When is Rory McIlroy playing at the Masters today? UK tee times for round one

Rory McIlroy will begin his Masters title defence at Augusta National today.

McIlroy is back in Georgia attempting to retain the trophy and collect another green jacket, having last year finally won via a dramatic play-off against Justin Rose, which completed a famous golf career grand slam.

The Northern Irishman has a battle on his hands to repeat that feat - Tiger Woods remains the last back-to-back Masters winner in 2001/02 - with world no1 Scottie Scheffler the current favourite.

Scheffler will tee off at 6.44pm BST, paired with Robert MacIntyre and Gary Woodland, while heavily-tipped pair Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm begin their Masters efforts at 3.07pm BST and 6.08pm BST, respectively.

Rose, a play-off loser 12 months ago, will get underway at 6.20pm BST, with fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick at 3.07pm BST, alongside DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele.

When is Rory McIlroy playing at the Masters 2026?

Defending champion Rory McIlroy tees off at 3.31pm BST on day one - Thursday, April 9, 2026 - at Augusta National.

He has been placed alongside Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell.

What time does the Masters start?

The first group tees off for the first round today at Augusta on Thursday, April 9 at 12.40pm BST, which is 7.40am local time in Georgia.

12.40pm: John Keefer, Haotong Li
12.50pm: Naoyuki Kataoka, Max Homa, Carlos Ortiz
1.02pm: Jose Maria Olazabal, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Aldrich Potgieter
1.14pm: Angel Cabrera, Sami Valimaki, Jackson Herrington (a)
1.26pm: Charl Schwazrtzel, Max Greyserman, Ryan Fox
1.38pm: Vijay Singh, Matt McCarty, Rasmus Hojgaard
1.50pm: Kurt Kitayama, Kristoffer Reitan, Casey Jarvis
2.02pm: Bubba Watson, Nicolas Echavarria, Brandon Holtz (a)
2.19pm: Cameron Smith, Sam Burns, Jake Knapp
2.31pm: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Gerard, Nick Taylor
2.43pm: Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Jason Day
2.55pm: Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia
3.07pm: Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
3.19pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley
3.31pm: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell (a)
3.43pm: Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren
4.03pm: Samuel Stevens, Sungjae Im
4.15pm: Andrew Novak, Tom McKibbin, Brian Campbell
4.27pm: Mike Weir, Wyndham Clark, Mateo Pulcini (a)
4.39pm: Zach Johnson, Michael Kim, Nicolai Hojgaard
4.51pm: Danny Willett, Davis Riley, Ethan Fang (a)
5.03pm: Adam Scott, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman
5.15pm: Fred Couples, Min Woo Lee, Fifa Laopakdee (a)
5.27pm: Sergio Garcia, Aaron Rai, Jacob Bridgeman
5.44pm: Harry Hall, Corey Conners, Michael Brennan
5.56pm: JJ Spaun, Maverick McNealy, Tyrrell Hatton
6.08pm: Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Aberg
6.20pm: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
6.32pm: Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas
6.44pm: Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
6.56pm: Harris English, Marco Penge, Si Woo Kim
TV channel: All four days of the Masters are being televised live in the UK on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event, though as usual viewing is restricted early on.

What time does the Masters start today?

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Featured group coverage usually begins at 2pm BST on Thursday and Friday, and 4.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.