AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods will begin his first Masters in three years on Thursday at 10:42 a.m. ET along with Australia's Marc Leishman and England's Tommy Fleetwood.
Defending champion Sergio Garcia will be in the group at 10:53 a.m., joined by Justin Thomas, who won the PGA Championship, and U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman.
"The feel that you get and the receptions that you get coming to Augusta as a Masters champion is different," Garcia said Tuesday. "... It's just a different feeling, it's a different sensation, and it's unbelievable. It's great. I'm enjoying every minute of it and just hoping that I can go out there and play great again and have a chance of defending a green jacket."
The 82nd Masters Tournament will begin with ceremonial tee shots by former Masters champions Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player at 8:15 a.m. The first tee time is at 8:30 a.m. and features Austin Cook, Ted Potter and Wesley Bryan.
"I think that this year it feels like you probably have, I don't know, eight or 10 guys that are in good form, with really good, solid chance of winning," Garcia said. "So it's kind of interesting to see how the week goes on."
Phil Mickelson highlights the afternoon wave and tees off at 1:27 p.m. along with Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar.
They are followed by Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm at 1:38 p.m., then Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren and Louis Oosthuizen at 1:49 p.m.
No. 1-ranked Dustin Johnson is in the final group of the day along with last year's runner-up, Justin Rose, and Rafael Cabrera Bello.
On Friday, Woods plays in the afternoon along with Leishman and Fleetwood at 1:27 p.m.
