Masters Tee Times Revealed: McIlroy Paired with Young and Amateur Howell

Defending champion Rory McIlroy will be joined by Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell for the opening two rounds of The Masters. McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam with his dramatic playoff victory at Augusta National last year, is aiming to become the fourth player in history to win consecutive Masters titles. The world No 2 will tee off at 10:31am local time on Thursday, alongside Young, who is seeking to become the third successive player to win The Players and The Masters in the same season. Howell, the youngest player in the field, completes the threeball, continuing the tradition of pairing the previous year's winner with the reigning US Amateur champion. A total of 91 players will compete in the opening major of the year, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler on the opposite side of the draw, paired with Scotland's Bob MacIntyre and former US Open champion Gary Woodland. Last year's runner-up Justin Rose will face a late-early start with 2015 champion Jordan Spieth and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, while Bryson DeChambeau will tee off at 10:07am local time with Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick. The Honorary Starters ceremony will take place on Thursday morning at 7:25am local time, featuring Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson, ahead of the opening round getting under way at 7:40am. The Masters will be streamed live with no contract, and fans can follow the action on Sky Sports Golf from 2pm on Thursday. The tournament is expected to be closely contested, with several players having a legitimate opportunity to win the Green Jacket, according to Patrick Reed, who begins his bid for a maiden major title in the morning wave with Akshay Bhatia and 2018 champion Patrick Reed.