Our Favorite Tee Times and Groups at the 2025 Masters

No tournament in golf does starting times as well as Augusta National. While the event dabbled with super groups in recent years, they have gone back to a balanced tee sheet for the 2025 Masters. From top to bottom, there are very few weak groups. Not that you had any other plan, but you can confidently turn the coverage on Thursday morning and let it ride.

That said, there are a few times that you need to pay particularly close attention. One that is not listed below is the Thursday 7:40 a.m. starting time, the first tee time of the week. Get those clocks set. It’s almost time.

Will’s Favorite Starting Times

All times Eastern Daylight Time (Thursday/Friday)

Bernhard Langer / Will Zalatoris / Noah Kent (a) (8:35 a.m./11:49 a.m.)

Will Zalatoris is batting 1.000 when it comes to top-10 finishes at Augusta National. If I were him, I’d call it a career and just leave it at that. Alas. Will Z has the ball-striking goods required to compete at the Masters, as he showed with a T-9 last year when he wasn’t completely healthy. Seemingly in much better shape than he was last year, I’m excited to see Zalatoris back at Augusta.

Cameron Smith / J.T. Poston / Aaron Rai (8:52 a.m./12:00 p.m.)

Unless proven otherwise, I think this may be the last time I really bother with Cameron Smith research ahead of a major championship. His game will always be well-suited for Augusta National, but until he gives me a reason to really think he’s a routine threat, I think I’m good.

Collin Morikawa / Joaquin Niemann / Min Woo Lee (9:47 a.m./1:01 p.m.)

The Put Up or Shut Up Group, although that really isn’t fair to Collin Morikawa. All three of these guys are certainly capable of contending come Sunday. More than that, they really should be contending come Sunday. Morikawa has far and away the strongest history at Augusta National and could certainly use a big win after falling short a few times over the last 12 months. Joaquin Niemann undoubtedly needs a good result the most. He has to start getting some yellow on that Wikipedia page.

Phil Mickelson / Jason Day / Keegan Bradley (9:58 a.m./1:12 p.m.)

An intriguing group of olds to semi-olds. Any one of these three could be near the top of the leaderboard, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone. At least it shouldn’t. That said, a good finish from Keegan Bradley here and those Ryder Cup playing captain conversations are going to get even louder.

Continued below

MASTERS PREVIEW CONTENT

PLAYER PROFILES: Breaking down the field at Augusta National

AUGUSTA NATIONAL: Course review and ranking

Q&A: Patrick Reed on Augusta National, Masters memories, and an equipment rollback

THE LOOP: Augusta National unveiled its master plan for The Patch

Scottie Scheffler / Justin Thomas / Jose Luis Ballester (a) (10:15 a.m./1:23 p.m.)

I think this is the perfect group for Justin Thomas. If you’re trying to prove that your game is back near the top of your abilities, what better way to show off than against the reigning Masters champion and world No. 1 while all the attention is on him. And if Scottie Scheffler were to go on to win this week, he’d be just the second player in history to win three of four Masters, joining Jack Nicklaus.

Jordan Spieth / Tom Kim / Tyrrell Hatton (10:26 a.m./1:34 p.m.)

Two Dallas guys who won’t stop talking on the golf course and the angry one who is the epitome of “Alabama or England?” in the same group. Seriously, did the Green Jackets get together and try to put together the most annoying group possible for the caddies? In a semi-serious tone, I might like Jordan Spieth this week. Please check back in with me after three holes on Thursday.

Sergio Garcia / Lucas Glover / Daniel Berger (12:22 p.m./9:14 a.m.)

I have a hunch that the contrasting energies of Sergio Garcia and Daniel Berger may lead to some really good golf this week. Nothing gets you going more than trying to show up your playing partner. I think that’s a real possibility with these guys.

Brooks Koepka / Russell Henley / Sungjae Im (12:50 p.m./9:36 a.m.)

Since Brooks Koeopka won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, the only news he’s made is his happiness, or lack thereof, with the state of LIV Golf. I’d love to see him let his clubs do the talking again.

Adam Scott / Xander Schauffele / Viktor Hovland (1:01 p.m./9:47 a.m.)

You could convince me that these three will comprise the podium come Sunday afternoon or that all three will miss the cut. I have so many mixed feelings about each one of them, and yet I just know Xander Schauffele’s consistency is due for a reemergence.

Rory McIlroy / Ludvig Aberg / Akshay Bhatia (1:12 p.m./9:58 a.m.)

It’s a fruitless endeavor to predict whether or not this will finally be the Masters for Rory McIlroy. My advice is to ignore the leaderboard until Saturday at Noon. Otherwise anyone emotionally invested in Rory is going to be exhausted before the pimento cheese sandwiches are ready for weekend consumption.

Hideki Matsuyama / Bryson DeChambeau / Shane Lowry (1:23 p.m./10:15 a.m.)

Bryson DeChambeau undoubtedly had his best major season of his career in 2024, including a T-6 at Augusta, where he was in contention for most of the tournament. I think this week is a validation week for the Crusher as far as his Masters prospects go. If he’s got it figured out, great, it’ll be fun to see him try and tame the beast on a yearly basis. But if he doesn’t have things quite figured out, as his recent inconsistent play on LIV suggests, we could be looking at an Augusta National resume that isn’t kind to Bryson. There is also like a 15% chance Shane Lowry just tackles him on the course on Thursday afternoon for something he says. Could be fun.

Jon Rahm / Wyndham Clark / Tommy Fleetwood (1:34 p.m./10:26 a.m.)

If you don’t have Jon Rahm as one of your top three favorites this week, I think you’re wrong. To me, it’s Scheffler/McIlroy/Rahm vs. the field until proven otherwise.

Enjoy the Masters.