The 90th edition of the Masters is officially here.
Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit the ceremonial opening tee shots at Augusta National this morning, kicking off the first major championship of the season in Georgia.
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All eyes will be on Rory McIlroy early this week after his historic win last season, which completed the career Grand Slam and finally earned him a green jacket after years of falling short in Augusta. McIlroy has only made four PGA Tour starts this season, however, and was dealing with a back injury last month that caused him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler is also back in the field after he and his wife, Meredith, welcomed their second child not quite two weeks ago. Scheffler is the betting favorite. There are 10 LIV Golf members playing, led by Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, and six amateurs, too. They’re vying for the Silver Cup, but will have to make the cut to do so.
Amazon Prime Video: 1-3 p.m. ET
ESPN: 3-7:30 p.m. ET
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All times ET
10:07 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
10:31 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell (a)
1:08 p.m.: Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Åberg
1:20 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
1:44 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest updates and highlights from Round 1 of the 2026 Masters:
Live37 updatesThu, April 9, 2026 at 6:01 AM PDT
Jay Hart
(As of 5 p.m. ET)
Position
Player
Score
Thru
T1.
Sam Burns
-5
F
T1.
Rory McIlroy
-5
F
T3.
Patrick Reed
-3
F
T3.
Kurt Kitayama
-3
F
T3.
Jason Day
-3
F
T3.
Justin Rose
-3
12
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 1:52 PM PDT
Jay Busbee
AUGUSTA, Ga. — One year ago, Bryson DeChambeau held the solo lead at the Masters on Sunday. After his very next round at Augusta National, he was nine strokes behind the clubhouse leader, looking for answers from an unforgiving course. And not even his homemade club could keep his card clean.
DeChambeau finished his first day at the 2026 Masters at 4-over, far behind clubhouse leaders Sam Burns and Rory McIlroy (-5). After his round, a visibly frustrated DeChambeau nonetheless spoke to the media. His normally analytical mind was spinning its wheels in mud, trying to figure out how everything had gone so wrong so quickly.
“Everybody has an ability for weird things to happen,” DeChambeau said in a short postround interview, “and today I just did not have my irons under control, which is weird.”
For more on DeChambeau’s first round, and his 3-D printed 5 iron, click here.
Bryson DeChambeau carried a 3-D printed 5 iron in his bag on Thursday at the Masters. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
(Andrew Redington via Getty Images)
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 1:48 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Collin Morikawa is fighting through a back injury this week at Augusta National, and today was “the toughest round I’ve ever played.”
He’s at 2-over after Thursday.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 1:30 PM PDT
There’s a pretty simple explanation: they can see it easier.
Couples, 66, and Cabrera, 56, have gone to the yellow ball for visualization purposes.
And if you’re wondering if fellow competitors give them grief, yes, yes they do.
Whatever, Freddie still has a swing that’s as smooth as silk.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 1:24 PM PDT
Jay Hart
Eagle is always in play at 13. Adam Scott nearly did one better:
Alas, he had to settle for ONLY an eagle, but it did put him in red figures at -1.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 1:04 PM PDT
Jay Hart
Woodland has got it to -3, and if you don’t know his story, it is absolutely insane.
A few years ago, Woodland had brain surgery to remove a lesion. Scary stuff. But it gets worse. Ever since, Woodland has suffered from PTSD, to the point where he has visions of people trying to kill him. He felt it during the second round of the Houston Open a couple weeks ago as he walked the course. It’s absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time,
But then … he went on to win that tournament, which qualified him for this Masters, and here he is on the first page of the leaderboard.
You can read Woodland’s story here.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:49 PM PDT
A year ago, McIlroy ended Round 1 seven shots back of the lead. This year, he’s in a much better position, finishing off with a 67, putting him in a tie with Sam Burns for the clubhouse lead.
Sounds great, right?
Well, yes, until you remember the only other time he held the lead after Round 1 was 2011, when he infamously gave up a massive lead on Sunday to let the green jacket slip away and ultimately elude him for more than a decade.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:47 PM PDT
Jay Hart
Ludvig Åberg is the popular pick to win his first major, and he had it going through eight holes. But at the ninth, well, the wheels came off a bit. After putting his drive into the pine straw, Åberg had to scramble and wound up with a double, dropping him from -3 to -1.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:41 PM PDT
Jay Hart
Considering where DeChambeau sits, let’s dig into how the Masters cutline works, which is quite simple: Top 50 and ties make it to the weekend.
DeChambeau, at +4, currently sits T63.
Othere big names on the wrong side as of now include Jon Rahm (+3) and Bubba Watson (+4).
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:31 PM PDT
Ryan Young
If he didn’t have that bunker meltdown on No. 11, Bryson DeChambeau wouldn’t be in a terrible spot. But with that triple bogey, and a bogey at the 18th after he missed a long par save, DeChambeau is now at 4-over.
He’s going to have to work to make the cut on Friday.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Make it three straight for Rory McIlroy now after his birdie at the 15th. He pulled the latest one off after sending his drive on the par-5 way off to the left into the trees, too.
McIlroy’s tied with Burns at 5-under with a real chance to take the clubhouse lead.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 11:36 AM PDT
Ryan Young
Scottie Scheffler just drove the green at the par-4 third after his eagle, which left him with a very easy two-putt birdie.
He’s only two off the lead now with 15 holes to go today. Scheffler appears to be on a mission today.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 11:28 AM PDT
Ryan Young
After an easy birdie at the par-5 13th, Rory McIlroy is now just two off the lead.
We’ll see how this final stretch goes for him.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 11:24 AM PDT
Ryan Young
The top-ranked golfer in the world opened with an eagle at the second today, too. Talk about a fast start.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:48 AM PDT
Ryan Young
Well, things are not going well for Bryson DeChambeau so far at Augusta. He just made a triple bogey after needing three attempts at getting out of the bunker at No. 11. His drive landed in the middle of the fairway before that, too.
Not great … but it’s relatable. So there’s that?
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:45 AM PDT
Ryan Young
Shane Lowry was perfect from the middle of the fairway for the latest eagle out on the course so far today. He’s now just one back of the leaders.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:17 AM PDT
Jay Hart
After a sluggish start, the defending champ has birdied Nos. 8 and 9 to get it to -2 and onto the first page of the leaderboard.
Remember, only three players have ever gone back-to-back at Augusta National: Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:12 AM PDT
Should we be surprised that Fred Couples is in red numbers in the early going, carding birdies at Nos. 1 and 2?
Probably not, considering Freddie has the smoothest swing golf has ever seen.
Even at 66, Couples still has it. But can it hold up enough to make his first cut since 2023?
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:05 AM PDT
Jay Hart
There are scores to be had on the front nine at Augusta National, which is always true — particularly if you can take advantage of the two par 5s. Patrick Reed did just that, eagling both.
Now he heads to the more difficult back nine, where he’s already dropped a shot at 10.
A number of players have gone to the back in red numbers, only to watch them turn black quickly. Only Kristoffer Reitan, thus far, has managed to buck that trend, carding a birdie and an eagle at Nos. 12 and 13, respectively, to get to -3.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 9:40 AM PDT
Quite literally … at No. 8, Schauffele’s drive wound up in a woman’s shopping bag.
He’d go on to par the hole.
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 9:36 AM PDT
Jay Hart
At the par 3 sixth hole, Bryson DeChambeau yanked his tee shot to the left and, well, this happened:
Thanks to the lucky bounce off a patron, DeChambeau was able to get up and down for par. Through 8, he’s still even par.