The 2013 Masters is officially underway, and from the sound of it the players with earlier tee times on Thursday will have a slight advantage. Several players and analysts have alluded to the greens at Augusta National being softer than usual, with conditions expected to get a bit tougher as the day moves on and things dry out. Given that the greens at Augusta are known for being lightning fast and incredibly difficult to navigate, the softer the better.
Many of you will be pleased to hear that Tiger Woods is one of those players who will benefit from favorable course conditions, as he is scheduled to tee off at 10:45 a.m. For those who are wondering, here are some of the other notable tee times and pairing from Round 1 of the Masters:
10:34 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter and amateur player Steven Fox
10:45 a.m. — Tiger Woods, Luke Donald and Scott Piercy
10:56 a.m. — Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and Padraig Harrington
12:13 p.m. — Steve Stricker, Ernie Els and Nick Watney
12:57 p.m. — Angel Cabrera, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott
1:30 p.m. — Phil Mickelson, Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen
1:41 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and Freddie Jacobson
1:52 p.m. — Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar and Bill Haas
While live coverage doesn’t begin until 11:00 a.m. on Masters.com and 3:00 p.m. on ESPN, the players who are getting off before the TV cameras start rolling are supposedly in good shape. Justin Rose and a couple of others from our Masters predictions that we posted on Wednesday are off to a quick start thanks in part to the favorable early conditions. As we know, there is a ton of golf left to be played. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be excited for the first few holes. We know the feeling.
