The 2026 Masters officially is off and running. And there are plenty of storylines to follow this week at Augusta National Golf Club.
The basics first: 2025 champion Rory McIlroy hopes to become the first repeat winner since Tiger Woods in 2002. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has struggled of late on the PGA Tour, but he does have a win and two other top-five finishes as he seeks a third green jacket in five years. Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm enter as LIV Golf’s best chances to win, and DeChambeau is among those most likely to contend for their first Masters title, along with Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood.
Don’t rule out any of the 16 pros making their debut at Augusta. Jacob Bridgeman has a win and three other top-10s from this year, including a T-5 at The Players Championship. Chris Gotterup comes with two victories under his belt already plus a T-6 in his most recent tournament at the Houston Open, won by sympathetic fan favorite Gary Woodland. And let’s not forget the amateurs, headed by Sam Howell, who got started by tying for fourth in the Par 3 Contest. Keep scrolling for the latest updates from Augusta.
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How to watch Masters coverage on TV, streaming
Round 1 of the 2026 Masters will broadcast nationally on Amazon Prime starting at 1 p.m. before switching to ESPN at 3 p.m. The ESPN broadcast is available to stream via Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers, and the tournament is available to stream for free on Masters.com and the Masters app. Featured group and hole streaming from PGA Tour Live is available on the ESPN app (with a subscription to the Select plan) starting at 8:45 a.m.
On the fly! Corey Conners holes out
Minus an eagle on the eighth, it’s been a tough day for Corey Conners, going 4 over between the ninth and 12th holes and capped by a double-bogey 5 after his tee shot rolled back into the water. But the Canadian got a reprieve after his approach shot on No. 14 landed 28 yards from the cup in the rough. Conners’ looping third shot went directly into the hole for a surprise birdie, putting him at 2 over for the day.
Has anyone won back-to-back Masters?
Rory McIlroy heads into the clubhouse tied for the lead after Round 1, setting up a race to put himself in rare company. Only three players have ever repeated their title at Augusta National: Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and 1966, Nick Faldo in 1989 and 1990, and Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
Rory McIlroy catches fire, tied atop 2026 Masters leaderboard
Don’t look now, but the defending Masters champion continues to surge up the leaderboard. Rory McIlroy followed a front nine of 2-under 34 with birdies on Holes 13, 14 and 15, to get to 5 under for the tournament, tied with Sam Burns for first. He finished his first round with a 5-under 67, his second-best start ever at Augusta behind only his bogey-free 7-under 65 in 2011.
McIlroy shot and even-par 72 in last year’s Round 1. His back-to-back 66s on Friday and Saturday helped propel him to the Green Jacket and the career Grand Slam.
Bryson DeChambeau struggles at Masters
Teeing off on the par-3 sixth, Bryson DeChambeau winced after watching his shot sail into the gallery and carom off either a patron or a post holding the rope in front of the crowd. No one appeared hurt, and the ball gave the two-time U.S. Open champ a lucky break, all things considered, and he saved par.
DeChambeau wasn’t as lucky on the par-4 11th, failing to hit out of a bunker twice in a row and ending with a triple-bogey 7. He finished the day with a 4-over 76 and will need a big bounce-back Friday to make the cut for the weekend.
Sam Burns turns in career-best round for lead at the Masters
Riding the momentum from an eagle on No. 2, Sam Burns finished his first round as the leader with a 5-under 67. The 29-year-old from Louisiana beat his previous Masters best, a first-round 68 in 2023, thanks in part to back-to-back birdies at Amen Corner on the 12th and 13th. Burns has five PGA Tour wins and tied for sixth at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. His best finish at a major is a tie for seventh at last year’s U.S. Open.
Scottie Scheffler eagles early at Masters 2026
Two-time Masters champ Scottie Scheffler got to work quickly on climbing toward a third green jacket, taming the 585-yard second hole thanks to a great bounce on his approach that rolled to within 18 feet of the cup. Scheffler converted for the eagle, the fourth of the day on No. 2, then followed up with a birdie on No. 3. It’s great news for Scheffler, who came into Augusta on a relative slump.
Fred Couples at it again at the Masters
How long can he keep doing this? Making his 41st start at Augusta, 66-year-old Fred Couples once again got off to a hot start, notching birdies on his first two holes. The 1992 winner of the green jacket has a lot to live up to after his incredible performance last year, when he eagled the 14th in Round 1 to finish the day 1 under par.
Shane Lowry holes out for eagle
Shane Lowry got a little lucky on the par-5 13th, skipping a chip from about 100 yards out into the cup for an eagle. The 2019 British Open champ used that shot to make up for a double bogey on No. 4.
Patrick Reed eagles twice on front nine at Masters 2026
The first big shot of the 2026 Masters belongs to Patrick Reed. The 2018 champion followed his opening birdie with an eagle on the par-5 second to get to 3 under on Thursday morning. He would later add another eagle on No. 8, becoming the second player in Masters history to eagle twice over the front nine.
Xander Schauffele hits into patron’s bag
On the par-5 eighth, Xander Schauffele sent his drive left of the fairway with his ball landing in a patron’s merchandise bag. Schauffele, who has finished in the top 10 at each of the past three Masters, took a drop and managed to save par to remain at 1 under for the round.
Haotong Li chips out of Rae’s Creek for birdie
Hitting into the water is never good, but Haotong Li made the best of it on No. 13. Li, who made a surprise run to the top five at the 2025 British Open, muscled the ball out of the rough in Rae’s Creek onto the green and landed the shot 13 feet from the hole, notching a birdie. He continued his run with an eagle on the 15th to put him under par.
Rory McIlroy playing with Mason Howell, teenage US Amateur champ
Defending Masters champ Rory McIlroy is on the course, playing his first two rounds alongside Players Championship winner Cameron Young and 18-year-old amateur Mason Howell. The incoming freshman at Georgia beat fellow Masters participant Jackson Herrington in the 2025 U.S. Amateur 7-and-6, and along with Thailand’s Fifa Laopadkee, he is the favorite to win the coveted low amateur honors. However, Howell suffered his first setback with a double bogey on the fourth hole.
Tom Watson not a fan of Brooks Koepka’s return to PGA Tour
After participating in the ceremonial start of the 2026 Masters, Palm Beach Post columnist Tom D’Angelo caught up with World Golf Hall of Famer and former Masters champion Tom Watson, who is not in favor of the PGA Tour’s decision to welcome back players who left the tour to play with LIV Golf.
“The Tour made a decision to renege on what they promised when the players left for LIV,” Watson said April 9 after hitting his shot as one of the three Honorary Starters before the Masters along with North Palm Beach’s Jack Nicklaus and Jupiter Island’s Gary Player. “They felt that the compensation that he’s paid is good enough.
Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Gary Player begin 2026 Masters as ceremonial starters
One of the great traditions in all of sports is the ceremonial start of the Masters, where three golf icons tee off to officially begin the tournament. As has been the case for the last few years, the three Green Jacket champs to start things at Augusta National were Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.
The patrons got an early morning thrill watching three men with a combined 11 wins at this event hit off the first tee. And, with tears streaming down his face, Nicklaus provided a separate moment as the 86-year-old duck hooked his drive to the left.
Mark Calcavecchia removed from Augusta National after violating Masters’ cell phone policy
Just in case you thought the members at the Masters were playing about that “no cell phone” policy, former major champion Mark Calcavecchia found out the hard way.
Calcavecchia was a patron for Wednesday’s Par 3 Content, and was caught using his device inside the gates at Augusta National. He was removed from the premises. He was not in the field for this weekend’s tournament, but if you’re reading this on the course right now, you’d better put it away.
Masters 2026 predictions and picks
Masters favorites
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Masters tee times
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Masters location: Where is Augusta National?
The Masters is the only one of golf’s majors that doesn’t change location each year, taking place annually at Augusta National Golf Club. Augusta, Georgia is right along the South Carolina border about 95 miles southeast of the University of Georgia in Athens and 75 miles southwest of the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
Masters winners: Who won last year?
Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win his first green jacket at the 2025 Masters, giving the 35-year-old the career grand slam. McIlroy and Rose both shot 11 under for the tournament, two shots ahead of Patrick Reed and three ahead of defending champion Scottie Scheffler.
Masters weather update: Augusta forecast for Thursday
AccuWeather predicts a high of 73 degrees with mostly sunny skies in the forecast today in Augusta, Georgia. Winds are expected to blow out of the northeast at 5-10 mph. There is a 2% chance of rain.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 2026 Masters leaderboard recap, Round 1 featuring Rory McIlroy
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
