Morning at The Masters
What Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan will be watching for on Thursday during the first round of The Masters:
-A premier threesome: at 9:42 Central, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Cameron Young will tee off. Rahm is one of the tourney favorites and Thomas and Young have the power and pedigree to contend.
-Local hero: North Dakotan Tom Hoge, who cut his teeth playing youth and amateur events in Minnesota, will play with three-time Masters champ Phil Mickelson and Si Woo Kim at 11:24 Central. Mickelson has been one of the most outspoken critics of the PGA Tour among those who left for LIV Golf. Hoge is coming off a victory in the par-3 tournament, which sounds good until you realize that no par-3 winner has ever won the Masters in the same year.
-Weather: Heavy rains and high winds are supposed to arrive on Friday afternoon and linger through the weekend. Those who tee off on the afternoon on Thursday will play on Friday morning, which might give them an advantage. Among those teeing off late on Friday are Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
-The ceremonial tee shot: Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson will hit the opening tee shot at at 6:40 a.m. Central.
-PGA-LIV rivalries: The Masters seems to have avoided awkward pairings. Neither the loudest PGA voices regarding the rivalry (Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy) nor the loudest LIV voices (Phil Mickelson and Cam Smith) are playing with anyone likely to cause tension.
As their comments and the group Champions Dinner photo demonstrated, the PGA Tour golfers don't seem interested in spending Masters week criticizing LIV golfers, either because it's harder to do so in person, or because they want to concentrate on the tournament. It's not like anyone is taking a valorous stand this week.
-Tiger watch: Woods tees off at 9:18 Central with Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele, two excellent young players who have yet to win majors.
-3M champ: Tony Finau, winner of the 2022 3M Championship in Minnesota, is playing in the last group of the day, teeing off at 1 p.m. with Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood. That's a threesome that could produce a green jacket.
-The course: For someone who has been coming here since 2005, it's hard to describe just how far back the tees on No. 5, 13 and 15 have been pushed. Golf balls may need to be restricted just so Augusta National doesn't have to buy Washington Avenue and put a lot of fast-food joints out of business.
