Rory McIlroy will begin his Masters title defence in the company of Cam Young and teenage amateur Mason Howell for the opening two rounds at Augusta National.
Twelve months on from ending his major drought in barely believable fashion by beating Justin Rose in a play-off to win the 89th Masters and complete the career grand slam, the 36-year-old will tee off at 3.31pm Irish time (10.31am) on Thursday in his 18th tournament start.
McIlroy is seeking to become only the fourth man – and first in 24 years – after Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo – to win back-to-back Masters titles.
Joining him in the 15th grouping are United States pair Young and 18-year-old Howell. Young has top-10 finishes in two of his last three Masters tournaments, while Howell is making his debut courtesy of victory in the US Amateur at the Olympic Club in California.
Shane Lowry is the first of the Irish trio in action when he tees off at 2.43pm alongside 2020 champion Dustin Johnson and Australian Jason Day, who has finished inside the top 10 at Augusta National five times, including runner-up in his tournament debut in 2011.
The Offaly man is making his 11th Masters start in 2026, with a best placed finish of tied for third in 2022.
Tom McKibbin will become the 18th Irishman to grace golf's most famous tournament when he tees off at 4.15pm.
The 22-year-old will be in a grouping with another debutant in Andrew Novak of the United States and Brian Campbell, who is back for his second appearance after last year’s maiden outing.
The 2023 champion Jon Rahm is out with Ryder Cup team-mate Ludvig Aberg, who has finished second and seventh in his two Masters so far, and Chris Gotterup, a two-time PGA Tour winner this year at 6.08pm
World number one Scottie Scheffler, who has won the Masters twice in the last four years, goes off at 6.44pm with Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and recent Texas Children’s Houston Open winner Gary Woodland.
The event begins at 12.25pm (7.25am local time) with honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson, who have a combined 11 green jackets between them over 140 combined appearances, teeing off at the first.
John Keefer and Haotong Li get the tournament proper under way at 12.40pm as a two-ball in a 91-man field.
Follow Live Updates of the 2026 Masters on rte.ie/sport from opening tee on Thursday 9 April.
