Image source, Getty Images. ByPeter Scrivener. BBC Sport senior journalist. 7 April 2026. Rory McIlroy will get the defence of his Masters title under way at 15:31 BST on Thursday, 9 April when the 90th edition of the first major of the year begins.. Northern Ireland’s McIlroy will, as tradition dictates, play in a group with US Amateur champion Mason Howell and last month’s Players winner Cameron Young.. That trio are on the early-late half of the draw and will be the penultimate group to start round two on Friday, at 18:44.. World number one Scottie Scheffler starts his quest for a third Green Jacket on the late-early side of the draw. The 2022 and 2024 champion heads out on Thursday at 18:44 alongside Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and former US Open champion Gary Woodland.. In one of several other marquee groups, England’s 2022 US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick will tee-off with American major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele at 15:07 in round one, while Tommy Fleetwood is out at 14:55.. Three-time Augusta runner-up Justin Rose, including last year to McIlroy, starts his 21st Masters at 18:20 alongside 2015 champion Jordan Spieth and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.. Record six-time Masters winner Jack Nicklaus, 86, will be joined by 90-year-old three-time champion Gary Player and two-time winner Tom Watson, 76, to hit ceremonial tee shots at 12:25 as honorary starters.. Round one: Thursday, 9 April (all times BST). 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*). 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