Updated on: April 11, 2025 / 9:27 AM EDT / CBS/AP
The Masters began Thursday at Augusta National. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler will try to win his third green jacket and Rory McIlroy will try again to win his first as the biggest names in golf come together amid the Georgia pines for 2025’s first major championship.
There are 95 players in the field, the largest in a decade, even without five-time champion Tiger Woods, who had surgery in March to repair a torn Achilles tendon. Last year, Woods set a record by making the cut for the 24th time in a row.
There is still a schism in the game, and just 12 from the breakaway LIV Golf league will be teeing up among the pink dogwoods and blooming azaleas. That includes Jon Rahm, the winner two years ago, and U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.
Here is a look at what you need to know about the Masters. CBS Sports will update its live leaderboard with player standings as the tournament goes on.
The pairing of Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and amateur Jose Luis Ballester walk down the first hole fairway during the first round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2025 in Augusta, Georgia. Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
When will the Masters start?
The first round began at about 7:25 a.m. EDT Thursday, when honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson teed off on Tea Olive, the first hole at Augusta National. Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod were the first honorary starters in 1963, but it was not until Byron Nelson and Gene Sarazen took over in 1981 that it became a treasured tradition.
Who is playing in the Masters?
Davis Riley and Patton Kizzire were the first competitors off at 7:40 a.m., followed by groups of three. After the second round, the top 50 players and ties make the cut for the weekend and are paired according to score for the final two rounds.
Scheffler, who has yet to win this season, is the 9-2 favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. McIlory is second at 13-2 after his wins at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship. Collin Morikawa is 14-1 while Rahm and DeChambeau are 16-1.
Jordan Spieth lines up a putt on the first green during the first round of the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2025. Andrew Redington / Getty Images
Scheffler, who along with his green jacket and Olympic gold medal won seven times on the PGA Tour last year, got a late start to this season after cutting himself on a wine glass in December. But the world No. 1 comes into the Masters with momentum after a final-round 63 left him one shot back of winner Min Woo Lee in his last start at the Houston Open.
McIlroy has been playing some of the best golf of his career. His collapse in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst last year in a Sunday duel with DeChambeau seems to have made the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland an even bigger sentimental favorite.
Xander Schauffele won two majors last year and is seeking his first green jacket, though he seems to be still rounding into form following a rib injury. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has twice finished second at Augusta National.
Morikawa, Lee and Joaquin Niemann teed off at 9:47 a.m. Thursday, beginning a run of high-profile groups. Phil Mickelson, Jason Day and Keegan Bradley played next, followed by Scheffler, who is grouped with Justin Thomas and U.S. Amateur champ Jose Luis Ballester. Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim and Tyrrell Hatton went off at 10:26 a.m.
In the afternoon, McIlroy is grouped with Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia and tees off at 1:12 p.m., just behind the group of Schauffele, Adam Scott and Viktor Hoveland. DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama and Shane Lowery are off at 1:23 p.m., followed by Rahm, Wyndham Clark and Tommy Fleetwood.
How to watch the Masters
The Masters stream on its website began Thursday at 7:15 a.m. and runs throughout the day. Cameras highlight holes and featured groups. The first two rounds are broadcast on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday. CBS takes over Saturday and Sunday with coverage on its Paramount+ platform at noon and on the network beginning at 2 p.m.
What has happened at the Masters so far?
While most of Monday’s practice round was washed out, Tuesday and Wednesday were warm and sunny. The forecast for Thursday is clear, but storms could arrive overnight and the rain could continue into the early part of Friday.
Scheffler birdied the fourth hole of the course for the first time in his career. He has now birdied, or scored one stroke under par, on all 18 holes at the course at least once, CBS Sports reported.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays his second shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2025 in Augusta, Georgia. Richard Heathcote / Getty Images
Before the competition got underway Thursday, players took part in the Masters Par 3 Contest, where golfers aim to complete each step of the nine-hole course in three strokes or less. The contest was held Wednesday. It dates back to 1960 and is set around DeSoto Springs Pond and Ike’s Pond, the PGA said.
Nicolas Echavarria and J.J. Spaun finished atop the leaderboard at 5 under in the family friendly event, but they may come to regret it — nobody has won the Par 3 Tournament and gone on to win the Masters in the same year.
