Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA — April 7, 2022
The 86th playing of The Masters tournament will begin this morning from the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Providing Mother Nature does not interfere, there is a 24% chance of scattered showers or thunderstorms in the area. Thursday tee times were already pushed back one-half hour as rain fell early in the morning on the course.
The eyes of the golf world will be on the first tee at 11:04 am as Tiger Woods tees up to play in his first competitive tournament since the 2020 Masters, played in November that year due to COVID-19. His threesome will include Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.
Tiger’s Comeback
It was on February 23rd, 2021 that Tiger was involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident in the hills of Southern California just outside of Los Angeles that resulted in serious injuries to his legs. He had to be extracted from the vehicle by emergency personnel and required multiple surgeries to reconstruct his right leg and ankle.
It was uncertain, in the months after the accident, if Woods would ever play professional golf again. It was rumored that doctors had seriously considered amputating the more severely injured right leg.
A glimmer of hope in December of last year when Tiger played with his son Charlie in the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida. The competitive fires showed through as they finished second in the father-son pairing tournament for charity. However, Tiger rode most of the time in a golf cart, something he would not be able to do on the PGA Tour.
Then this week Woods came to Augusta to play practice rounds, walking the hallowed grounds of Augusta as he had so many times throughout his career. Pressed for an answer as to whether or not he would play in this year’s tournament? Tiger responded, “It would be a game-time decision.
Thursday Tee Times
As always the tournament directors put together some interesting pairings on the first two days of play to delight the Augusta patrons. Here are some of the stellar threesomes that will be featured.
10:42 am — Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood
10:53 am — Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Paul Casey
11:04 am — Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann
11:15 am — Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, James Piot (a)
11:26 am — Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau
2:00 pm — Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa
2:11 pm — Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm
2:22 pm — Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele
2:33 pm — Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy
Defending Champion Hideki Matsuyama is playing with Michigan State Golfer James Piot, the 2021 U.S. Amateur champion.
Honorary Starters
In a wonderful Masters tradition that dates back to 1963, the tournament’s Honorary Starters hit the opening tee shots off the first tee crowded around with cheering patrons. Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson joked amongst themselves and those in attendance while hitting three perfect drives down the fairway. Among them, the trio holds 11 green jackets, emblematic of victory in the world’s most prestigious professional golf tournament.
Betting Favorites
According to CBS Sports the 2022 Masters betting odds favor Jon Rahm to win at +1000. Tiger Woods begins play at +4000. At FOX Bet, Tiger’s current odds to make the cut are listed at +100, while his number to miss the weekend sits at -133.
Odds for the entire field, courtesy of CBS Sports, are listed below.
Jon Rahm +1000
Justin Thomas +1400
Dustin Johnson +1600
Cameron Smith +1600
Scottie Scheffler +1600
Rory McIlroy +1800
Brooks Koepka +2000
Patrick Cantlay +2000
Jordan Spieth +2000
Viktor Hovland +2000
Collin Morikawa +2000
Xander Schauffele +2200
Will Zalatoris +2800
Bryson DeChambeau +3500
Sam Burns +3500
Shane Lowry +3500
Tiger Woods +4000
Matthew Fitzpatrick +4000
Hideki Matsuyama +4000
Corey Conners +4000
Tyrrell Hatton +4000
Daniel Berger +4000
Louis Oosthuizen +4000
Joaquin Niemann +4500
Paul Casey +5000
Adam Scott +5000
Russell Henley +5000
Sungjae Im +5000
Marc Leishman +5000
Tony Finau +5000
Tommy Fleetwood +5500
Billy Horschel +5500
Si-Woo Kim +6500
Justin Rose +6500
Bubba Watson +6500
Patrick Reed +6500
Abraham Ancer +6500
Sergio Garcia +6500
Gary Woodland +7000
Seamus Power +8000
Max Homa +8000
Jason Kokrak +10000
Webb Simpson +10000
Talor Gooch +10000
Brian Harman +10000
Robert Macintyre +10000
Kevin Kisner +10000
Thomas Pieters +10000
Cameron Young +12500
Matthew Wolff +12500
Tom Hoge +12500
Cameron Champ +12500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +12500
Kevin Na +12500
Francesco Molinari +12500
Luke List +12500
Lee Westwood +12500
Erik van Rooyen +15000
Harold Varner+15000
Sepp Straka +15000
Lucas Herbert +20000
Cam Davis +20000
Mackenzie Hughes +20000
Ryan Palmer +20000
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +20000
Danny Willett +20000
Stewart Cink +20000
J.J. Spaun +20000
Padraig Harrington +25000
Takumi Kanaya +25000
Garrick Higgo +25000
Min Woo Lee +25000
Zach Johnson +25000
Keita Nakajima +30000
Charl Schwartzel +30000
Harry Higgs +30000
Lucas Glover +30000
Guido Migliozzi +40000
Hudson Swafford +40000
Bernhard Langer +75000
Aaron Jarvis +100000
James Piot +100000
Stewart Hagestad +100000
Fred Couples +100000
Vijay Singh +100000
Austin Greaser +100000
Mike Weir +100000
Jose Maria Olazabal +200000
Laird Shepherd +200000
Larry Mize +250000
Sandy Lyle +250000
