The bees are buzzing, the birds are singing, the sun is shining and another tell-tale sign that spring is in full swing is that the world’s best golfers are gathering at the spectacular Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia for the 89th edition of The Masters. Many believe the first major of the year is the standout event on the golfing calendar and who could argue with that? Drink in the stunning surroundings for four fantastic days and enjoy the beauty that is golf at its highest level.
Many players will have high hopes of donning the famous green jacket. Rory McIlroy returns to Augusta this week for an 18th consecutive crack at the one major trophy that has so far eluded him. The Irish star picked up four major titles, the US Open, PGA Championship (twice) and the Open Championship within the space of four years between 2011-2014, but amazingly he’s been on a major-less run ever since then.
It’s not been from the want of trying for McIlroy, who finished in the top 10 at Augusta for five consecutive years in the 2010s and was runner-up in 2022. He also heads into this year’s Masters in fine fettle, having claimed the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship titles recently. It’s the first time he’s ever won two PGA Tour titles before April.
British wins at Augusta have been few and far between in recent times. You have to back to Danny Willett’s shock win in 2016 for the last one and prior to that, there hadn’t been any since Nick Faldo celebrated his third Masters success in 1996. Faldo is famously one of only three players ever, along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, to retain their green jacket the following year, having won his first two titles in 1989 & 1990.
Defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler will be attempting to join that list of back-to-back winners after clinching a 4-stroke victory twelve months ago. However, we haven’t had a repeat winner since Woods in 2002 and on the whole, the previous year’s green jacket wearer has failed to even muster a challenge on their return to the hallowed turf of Augusta. Only two of the last 10 victors have recorded a top-10 finish when defending and three even missed the cut.
Below, GOAL shows you everything you need to know for this year’s Masters tournament at Augusta, including when all the featured players are teeing off and how you can watch or stream all the action live.
When is The Masters 2025?
Getty ImagesThe 89th edition of the Masters Tournament is scheduled to take place from Thursday, April 10, to Sunday, April 13 in Augusta, Georgia. Before the start of the tournament, there were practice rounds on Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8. On Wednesday, April 9, it's the ‘Par 3 Contest’, which is played on a separate 9-hole / par-27 course on the northeast corner of Augusta National.
The Augusta National Golf Club is the venue for The Masters. It's the only one of the four Majors to be played on the same course, every single year. The Augusta National course has specific characteristics, such as uneven fairway lies, swirling winds and fast and undulating greens, which certain players thrive upon, while others struggle.
Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, the Augusta National course was opened for play in 1932. The Masters has been played at the club since 1934, with Horton Smith winning that inaugural edition. There have been a multitude of hole updates over recent times and even this year’s Masters will feature course changes, mainly resulting from the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in October, which saw many trees destroyed.
Each of the holes at Augusta National is named for its distinctive plant. Some have changed through the years; No. 14, for example, used to be known as Spanish Dagger but is now known as Chinese Fir for the exotic plant that is located on the left side of the fairway. Over the years, more than 80,000 plants of more than 350 varieties have been added to the Augusta National grounds.
How to watch and stream The Masters 2025
Getty ImagesIn the UK, you can watch The Masters, along with all PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, live and exclusively on Sky Sports. If you're an existing Sky customer, you can add Sky Sports online or through the My Sky app anytime. Packages start from £20 per month with Sky Stream. Sky Sports+ is included at no extra cost, allowing the viewer to watch many more live events across various sports. The Sky Sports app allows subscribers to download and watch live sports on the go and is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android.
NOW TV offers a variety of sign-ups for the avid sports watcher, including the ‘Sports Day Membership, which allows access to all 12 Sky Sports channels for 24 hours for £14.99. NOW’s ‘Fully Flexible Sports Month Membership’ again gives unlimited Sky Sports access but over 30 days instead. That costs £29.99 a month and auto-renews unless cancelled before the end of the month.
There’s also a ‘6-month Saver’ package, where you are charged £25% less and only pay £26 a month, but you need to sign up for a 6-month minimum term. After the 6-month minimum term, it auto-renews at £34.99 a month, unless cancelled.
For the first two days of play, there will be live ‘Featured Groups’ coverage from 2 pm with full live coverage from 7:30 pm. Over the weekend, there’s live coverage from 5 pm both days.
While streaming through the official website of The Masters Tournament, Masters.com and the Masters app is primarily for US audiences, they will also offer limited streaming coverage for international viewers.
Featured tee times for The Masters 2025
Round one - Thursday, April 10 (all times BST)
- 14:47 Collin Morikawa (US), Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Min Woo Lee (Aus)
- 15:15 Scottie Scheffler (US), Justin Thomas (US), Jose Luis Ballester (Spa)
- 18:01 Adam Scott (Aus), Xander Schauffele (US), Viktor Hovland (Nor)
- 18:12 Rory McIlroy (NI), Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Akshay Bhatia (US)
- 18:23 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Bryson DeChambeau (US), Shane Lowry (Ire)
- 18:34 Jon Rahm (Spa), Wyndham Clark (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)
Round two - Friday, April 11 (all times BST)
- 14:47 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Xander Schauffele (US), Adam Scott (Aus)
- 14:58 Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Akshay Bhatia (US), Rory McIlroy (NI)
- 15:15 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
- 15:26 Wyndham Clark (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Jon Rahm (Spa)
- 18:01 Min-Woo Lee (Aus), Collin Morikawa (US), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
- 18:23 Jose Luis Ballester (Spa), Scottie Scheffler (US), Justin Thomas (US)
Who is the favourite to win The Masters 2025?
Getty ImagesDespite players having a poor record when defending their crown at Augusta, Scottie Scheffler remains the pre-tournament favourite to retain the title and claim his third green jacket. Others in the reckoning according to the bookmakers include Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau. Of those players in the field who are yet to win a major, they fancy last year’s Masters runner-up, Ludvig Aberg, to perform the best.
Who won The Masters last year?
Scottie Scheffler claimed his second green jacket and a cool $3.6 million at Augusta twelve months after finishing four shots clear at the top of the leaderboard. Ludvig Aberg performed strongly to finish runner-up to Scheffler. The Swede came close to becoming the first player since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win the Masters on debut.