Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the 2021 Masters Tournament
By TERRY LYONS
AUGUSTA - A golf tournament steeped in tradition, The Masters returns to its traditional and rightful place this weekend on the Spring calendar of the PGA Tour.
In about one hour from post time, the Masters will honor past champions, some gone, with its honorary first tee ceremony. In the past, it’s featured greats like Gene Sarazen and Arnold Palmer, today it will be Lee Elder, 86, the man who broke the color barrier at Augusta. Elder will tee-off along with the legendary Gary Player and golf’s greatest of all-time, Jack Nicklaus. (7:45am EDT).
The Masters is the second of three tournaments (Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and the U.S. Open) to be contested twice in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson is in search of his third major championship, to add to the 2016 U.S. Open and last November’s 2020 Masters Tournament.
Currently No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking and FedExCup standings, Justin Thomas has improved his finish at the Masters in each start since his tournament debut. Last November, he finished fourth.
Jordan Spieth, who won his first PGA Tour title since 2017 at last week’s Valero Texas Open, and is competing for his fourth major championship victory and second at the Masters.
The 2021 Masters field includes 29 of the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings, led by top-ranked Bryson DeChambeau. Only No. 27 Charley Hoffman is not competing this weekend.
Tee Times begin today at 7:45am (EDT) through 2:00pm (EDT). For Round 2 on Friday, Tee times range from 8am to 2:00pm (EDT) (link).
Weather: Today’s weather calls for mostly cloudy skies, 74-degrees with 11 mph winds and a 20% chance of rain. Friday forecast is calling for scattered thundershowers. Temperature at 72% with 57% humidity and a 40% chance of rain. Forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms on the weekend, too.
PGATourBrunch will be posting by 8am EDT from Friday through Sunday.
Next Week: The RBC Heritage from Hilton Head
Field Updates:
None
The Field (link)
Power Rankings (PGATourCom)
THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: The Masters
COURSE: Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia
ARCHITECTS: Allister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones, Jr.
YARDS/PAR: 7,472 yards/Par 72
PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $11,500,000/$2,100,000
DEFENDING Champion (November 2020) - Dustin Johnson - (Leaderboard link)
PAST RESULTS: (link)
PAST MASTERS CHAMPIONS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points Available/Winner Share: 3,375/600
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedEXCup #TheMasters
OFFICIAL SITE: (MastersCom)
TV COVERAGE: Today, April 8 and Friday, April 9: 3:00pm to 7:30pm (EDT) on ESPN. Saturday, April 10 - Exclusive TV coverage 3:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on CBS. Sunday, April 11 - Exclusive TV coverage from 2:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT).
STREAMING: Masters Live will offer streaming coverage of the tournament today (7:45am to 7:30pm (EDT) and Friday from 8:30am to 7:30pm (EDT). Saturday and Sunday streaming coverage will be from 10:15am to 7:00pm (EDT).
PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Special Masters Radio coverage on Today - Friday - 2:00pm to 8:00pm (EDT); then Saturday and Sunday, 2:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Masters Coverage via PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.
How to Watch: (PGATourCom)
Last week: Valero Texas Open Leaderboard (link)
Odds & Predictions:
A L👀K at the O👀S and A PREDICTION OR TWO:
Masters Odds (via William Hill)
Dustin Johnson 9-1
Jordan Spieth 10-1
Justin Thomas 10-1
Bryson DeChambeau 11-1
Jon Rahm 12-1
Rory McIlroy 14-1
Xander Schauffele 22-1
Patrick Cantlay 22-1
Brooks Koepka 25-1
Patrick Reed 28-1
Collin Morikawa 30-1
Lee Westwood 30-1
Tony Finau 33-1
Daniel Berger 33-1
Viktor Hovland 33-1
Webb Simpson 35-1
Hideki Matsuyama 35-1
Cameron Smith 35-1
Sung-Jae Im 35-1
Scottie Scheffler 35-1
Tyrrell Hatton 35-1
Paul Casey 40-1
Tommy Fleetwood 45-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 45-1
Jason Day 45-1
Sergio Garcia 45-1
Joaquin Niemann 50-1
Bubba Watson 50-1
Adam Scott 66-1
Will Zalatoris 66-1
Louis Oosthuizen 66-1
Justin Rose 70-1
Abraham Ancer 70-1
Harris English 80-1
Corey Conners 80-1
Billy Horschel 80-1
Max Homa 80-1
Jason Kokrak 80-1
Matt Kuchar 80-1
Matt Wallace 80-1
Francesco Molinari 90-1
Matthew Wolff 90-1
Victor Perez 90-1
Shane Lowry 90-1
Brian Harman 90-1
Marc Leishman 100-1
Phil Mickelson 100-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 100-1
Si-Woo Kim 100-1
Ryan Palmer 100-1
Matt Jones 125-1
Cameron Champ 125-1
Dylan Frittelli 125-1
Ian Poulter 125-1
Kevin Kisner 125-1
Danny Willett 125-1
Carlos Ortiz 125-1
Robert Macintyre 125-1
Gary Woodland 125-1
Zach Johnson 150-1
Sebastian Munoz 150-1
Kevin Na 150-1
Bernd Wiesberger 200-1
Brendon Todd 200-1
Lanto Griffin 200-1
Mackenzie Hughes 200-1
Charl Schwartzel 250-1
C.T. Pan 250-1
Martin Laird 250-1
Michael Thompson 250-1
Henrik Stenson 250-1
Brian Gay 300-1
Hudson Swafford 400-1
Jimmy Walker 400-1
Stewart Cink 400-1
Bernhard Langer 500-1
Robert Streb 500-1
Jim Herman 500-1
Ty Strafaci 750-1
Fred Couples 750-1
Joe Long 1000-1
Charles Osborne 1000-1
Mike Weir 1000-1
Vijay Singh 1000-1
Jose Maria Olazabal 1500-1
Sandy Lyle 2500-1
Larry Mize 2500-1
Ian Woosnam 4000-1
Masters Records:
• Low 18-hole score: 63 (Nick Price/R-3/1986, Greg Norman/R-1/1996)
• Low 36-hole total: 130 (Jordan Spieth/2015)
• Low 54-hole total: 200 (Jordan Spieth/2015; Dustin Johnson/2020)
• Low 72-hole total: 268 (Dustin Johnson/2020)
• Largest margin of victory: 12 strokes (Tiger Woods/1997)
• Playoffs: 15 (most recent: Sergio Garcia def. Justin Rose, 2017)
• Wire-to-wire winners: 4 (most recent: Jordan Spieth/2015)
• Youngest winner: Tiger Woods, 1997 (21 years, 3 months, 14 days)
• Oldest winner: Jack Nicklaus, 1986 (46 years, 2 months, 23 days)
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What They’re Saying:
The Masters Site on CBS (CBS Sports HQ)
CBS’ Masters TV/Streaming Coverage (CBS Sports HQ)
New Dad Jon Rahm “Ready to Compete” - (ESPN)
Tough Masters Set-up (Agence France Presse)
Ranking the Field at The Masters 1-88 (CBS Sports HQ)
#SportsBiz, Sporting Gambling and Golf Industry News
LA Sheriff Released Info on Tiger Woods’ Accident (ESPN)
Masters Chairman Against Boycott of Georgia (ESPN)
Expert Picks (CBS Sports HQ)
Expert Picks (PGATourCom)
One of These Nine (CBS Sportsline)
On This Day in Golf History:
April 8, 2001 - Tiger Woods won the Masters for the second time and in doing so became the first professional golfer to hold the titles at all four Major Championships at the same time. Woods finished at (-16) and won by two strokes over David Duval. “To win four in succession, it’s hard to believe,” said Woods of his “Tiger Slam.” (Courtesy of Randy Walker), Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt:
Two sports highlights NEVER get old. The final minutes of the 1980 Miracle on Ice and this: