The opening round of the 2026 Masters is underway at Augusta National Golf Club, with an early leaderboard already taking shape as some of golf’s biggest names begin their campaigns.
Early leaderboard: Who’s leading right now?
As of 11:10 AM ET, a tightly packed leaderboard has emerged, with multiple players sharing the top spots:
T1: Tommy Fleetwood (-3, thru 4)
T1: Patrick Reed (-3, thru 4)
T3: José María Olazábal (-2, thru 10)
T3: Kurt Kitayama (-2, thru 8)
T3: Akshay Bhatia (-2, thru 4)
T6: Matt McCarty (-1, thru 8)
T6: Sam Burns (-1, thru 6)
T6: Nick Taylor (-1, thru 6)
T6: Dustin Johnson (-1, thru 5)
T6: Xander Schauffele (-1, thru 3)
Spotlight: Scheffler, McIlroy and the chasing pack
While early leaders have set the pace, much of the attention remains on tournament favorites: Scottie Scheffler enters as the world No. 1 and betting favorite, despite limited recent play. Defending champion Rory McIlroy returns after completing a historic career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters. Contenders like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Ludvig Åberg are also expected to challenge as the tournament progresses.
McIlroy’s 2025 triumph marked a breakthrough after years of near-misses, but the depth of this year’s field presents a fresh test as he aims for back-to-back titles.
Featured groups drawing attention
Several marquee groups headline the opening rounds:
DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Schauffele
McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell (amateur)
Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Åberg
Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
These groups are expected to influence leaderboard movement as conditions evolve across the day.
Tournament schedule and broadcast details
The 2026 Masters runs from April 9 to April 12:
Round timings (ET)
Thursday (Round 1): 7:40 a.m. start
Friday (Round 2): 7:40 a.m. start
Weekend rounds: Coverage begins midday
Where to watch
Thursday & Friday: Amazon Prime Video (1-3 p.m.), ESPN (3-7:30 p.m.)
Saturday & Sunday: Paramount+ (12-2 p.m.), CBS (2-7 p.m.)
The Mcllroy story
Rory McIlroy got his Masters title defence under way with an opening par on Thursday where twice champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler was hours away from teeing off in the year’s first major.
World number two McIlroy, aiming to become the fourth man to retain the Masters title and first since Tiger Woods in 2001-02, pulled his tee shot left of the fairway, missed the green with his approach, chipped to five feet and rolled in his par putt.
The Northern Irishman arrived this week without carrying the burden of having never won a Masters after he beat Justin Rose in a playoff last year to become the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors.