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US Masters: don’t miss these 5 groups in round 1

The tee times and groupings for round 1 at this year’s Masters are out. Here are the groups to watch on Thursday.

Group 11: 15.06 BST

Two-time champion Bubba Watson is playing alongside Brooks Koepka, the comeback kid, and rising star Viktor Hovland who won last year’s silver cup.

Viktor Hovland was last year’s low amateur and is the only Norwegian to ever qualify for the Masters. (Image: Getty)

Group 13: 15.30 BST

Defending champion Dustin Johnson is playing alongside 20-time Masters player and 2 time runner up Lee Westwood. The two tournament big dogs will be playing with 22-year-old American amateur Tyler Strafaci, no pressure there!

Group 14: 15.42 BST

Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm. Rory McIlroy. Need we say more?

What better way could Jon Rahm make his new-born son proud than winning his first Masters tournament?

Group 28: 18.36 BST

Cut to a little later in the evening over on our side of the pond. Rogue swinger Bryson DeChambeau is playing with Aussie Adam Scott and Max Homa who won in a close playoff at the genesis invitational in Feburary this year. Will he get that far at the Masters?

Group 30: 19.00 BST

After a seemingly never-ending slump Jordan Spieth, winner of last week’s Valero Texas Open could make one of the best comeback streaks we’ve seen if he wins this year’s Masters. He’ll be playing alongside Cameron Smith and Collin Morikawa in the final group of the day.

Other players to watch:

First time Masters contender Robert MacIntyre of Scotland is teeing off in group 19 at 16.42 BST.

Frenchman Victor Perez, rising star on the European tour is teeing off at 17.12 BST in group 21.

Bookies’ favourite and world number 2 Justin Thomas is teeing off later in the day at 18.48 BST in group 29.

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The $2 Ticket to Augusta

With all the fun in Augusta this week, let’s look at another piece of old-school Masters trivia.

It’s just two days until the tournament officially begins- and that many dollars would gain you entry to the tournament back in the day. 

Yes, entry to the Masters tournament used to cost just 2 USD per round — $2.20 after tax. 

That’s equivalent to just under $40 in today’s money. 

A ticket from the 1934 tournament sold for an incredible $18,055.00 at auction in 2012 (Image: sportscollectorsdaily.com)

Fans today, even those who live just a few hours away, couldn’t cover their travel costs with that.

Anyone lucky enough to get their hands on a ticket in 2021 will have paid $115 per round, with those for the practice rounds on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday having gone for $75.

Bobby Jones had initially refused to officially call the event the Masters for fear it would sound too pretentious. Despite that, the tournament which was then the Augusta Invitational was still known colloquially as the Masters from the beginning. The name change came in 1949.

More from the countdown series: the rarest shot in Masters history

The ticket might have gotten a little pricey over the years- but one thing people love about the tournament is the tasty and almost unbelievably cheap sandwiches they serve to guests during the Masters.

The famous $1.50 Pimento Cheese Sandwich has become something of a legend over the years, with the recipe being shared on food blogs and social media. 

It might be nice to imagine what it would be like to go to the Masters back in 1934 with a $2 ticket but there is plenty of excitement still to come in the next few days. 

Keep up with all the action and live scoring with Golf Post. 

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.

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How often does a hole-in-one get played at the Masters?

As Masters week 2021 gets off to a start today in Augusta, we’ve got just three short days until the first round of this year’s tournament.

But as we’re not quite there yet, we’re back with another piece of Masters trivia that will come in handy at your next golf-themed-zoom-pub-quiz. 

3 is the highest number of aces scored in a single year at the Masters.

There have been only two triple-ace years (yes, we just made that term up) in Masters history.

There has been much criticism of the narrowing of the course at Augusta in the last 20 years, as it is said to make more inventive shots near impossible. However, both of these triple-ace years were in this century. 

In 2004’s final round, Chris DiMarco scored an ace on the 6th followed by Padraig Hamilton and Kirk Triplett who aced the 16th one after another in consecutive groups.

The 16th hole at Augusta has a reputation for being something of an ace-magnet. The vast majority of aces at the Masters have been at hole 16. As of 2021, there have been a total of 30 aces in tournament history, 21 of which were on the 16th hole.

The 16th hole at Augusta is one of the most visually iconic holes at Augusta National. (Image: Getty)

The most recent Masters aces were recorded in 2019 by Bryson deChambeau and Justin Thomas, both on the 16th. 

Since 1954, players receive a crystal bowl if ace they score at the Masters that year.

The second and only other year 3 hole-in-ones were recorded is 2016. Shane Lowry, Davis Love III and Louis Oosthuizen all scored an ace on the 16th hole of the final round in that year. 

Both triple-ace years, did not unfortunately make a winner out of any of the players involved.

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.

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The Albatross: the rarest shot in Masters history

The masters has seen some incredible performances over the years, some of which we’ve already covered in this series; from Tiger’s legendary chip at the 16th hole in Augusta, to the 9 under par rounds of Nick Price and Greg Norman.

But with four days to go, we’re looking at a shot so rare that it’s only happened four times in Masters history: the albatross.

While it may not be quite as rare as the elusive condor, which has never been played any professional event, there are (almost) a full handful of players who can claim to have scored an Augusta albatross at the Masters.

Gene Sarazen was the first to achieve this rare shot, also known as the double eagle, during the final round of the Masters on the 18th of April 1935. Shooting 3 below par on the 15th hole lead to Sarazen tying with third round leader Craig Wood at the end of the fourth round, forcing the event to go to a playoff. 

His shot from the 15th tee got him 235 yards from the tee, from which point he chipped it up onto the green where the ball slowly rolled into the hole. 

A 97-year-old Gene Sarazen of the USA starts the 1999 US Masters. (Image: Allsports/Getty)

Despite making this shot in the second year of its 87-year history, Sarazen is still the only golfer to have ever played an albatross and gone on to win in the same tournament. 

More from the countdown series: the history of the green jacket.

The next two albatrosses came every 30 years or so, from Bruce Devlin in 1967 on the 8th and Jeff Maggert in 1994 on the 13th. 

Maggert, like Sarazen, scored his albatross in the decisive fourth round of the tournament but it wasn’t enough to win against José María Olazábal, who won that year with a final score of 9 under par.

Winning was out of the question for Maggert, who was 19 above par when he took his swing at the 13th tee that day. His albatross helped save him from a truly disastrous four days and he finished the final round with a combined final score of 305.

Louis Oosthouzin scored the most recent Masters albatross in 2012 on the second hole. Oosthouzin very nearly won that year before losing to Bubba Waston on the par-4 second playoff hole. 

Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa reacts after a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2012 Masters. (Image: Getty)

All were a 2 on a par 5, and all apart from Bruce Devlin’s were in the final round.


This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.

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6 Green Jackets: Jack Nicklaus’ Masters legacy

Clifford Roberts, investment dealer and co-founder of Augusta National who first thought of the name for what is now one of the most well known tournaments in golf. 

“The Masters”, Roberts suggested, would be shorthand for “the masters of golf”. The name would denote the event’s importance as a contest of the world’s top players.

But there is only one man who, if we follow Roberts’ logic, can be described as the Master. 

Jack Nicklaus is the only person to win as many 6 Masters titles in his lifetime. 

Nicklaus picked up his first Masters win in 1963 at the age of 23 after turning pro just two years earlier in 1961.

In an incredible finish, he beat out Tony Lema with a 0.9m put on the final hole, finishing just one stroke ahead. 

The first of Nicklaus’ six green jackets was awarded by Arnold Palmer. Palmer had won the previous year’s tournament and was at that point already a role model for Nicklaus. 

More from the countdown series: Is Golf Getting Younger?

In 1963, Nicklaus won a total of $20,000 dollars for winning the Masters. That’s equivalent to roughly $170,000 dollars in today’s money.

If you think that sounds like a lot, think again: Dustin Johnson earned himself more than $2 million for winning in 2020.  

Honorary starter Jack Nicklaus waves after playing the opening tee shot on the first tee during the first round of the 2020 Masters. (Image: Getty)

In 1966, he took home his third green jacket and became the first of only three players to successfully defend his title at the Masters. 

Nick Faldo (‘89,’90) and Tiger Woods (‘01,‘02) are the only people since then to have matched this feat.

Could Dustin Johnson be next at this year’s event?

Born in Ohio in 1940, Nicklaus has won a whopping 18 major titles in his lifetime, making him the most accomplished golfer of all time.

His major-winning career spanned from 1962 at the PGA Championship at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania until his final Masters win in 1986. 

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.


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Only 5 Ever Recorded: Why is a Condor so Rare in Golf?

Do you think you could shoot four under par on a single hole? Chances are you probably couldn’t.

Only five so-called “condors” have ever been recorded.

To score a condor, you really have to be creative in cutting corners or confident enough to hit over trees. The most recent of these rare shots was recorded just a few months ago in Oakland California.

When local resident Kevin Pon went out for a round at Lake Chabot Golf Course on the 10th of December 2020, he probably didn’t think he would make history.

At 54 years old, Pon achieved the near-impossible when he finished the 667-yard par-6 18th in just 2 shots.

“It’s been a dream,” he said in an interview with Golf Channel in response to how he feels about the historical feat “just being within those 5 five people and being the only one that’s done it on a par-6, it’s just mind blowing”.

More from the countdown series: the men who broke one of golf’s coolest records.

It was the first recorded condor on a par-6 hole

Every other four-under shot happened when a player aced a par 5.

The 54-year-old’s strategic 550-yard drive crossed trees and bounced off cart pathways to leave him with the perfect opportunity to hit the ball up to the green using his pitching wedge.

He recalls onlookers cheering and shouting as the ball slowly rolled across the green and into the hole but he didn’t see the historic moment himself due to the low angle from which he shot.

Don’t expect to see any at the Masters anytime soon. Changes to the course in the last 20 years or so have made such creative shots near impossible.

The first condor was recorded all the way back in 1962 by Larry Bruce in Hope Country Club, Arkansas on the 480-yard, par-5 fifth hole.

Before Pon, the second most recent condor was recorded at Royal Wentworth Falls Country Club, NSW, Australia. Jack Bartlett, who was just 16-years-old at the time, scored an ace on the 467 metre par-5 17th hole.

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.

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Top Golfers are Getting Younger

T-minus 1 week!

For number seven in our countdown series of golf fun facts and statistics, we’re looking at the players themselves.

The average age of the Masters winners across 85 years is 32. But the players at the top of today’s game are younger than this average.

Last week was the Masters’ qualifying week. We took a look at this week’s OWGR list and found that seven of the top 10 players are in their 20s, making the chances of a younger-than-average winner this year look pretty good.

The seven players are, in order of rank, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, Tyrrell Hatton and Patrick Cantlay.

Top 10 OWGR list for the Masters qualifying week in 2021.

Morikawa is the youngest of the group at age 24 and is currently fourth in the OWGR going into this year’s Masters.

Hatton and Cantlay are the oldest and — coincidentally — the lowest ranked 20-somethings in the top 10. Both are aged 29 and in ranks 8 and 10 respectively.

Any player who is in the top 50 of the official world golf ranking list released in the week before that year’s Masters tournament automatically qualifies for the event.

What does that mean for this year?

While there is some decent potential in this group of seven for a younger winner this year, they will have some tough competition.

Defending champion and world number 1, Dustin Johnson is still the bookies’ favourite for this year. The 36 year old has got 8-1 odds on him with less than a week to go.

Dustin Johnson, 36, won his first green jacket at last year’s postponed Masters, which took place in November due to the initial COVID-19 outbreak earlier in the year.

However, the younger players still have good chances, it seems. Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are all at 12-1 odds this week.

Jon Rahm, whose wife is expecting their first child during the Masters week, has already warned fans “not to bet on him”. The 26 year-old plans to drop everything if need be in order to attend the birth of his son.

Young stars making their first appearance also include Robert MacIntyre from Scotland who received support on social media this week after expressing his excitement for the event.

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.

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8 Countries in One Day: the men who broke one of golf’s coolest records

People travel from all over the world to attend or play in the Masters tournament. For one week in the year, the entire golf world comes to Georgia.

For number 8 in our countdown series, we’re travelling from Augusta to Europe, where two men hold the record for most rounds of golf played in different countries in a single day. 

Two men from Belgium played 18-hole rounds of golf in eight different countries in one 24-hour period in 2013. 

An early start

It’s amazing how much you can get done in a day when you get up a little earlier than usual, isn’t it?

Kasper De Wulf and Alexander Hautekiet started their record-breaking day with a very early 2.30 am tee off in Tarvisio Golf and Country Club in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy. The club, just 6 kilometres from the Austrian border, sits at the foot of the Alps and offers some truly stunning views.

The course in Tarvisio is the top rated in the Alpe Adria golf region. (Image: golfsenzaconfini.com)

From Italy, they played in various courses in neighbouring Slovenia and Austria before heading north to Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

According to Guinness World Records, the pair finished their final round in their home country of Belgium at 1.01am on the 25th of June 2013 at Damme Golf and Country Club. One of Belgium’s largest golf clubs, Damme GCC has 27 Championship holes and 9 Compact holes to its name.

More from the countdown series: If 2020 was a golf shot…

They were keeping score, too. De Wulf won overall in their stroke play match, hitting a 727 over the course of the day. Hautekiet posted the day’s lowest round with an 80 at their second stop in Bled, Slovenia. 

The proximity of national borders in Europe makes such a feat possible. It’s hard to image that golfers in other parts of the world could tick off so many countries in one day.

How many times can you play golf in a day?

The all-time record for most holes played in a single day goes to former Major League Baseball star Eric Byrnes in Half Moon Bay, California. He walked 105 miles and used glow-in-the-dark balls to play 420 holes in 24 hours. He played more than 23 rounds of golf that day to raise money for the Let Them Play Foundation, a charity in California that offers scholarships to youth sports groups so that they can buy sports equipment. 

Back to Augusta, where it will be about quality rather than quantity next week as we see the first tee off in just 8 short days.

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.

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The Best Rounds in Masters History

Only nine days left!

We’ve already looked at the worst records in Masters history in this series. Today, as we get closer and closer, let’s look at some of the best. 

Augusta National is regarded as a true test of golf for the very best in the world; a test that a rare few have passed with flying colours. 

The record low for any round at Augusta National during the Masters is 63, or 9 under par.

The honour for having shot the best single round doesn’t go to any of the all time great winners of the tournament. 

Nick Price of Zimbabwe hit 63 in his third round in 1986. He claimed at the time that he could have done better if his hungover caddie hadn’t been giving him incorrect distances throughout the round.  

Ten years later, in 1996, Australian Greg Norman opened with a 63, matching the 9 under record held by Price. 

More from the countdown series: the history of the green jacket

It’s not just the winners who make history

Although great golfers, neither Price nor Norman were able to convert their record rounds into a tournament win and neither man would win a green jacket throughout their careers. In 1986, Price watched Jack Nicklaus win his record breaking 6th Masters. In 1996, Nick Faldo took his 3rd, still the most by any European.

Norman, who was 41 at the time, famously choked in the final round of the 1996 Masters after having maintained a six stroke lead ahead of Nick Faldo. 

Norman started the final round of the 1996 Masters with good prospects, with the crowd eager to see him make history. (Image: Allsport/Getty)

There has been much speculation in the sports world since then about what caused one of golf’s most famous chokes. Reports since then suggest that overthinking and pressure to perform caused the decisive slipup on the last day.

He later told phycologist Rick Jensen that he “didn’t sleep a wink” on the Saturday night before his 78 in the final round. Faldo ended up winning by 5 strokes.

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.

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10: If 2020 was a golf shot

With just 10 days to go until this year’s Masters, let’s recap one of the low points from last year.

If you can cast your mind all the way back to November last year, you’ll remember one of the most gut-wrenching moments of last year: Tiger Woods’ 10.

The five times Masters champion disappointed fans by hitting 10 strokes at the par 3 12th hole at Augusta during the final round of the 2020 tournament in November last year. 

More from the countdown series: Masters winners by nationality

The defending champion made an incredible comeback in 2019, winning the Masters for the first time in 14 years following a string of various physical injuries.

After much deliberation and confusion about the direction of the wind, Woods shot the ball into the water a total of three times, the last time from a bunker on the other side of the green. 

“I committed to the wrong wind,” he said afterwards, “I thought the wind would come off the right but it came off the left”.

“This is unlike any other sport, you’re so alone out there, you have to figure out how to fight”.

Just goes to show that even legends make mistakes sometimes.

Woods was hoping compete at this year’s event before a car crash in the Los Angeles area last month that left him with severe leg injuries.

He is currently in recovery and is undergoing physical therapy. Many celebrities and famous figures reached out to offer their support.

Fans, while disappointed that he won’t be participating in this year’s Masters, have been expressing their relief on social media that the crash had not been fatal or caused any more serious injuries.

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.