Masters Featured Groups: Day One Pairings And How To Watch

Featured groups The Masters — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Who do you fancy? Who are you looking forward to seeing the most? Rory? Scottie? What about the lesser spotted Jon Rahm?

The Masters tee times for rounds one and two of the 90th edition of the tournament are out, and we have some absolutely cracking groups to follow.

OLAZABAL, NEERGAARD-PETERSEN, POTGIETER (8.02am)*

Poor old 'Ollie'. The 60-year-old has been grouped with one of the longest drivers of a golf ball in the game - the obscenely long South African Aldrich Potgieter.

Let's see what difference an extra 60 yards or so makes off some tees. I have a feeling the Spaniard, twice a winner at Augusta, of course, is going to relish the challenge.

Call me foolish, but I may even have a small wager on the great Jose Maria to shoot a lower score than his big-hitting opponent.

Throw in the hugely talented Dane, Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen, on debut, and you have one very exciting three-ball.

Come on, Ollie.

* All times EDT

JOHNSON, LOWRY, DAY (9.43am)

Shane Lowry is the odd man out here. Dustin Johnson is as chilled as they come, and it's hard to see someone whose wardrobe for the week includes a selection of tops with colorful birds on, losing their cool.

Lowry is more your heart-on-the-sleeve type, but the man with such wonderful hands is in with a glorious chance, so this should be a wonderful watch.

As for Johnson and Jason Day, who knows what these two former World No.1s will produce.

REED, FLEETWOOD, BHATIA (9.55am)

Nice. A former Masters champion, a player with the 'Best to never with a Major' tag, and the Arnold Palmer champ, that nice guy with the broomstick.

Reed comes into this year's Masters slightly under the radar, but his record around Augusta National is very impressive.

Last year, the 2018 champion recorded his sixth top-12 finish in the past eight tournaments - so don't be surprised to see Reed in contention for the title come Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood arrives at Augusta as the FedExCup champion. He got a big monkey off his back last August, and it's now time for the Englishman to land that elusive first Major Championship title.

Expect Akshay Bhatia to quietly go about his business with that broomstick of his.

DECHAMBEAU, FITZPATRICK, SCHAUFFELE (10.07am)

Matt Fitzpatrick will have been seething to have allowed Bryson DeChambeau to come back from 5 down to gain a half at last year's Ryder Cup.

Not that he'll be thinking about that as he goes in search of a second Major title, but I'm looking forward to seeing how much chat there is between these two great competitors.

Xander Schauffele has all the tools to win this week as well. What a three-ball this is.

MCILROY, YOUNG, HOWELL (10.31am)

The defending champion finds himself alongside the Players champion and amateur Mason Howell.

It wouldn't matter who the Northern Irishman was playing with - all eyes will be on the five-time Major winner as he attempts to become the first player to successfully defend the title since Tiger Woods (2001-02).

Young got a bit of unfair criticism for showing a lack of emotion following his win at Sawgrass.

It would be no surprise to see the 28-year-old land another big title this week - and that might just elicit a fist pump or two.

RAHM, GOTTERUP, ABERG (1.08pm)

Try picking the low round here. All three players have a genuine chance of glory this week.

It feels as though Ludvig Aberg has been knocking on the door for years, although this is only his third Masters appearance.

Chris Gotterup is making his Masters debut, but he only has to look at what Aberg did two years ago for inspiration, with the Swede finishing runner-up.

Aberg faded late on Sunday last year, having been tied for the lead with McIlroy and Justin Rose, but he'll surely go deep again.

Then there's Rahm, who was super impressive in winning the title here in 2023.

Despite moving to LIV Golf at the backend of 2023, the Spaniard doesn't appear to have lost any of his competitive spirit, which didn't look the case a couple of years ago.

The former World No.1 is bang in form and ready for another crack at the title.

SPIETH, ROSE, KOEPKA (1.20pm)

It feels as though these three great players should have more than just the one Green Jacket between them.

When Jordan Spieth won the Masters in 2015, he looked destined to win a bunch of them.

He's not the same player he was back then, when he seemed to make every putt between 10 and 25 feet.

Justin Rose, always the bridesmaid at Augusta, can never be ruled out, for this is a place that continues to bring out the best in him.

Brooks Koepka lost the head-to-head with Rahm in 2023, but he's something of a Major specialist - which makes this another box office three-ball.

SCHEFFLER, MACINTYRE, WOODLAND (1.44pm)

The World No.1, the fiery Scot, and a man who is fortunate to be playing at all. This is another group that you don't want to take your eyes off.

Scottie Scheffler wants the Green Jacket back. He had to just suck it up last year, when McIlroy, the career Grand Slam champion, was the star of the show.

Robert MacIntyre is one of the guttiest players on tour, someone who looks to have the game to win any of the four Major Championships.

Gary Woodland, meanwhile, has not only recovered from brain surgery - he's a winner again following that emotional victory at the Texas Children's Houston Open.

THE OFFICIAL MASTERS FEATURED GROUPS: ROUND ONE

10.07am: Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
10.31am: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell (a)
1.08pm: Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Aberg
1.44pm: Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland

How to watch The Masters featured groups

Featured Group coverage will be available on Masters.com in the US on Thursday as well as across ESPN Select and ESPN Unlimited.

If you don't have cable, you can watch the entirety of The Masters 2026 through Masters.com, or via ESPN Unlimited, Prime Video and Paramount+.

Another option is a cable alternative that carries ESPN and CBS. DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV and Fubo are the best options.

Full guide: How to watch the 2026 Masters

Masters tee times and pairings: Day 1

All times local EDT

7.40am: John Keefer, Haotong Li
7.50am: Naoyuki Kataoka, Max Homa, Carlos Ortiz
8.02am: Jose Maria Olazabal, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Aldrich Potgieter
8.14am: Angel Cabrera, Sami Valimaki, Jackson Herrington (a)
8.26am: Charl Schwazrtzel, Max Greyserman, Ryan Fox
8.38am: Vijay Singh, Matt McCarty, Rasmus Hojgaard
8.50am: Kurt Kitayama, Kristoffer Reitan, Casey Jarvis
9.02am: Bubba Watson, Nicolas Echavarria, Brandon Holtz (a)
9.19am: Cameron Smith, Sam Burns, Jake Knapp
9.31am: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Gerard, Nick Taylor
9.43am: Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Jason Day
9.55am: Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia
10.07am: Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
10.19am: Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley
10.31am: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell (a)
10.43am: Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren
11.03am: Samuel Stevens, Sungjae Im
11.15am: Andrew Novak, Tom McKibbin, Brian Campbell
11.27am: Mike Weir, Wyndham Clark, Mateo Pulcini (a)
11.39am: Zach Johnson, Michael Kim, Nicolai Hojgaard
11.51am: Danny Willett, Davis Riley, Ethan Fang (a)
12.03pm: Adam Scott, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman
12.15pm: Fred Couples, Min Woo Lee, Fifa Laopakdee (a)
12.27pm: Sergio Garcia, Aaron Rai, Jacob Bridgeman
12.44pm: Harry Hall, Corey Conners, Michael Brennan
12.56pm: JJ Spaun, Maverick McNealy, Tyrrell Hatton
1.08pm: Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Aberg
1.20pm: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
1.32pm: Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas
1.44pm: Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
1.56pm: Harris English, Marco Penge, Si Woo Kim

Michael has been with Golf Monthly since 2008. A multimedia journalist, he has also worked for The Football Association, where he created content to support the England football team, The FA Cup, London 2012, and FA Women's Super League. As content editor at Foremost Golf, Michael worked closely with golf's biggest equipment manufacturers and has developed an in-depth knowledge of this side of the industry. He's a regular contributor, covering instruction, equipment, travel and feature content. Michael has interviewed many of the game's biggest stars, including seven World No.1s, and has attended and reported on numerous Major Championships and Ryder Cups around the world. He's a member of Formby Golf Club in Merseyside, UK.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.