Aberg in late January through February, but a win at the Genesis should give hope to those considering backing Aberg at the Masters. That week, Aberg gained 10 strokes tee-to-green, the third-best output of his entire career.”
All odds via BetMGM on Wednesday, April 9.
Scottie Scheffler: +450Rory McIlroy: +650Collin Morikawa: +1400Jon Rahm: +1400Bryson DeChambeau: +1600Ludvig Aberg: +2000Justin Thomas: +2200Xander Schauffele: +2200Joaquin Niemann: +3000
Experts from Golfweek and the USA TODAY Network have thoughts on longshots who could make some noise this weekend.
Adam Schupak, Golfweek: Will Zalatoris (+5000)Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek: Corey Conners (+5000)Cameron Jourdan, Golfweek: Corey Conners (+5000)David Dusek, Golfweek: Sepp Straka (+5500)Jason Lusk, Golfweek: Shane Lowry (+3300)Tim Schmitt, Golfweek: Sergio García (+6600)Will Cheney, Augusta Chronicle: Akshay Bhatia (+6600)Dan Spears, USA TODAY Network: Tom Kim (+10000)Todd Kelly, Golfweek: Nick Taylor (+30000)
The Masters is played every year at Augusta National Golf Club, widely considered one of the top courses in the sport. Augusta National is located in Augusta, Georgia, which sits on the state’s eastern border with South Carolina.
Of the PGA Tour’s four majors, only the Masters has been played at the same course every time, with the 2025 tournament the 89th edition. — Jason Anderson
Augusta National Golf Club has just two courses (or one-and-a-half, depending on how you look at it). The Masters will take place on the club’s legendary 18 holes, while Wednesday’s Par 3 competition takes place at the nine-hole Par 3 course. — Jason Anderson
If you’d like to land a membership at Augusta National Golf Club, you’d better start networking. There is no application process, with membership an invite-only process. The club has a long history of privacy, and while many reports have listed the total number of members around 300, there is no exact number confirmed by Augusta National.
Once you secure the remarkably exclusive invitation, you’d better make sure you can afford to actually accept it. A range of reports over the last 15 years have placed the initiation fee at somewhere between $40,000 and $300,000, while annual dues are estimated to run between $4,000 and $30,000. — Jason Anderson
