Former Australian world number one Jason Day has been grouped with golf legend Tiger Woods in one of the most notable trios of the first round of the Masters.
Now, among an elite group of golfers who have finished runners-up in all four major championships after their joint second-place finish at last year’s British Open, Day has been awarded the top class at Augusta National.
At 48 and barely working part-time these days, Woods entered his 26th Masters campaign convinced he can break the 1986 record of Jack Nicklaus, then 46, as the oldest player to win. a green jacket.
“If everything goes well, I think I can get one more,” Woods said after playing nine practice holes Tuesday with Justin Thomas and 1992 champion Fred Couples.
Day, Woods and Max Homa will play at 3:24am (AEST) on Friday.
Woods has completed just two competitive rounds since making a record-breaking cut at the 24th Masters last year, then retired before the third round, with the 15-time Major winner admitting he was not physically fit to play more than a handful of times a year.
But he said it wasn’t his reconstructed right ankle, shattered in a car accident in Los Angeles in 2021, that restricts him during golf’s most grueling trek.
“It’s merged, it’s not going anywhere, so it’s fine,” he said.
“It’s other parts of my body that now have to bear the brunt… The back, the knee, other parts of the body have to bear the load, and simply the endurance capacity of walking for a long time and standing” . my feet for a long time.
“It hurts. It hurts every day. And I prefer it warm, humid and hot. And I know we’re going to have some thunderstorms, so at least it’ll be warm. It won’t be like last year.”
Adam Scott, Australia’s only Masters winner, connects on the previous three balls with American pair Cameron Young and Sam Burns.
Australian Cameron Smith also features in a star-studded group with reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Norwegian world number six Viktor Hovland.
Smith, 2022 British Open champion, tees off at 12:54 a.m.
Min Woo Lee also has a morning start (0:06am) with American big guns Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler.
Australian amateur Jasper Stubbs will make his major debut alongside 2007 champion Zach Johnson and Canadian Corey Conners starting at 11pm on Thursday.
Defending champion John Rahm will play the first two rounds with his European Ryder Cup teammate Matt Fitzpatrick and rising American Nick Dunlap.
World number one Scottie Scheffler and second-ranked Rory McIlroy, who is once again trying to complete a major race at Augusta, have been paired in another heavyweight group.
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AAP
