Masters 2026 leaderboard, tee times, how to watch: 60-year-old Jose Maria Olazabal turning back the clock

Quite literally … at No. 8, Schauffele’s drive wound up in a woman’s shopping bag.

At the par 3 sixth hole, Bryson DeChambeau yanked his tee shot to the left and, well, this happened:

Patrick Reed has pushed his lead to two shots early here, thanks to a second eagle at the par-5 8th.

He was already just the sixth player in Masters history to open the tournament going birdie-eagle. Now, he’s the second to ever card two birdies in his opening nine holes of the tournament.

He’s only two holes in, but Patrick Reed is the new leader. Reed opened with a birdie at the first and then eagled the par-5 second to get to 3-under immediately.

Talk about a perfect start.

A year ago at the annual Par 3 Contest, Frankie Fleetwood charmed the entire golf world and became something of a social media sensation for probably the cutest interview in the history of the sport after failing to hit it over the water.

“I’ve been doing my hardest to get it over the green. I’ve been practicing as hard as I can, just not reaching it this year but just trying my hardest,” he said on Sky Sports.

But twice, Frankie just barely missed. His first shot was wet after it went a bit short and to the right. His second shot had the distance, just not the aim — maybe four or five yards right. Lowry’s daughter enveloped him in a hug.

With dry conditions, Augusta National is going to play difficult this week, so you have to take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. One of those is at No. 2, the gettable par 5.

Sam Burns did just that, carding an eagle to get to -2, and it a tie for the lead with Jose Maria Olazabal, who is not going away just yet.

If you’re a golf an of a certain age, you remember where you were 40 years ago when Jack Nicklaus turned back the clock, can still hear Verne Lundquist screaming, “Yes, sir!”

Thursday, Nicklaus opined on the victory, and our Jay Busbee was there to capture it.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — If you can, ask your father or grandfather about Jack Nicklaus’ Masters win 40 years ago in 1986. If you can’t, you can imagine what they’d say.

Greatest Masters ever. Greatest golf tournament ever. Among the greatest sports moments ever. Brought a tear to my eye. 

When 46-year-old Nicklaus rolled in that long putt on the 17th hole to take the solo lead that long-ago April afternoon, when he donned his sixth green jacket, when he stared Father Time in the face and the clock blinked, he didn’t just win more accolades for himself.

Read the entire story here.

No, not even Augusta National is inflation-proof.

A year ago, a blueberry muffin at the Masters would set you back $2. This year: $2.50. Same for the southern cheese straws. And the cookie — that’s gone from $1.75 to $2.

And yet, the concession prices at the Masters remain notoriously low as they have for decades.

If you want to try one of everything, it will cost you a grand total of $75.75 — or roughly half a quarter-zip in the merchandise shop.

As for the cost of admission to pay these exorbitantly low prices, well, you either have to win the Masters lottery or … grab one of the few remaining tickets on the secondary market, which for Thursday’s Round 1 will only set you back about $34,000.

Gary Woodland knows it’s not going to be easy for him out on the course this week at the Masters.

Not only is he competing in the biggest tournament of the season, but fans will be back into Augusta National. Large galleries will be surrounding the course, near greens and tee boxes, with all of their attention on him. That is often a trigger for Woodland.

Woodland was diagnosed with PTSD after his brain surgery in 2023, and has been struggling out on the course ever since. Even at the Houston Open, which he won by five shots, Woodland had issues and was “thinking people were trying to kill” him during the second round.

But Woodland said he’s worked with both Tour security and the security at Augusta National to help him out ahead of the Masters so he can be as prepared as possible. The issues are largely visual for him, and “if I can see somebody, then I can remind myself that I’m safe constantly.”

For more on Woodland’s PTSD battle, click here.

Safe to say, Tom Watson is not a fan of those who jumped ship to the LIV tour. After Thursday morning’s opening tee shot, Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player held court, and Watson had this to say:

“I thought the LIV players, when they left, they were supposed to be banned for life. If I was commissioner, that’s what I would do. I’d say if you’re finished with your contract with LIV Golf, if you want to play the PGA Tour again, you come back, and you must play the Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify for it.”

The Korn Ferry, if you’re not familiar, is the feeder tour to the PGA Tour. And while it might seem like a punishment for the likes of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, Watson’s plan would probably end up punishing that tour’s players more.

The 5-iron in Bryson DeChambeau’s bag today will be one he made himself, using a 3-D printer, that according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.

DeChambeau has always been on the cutting edge when it comes to equipment. He famously uses irons that are all virtually the same length. But this will be the first time he’s used a club he created himself.

Risky on golf’s biggest stage? Yep, but DeChambeau has never shied away from risk.

Famously, in the 63 times the contest has taken place in its traditional Wednesday slot ahead of the Masters, no player who has won the Par 3 has gone on to claim the green jacket four days later.

Of those 63 winners, 21 have missed the cut, while just 10 have finished inside the top 10. Two have finished runner-up, with Raymond Floyd losing to Nick Faldo in a playoff in 1990.

The last five Par 3 winners have gone on to finish 51, T30, Cut, T50/Cut, Cut.

The Par 3 curse did not sway Aaron Rai. The two-glove wearing Englishman carded a 6-under 21 on his 9-hole round to win by a stroke.

Rai, who made his Masters debut a year ago when he finished T27, currently has +20000 odds to win.

Aldrich Potgieter got off to a tough start, with a double at the first. Think we all can relate to this one:

For the first time in decades, the Masters will be played without either Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson this week.

Woods has stepped away “for a period of time” to seek treatment after he was involved in a rollover crash and arrested in Florida late last month. Specifics of his absence, including how long Woods will be away, are not yet known.

Phil Mickelson bowed out of the Masters late last week, too, and said he’ll be sidelined for “an extended period of time” due to a “personal health matter” in his family. Specifics aren’t known there, either.

With both Woods and Mickelson out, this will mark the first time since 1994 that the tournament will be played without either golfer.

Thursday at the Masters always seems to produce a surprise, and the surprise in the early going this year so far is Jose Maria Olazabal. The 60-year-old, who won in 1994 and 1999, has birdied two of his first three holes to get to -2. Will it stick?

This is pretty incredible. An artist, commissioned by Rory McIlroy, spent six months on a drawing commemorating McIlroy’s victory at Augusta a year ago. Take a look at the time-lapse and the results:

The 90th Masters is officially underway, with the ceremonial first tee shot from Gary Player (90), Jack Nicklaus (86) and Tom Watson (76).

It was Player who hit first, dusting his drive and then punctuating it with a high kick. For the uninitiated, Player may be 90 but he starts his day with an exercise routine that would crush most of us. There may not be a more fit 90-year-old in the world. Just watch, at the 4-minute mark:

The ceremonial tee shots have been hit, and the 90th edition of the Masters is officially underway at Augusta.