Masters tee times, top groups for this week at Augusta National

Hello, friends. It’s time for the 2023 Masters.

Tournament play kicks off on Thursday morning with a handful of marquee groupings set to take aim at the rolling hills of Augusta National. TV coverage Thursday and Friday is 3-7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Here’s a look at the three groups you need to watch when things get going this week:

10:18 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland

I mean, do we really have to say it?

Tiger Woods is going to draw crowds no matter what kind of shape he’s in. He conceded during his Tuesday press conference that he’s not sure how many more Masters tournaments he has in him physically. The 2021 car crash that nearly took his leg and life remains a burden. Still, fans will chase him like crazy around Augusta.

Beyond Woods, Xander Schauffele has been a fixture atop major leaderboards for the last five-plus years — including finishes of T2 (2019) and T3 (2021) at the Masters. This was the only major he missed the cut at last year. Expect him to have some extra juice this week.

Viktor Hovland, too, is no slouch. He’s become a trendy major pick in recent years. At 24 years old, he’s continuing to grow into his game.

10:42 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Cam Young

It’d be a shock if one player, if not all three, involved in this group did not finish near the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend.

Jon Rahm is one of the three best players in the world right now, and it’s not particularly close. Along with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, he’s as good as it gets as an all-around golfer. He won the U.S. Open in 2021, but feels due for another major title. This could be the week.

Justin Thomas won the PGA Championship last year at Southern Hills in epic fashion, and he has two top 10s at the Masters in his last three tries. He’s a threat just about every time he plays.

Cam Young is the least proven of this group, but he’s quickly becoming must-watch television. Young finished T3 at the PGA Championship and solo second at the Open Championship last year. He missed the cut in his first Masters appearance, but it’d be surprising if he’s not playing into the weekend this year.

1:48 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Tom Kim and Sam Burns

Tom Kim and Rory McIlroy played a fun practice round on Monday with Woods and Fred Couples. They’ll be together again during Day 1 of competition at Augusta.

McIlroy has been right there with Rahm and Scheffler atop the world rankings over the last year or so. He finished last year’s Masters with a bang, canning a chip in on 18 to finish second. McIlroy only needs the green jacket to complete the career grand slam. Pretty decent bet he can do that this week.

Kim is one of the more intriguing rising stars on tour. He’s only 20, but he has nine victories between the Asian Tour, Philippine Golf Tour, Asian Development Tour and Korean Tour since 2018. This is his first Masters, but he could be a name to watch if he hangs around.

Sam Burns has semi-quietly cemented himself as one of the 15 or 20 best players in the world in recent years. The former LSU star heads into this week at No. 11 in the world golf rankings and beat Young 6 and 5 in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play final two weeks ago. He missed the cut in his only Masters appearance last year.

Other notable Masters groups to watch:

1:12 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Corey Conners, Justin Rose

1:24 p.m.: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris

1:48 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Sam Bennett

2 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau

Full Masters tee times list (Thursday/Friday)

7:40 a.m.: Gary Player (Honorary Starter), Jack Nicklaus (Honorary Starter), Tom Watson (Honorary Starter)

8:00 a.m./11:06 a.m. Mike Weir (Canada), Kevin Na

8:12 a.m./11:18 a.m. Vijay Singh (Fiji), Scott Stallings, *Matthew McClean (N. Ireland)

8:24 a.m./11:30 a.m. Sandy Lyle (Scotland), Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch

8:36 a.m./11:42 a.m. Fred Couples, Russell Henley, Alex Noren (Sweden)

8:48 a.m./11:54 a.m. Adrian Meronk (Poland), Kevin Kisner, Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa)

9:00 a.m./12:12 p.m. Larry Mize, Min Woo Lee (Australia), *Harrison Crowe (Australia)

9:12 a.m./12:24 p.m. Sergio Garcia (Spain), Kazuki Higa (Japan), Keith Mitchell

9:24 a.m./12:36 p.m. Patrick Reed, Adam Svensson (Canada), Sahith Theegala

9:36 a.m./12:48 p.m. Shane Lowry (Ireland), Mackenzie Hughes (Canada), Thomas Pieters (Belgium)

9:48 a.m./1:00 p.m. Bubba Watson, Seamus Power (Ireland), *Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (Argentina)

10:06 a.m./1:12 p.m. Abraham Ancer (Mexico), Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley

10:18 a.m./1:24 p.m. Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland (Norway), Xander Schauffele

10:30 a.m./1:36 p.m. Adam Scott (Australia), Patrick Cantlay, Kurt Kitayama

10:42 a.m./1:48 p.m. Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm (Spain), Cameron Young

10:54 a.m./2:00 p.m. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Cameron Smith (Australia), Sungjae Im (Korea)

11:06 a.m./8:00 a.m. Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), Cameron Champ

11:18 a.m./8:12 a.m. Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Taylor Moore, *Aldrich Potgieter (South Africa)

11:30 a.m./8:24 a.m. J. T. Poston, Francesco Molinari (Italy), Bryson DeChambeau

11:42 a.m./8:36 a.m. Bernhard Langer (Germany), Mito Pereira (Chile), *Ben Carr

11:54 a.m./8:48 a.m. Danny Willett (England), Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka

12:12 p.m./9:00 a.m. Sepp Straka (Austria), Harold Varner III, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Korea)

12:24 p.m./9:12 a.m. Phil Mickelson, Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim (Korea)

12:36 p.m./9:24 a.m. Billy Horschel, Harris English, Ryan Fox (New Zealand)

12:48 p.m./9:36 a.m. Zach Johnson, Jason Day (Australia), *Gordon Sargent

1:00 p.m./9:48 a.m. Brian Harman, Joaquin Niemann (Chile), Tyrrell Hatton (England)

1:12 p.m./10:06 a.m. Dustin Johnson, Corey Conners (Canada), Justin Rose (England)

1:24 p.m./10:18 a.m. Matthew Fitzpatrick (England), Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris

1:36 p.m./10:30 a.m. Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, *Sam Bennett

1:48 p.m./10:42 a.m. Tom Kim (Korea), Rory McIlroy (N. Ireland), Sam Burns

2:00 p.m./10:54 a.m. Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood (England), Tony Finau

* Denotes amateur