When is The Masters 2026? First-round tee times and how to watch on TV as Rory McIlroy defends title

Rory McIlroy won the Masters for the first time last year (REUTERS)

The Masters returns to open the men’s major season with Rory McIlroy returning a year on from his cathartic victory to secure the grand slam.

The Irishman’s win over Justin Rose in a nail-biting play-off sets the bar high for the drama to unfold around Augusta National next week.

But after Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest and subsequent withdrawal from the field, despite an exemption as a past champion, attention now turns to the golf itself.

Scottie Scheffler has withstood a tough run of form, by his own lofty standards, while Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau have discovered something close to their top form on the LIV Golf circuit.

With excitement building to see who will be slipping on the green jacket on Sunday after four captivating rounds, here’s everything you need to know about The Masters:

The Masters 2026 schedule

Round one: Thursday, 9 April (all times BST)

*denotes amateur

12:40 John Keefer (US), Haotong Li (Chn)

12:50 Naoyuki Kataoka (Jpn), Max Homa (US), Carlos Ortiz (Mex)

13:02 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa), Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Den), Aldrich Potgieter (SA)

13:14 Angel Cabrera (Arg), Sami Valimaki (Fin), Jackson Herrington (US*)

13:26 Charl Schwartzel (SA), Max Greyserman (US), Ryan Fox (NZ)

13:38 Vijay Singh (Fij), Matt McCarty (US), Rasmus Hojgaard (Den)

13:50 Kurt Kitayama (US), Kristoffer Reitan (Nor), Casey Jarvis (SA)

14:02 Bubba Watson (US), Nicolas Echavarria (Col), Brandon Holtz (US*)

14:19 Cameron Smith (Aus), Sam Burns (US), Jake Knapp (US)

14:31 Keegan Bradley (US), Ryan Gerard (US), Nick Taylor (Can)

14:43 Dustin Johnson (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Jason Day (Aus)

14:55 Patrick Reed (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Akshay Bhatia (US)

15:07 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng), Xander Schauffele (US)

15:19 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Collin Morikawa (US), Russell Henley (US)

15:31 Rory McIlroy (NI), Cameron Young (US), Mason Howell (US*)

Rory McIlroy slips on the green jacket after victory at The Masters (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

15:43 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Patrick Cantlay (US), Alex Noren (Swe)

16:03 Samuel Stevens (US), Sung-jae Im (Kor)

16:15 Andrew Novak (US), Tom McKibbin (NI), Brian Campbell (US)

16:27 Mike Weir (Can), Wyndham Clark (US), Mateo Pulcini (Arg*)

16:39 Zach Johnson (US), Michael Kim (US), Nicolai Hojgaard (Den)

16:51 Danny Willett (Eng), Davis Riley (US), Ethan Fang (US*)

17:03 Adam Scott (Aus), Daniel Berger (US), Brian Harman (US)

17:15 Fred Couples (US), Min Woo Lee (Aus), Fifa Laopakdee (Tha*)

17:27 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Aaron Rai (Eng), Jacob Bridgeman (US)

17:44 Harry Hall (Eng), Corey Conners (Can), Michael Brennan (US)

17:56 JJ Spaun (US), Maverick McNealy (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)

18:08 Jon Rahm (Spa), Chris Gotterup (US), Ludvig Aberg (Swe)

18:20 Jordan Spieth (US), Justin Rose (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US)

18:32 Sepp Straka (Aut), Ben Griffin (US), Justin Thomas (US)

18:44 Scottie Scheffler (US), Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Gary Woodland (US)

18:56 Harris English (US), Marco Penge (Eng), Si Woo Kim (Kor)

Round two: Friday, 10 April

*denotes amateur

12:40 Samuel Stevens (US), Sung-jae Im (Kor)

12:50 Andrew Novak (US), Tom McKibbin (NI), Brian Campbell (US)

13:02 Mike Weir (Can), Wyndham Clark (US), Mateo Pulcini (Arg*)

13:14 Zach Johnson (US), Michael Kim (US), Nicolai Hojgaard (Den)

13:26 Danny Willett (Eng), Davis Riley (US), Ethan Fang (US*)

13:38 Adam Scott (Aus), Daniel Berger (US), Brian Harman (US)

13:50 Fred Couples (US), Min Woo Lee (Aus), Fifa Laopakdee (Tha*)

14:02 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Aaron Rai (Eng), Jacob Bridgeman (US)

14:19 Harry Hall (Eng), Corey Conners (Can), Michael Brennan (US)

14:31 JJ Spaun (US), Maverick McNealy (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)

14:43 Jon Rahm (Spa), Chris Gotterup (US), Ludvig Aberg (Swe)

14:55 Jordan Spieth (US), Justin Rose (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US)

15:07 Sepp Straka (Aut), Ben Griffin (US), Justin Thomas (US)

15:19 Scottie Scheffler (US), Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Gary Woodland (US)

Scottie Scheffler putts out on the 15th green at Augusta National (Getty Images)

15:31 Harris English (US), Marco Penge (Eng), Si Woo Kim (Kor)

15:51 John Keefer (US), Haotong Li (Chn)

16:03 Naoyuki Kataoka (Jpn), Max Homa (US), Carlos Ortiz (Mex)

16:15 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa), Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Den), Aldrich Potgieter (SA)

16:27 Angel Cabrera (Arg), Sami Valimaki (Fin), Jackson Herrington (US*)

16:39 Charl Schwartzel (SA), Max Greyserman (US), Ryan Fox (NZ)

16:51 Vijay Singh (Fij), Matt McCarty (US), Rasmus Hojgaard (Den)

17:03 Kurt Kitayama (US), Kristoffer Reitan (Nor), Casey Jarvis (SA)

17:15 Bubba Watson (US), Nicolas Echavarria (Col), Brandon Holtz (US*)

17:32 Cameron Smith (Aus), Sam Burns (US), Jake Knapp (US)

17:44 Keegan Bradley (US), Ryan Gerard (US), Nick Taylor (Can)

17:56 Dustin Johnson (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Jason Day (Aus)

18:08 Patrick Reed (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Akshay Bhatia (US)

18:20 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng), Xander Schauffele (US)

18:32 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Collin Morikawa (US), Russell Henley (US)

18:44 Rory McIlroy (NI), Cameron Young (US), Mason Howell (US*)

18:56 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Patrick Cantlay (US), Alex Noren (Swe)

How can I watch The Masters 2026?

Fans in the UK can watch The Masters on Sky Sports, with coverage underway from 2pm BST on Thursday. Featured Group action and updates around the course are available on Sky Sports Golf until 6pm BST, when the global broadcast window opens up. That time is brought forward at the weekend, for rounds three and four, at 5pm BST.

Sky Sports+ will have live coverage of the Featured Holes/Amen Corner from 3:45pm BST on Thursday and Friday, 5pm BST on Saturday and 4:45pm BST on Sunday.

Fans can subscribe to Sky, or use Now TV with a day or month pass. Independent Sport will also have a live blog with all the latest scores, news and reaction.

Odds

Scottie Scheffler 9/2

Rory McIlroy 10/1

Jon Rahm 11/1

Bryson Dechambeau 11/1

Xander Schauffele 14/1

Ludvig Aberg 14/1

Justin Rose 20/1

Tommy Fleetwood 20/1

Matt Fitzpatrick 20/1

Cameron Young 22/1