Notable tee-times (all times Irish) 12.40 Davis Riley, Patton Kizzire (first pairing on the course)1.35 Will Zalatoris, Noah Kent (a), Bernhard Langer (in his last ever Masters)2.47 Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee2.58 Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley3.15 Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jose Luis Ballester (a)3.26 Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton6.01 Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland6.12 Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia6.23 Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry6.34 Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood Philip Reid: It is doubtful that two Irish players have ever started with greater hope of a win at AugustaAugusta provides a president-free oasis amid the Trump maelstromRory McIlroy Press Conference: ‘When you have had a long career like I have, you learn to roll with the punches’Rory McIlroy at The Masters: Brace for the next chapter in one of Ireland’s greatest sporting sagas "So, could this be McIlroy’s time? It could, for sure. One of the consequences of the storm that hit Augusta National back in September is that the tree that infamously derailed his bid for glory back in 2011 – where he hooked a tee shot on the 10th hole of his final round – has gone, so that the line of sight on the drive is now a clear one. An omen?" Like the rest of us, Irish Times golf correspondent Philip Reid is willing to grab onto anything that might point to good luck for Rory McIlroy this week. He’s on the ground in Augusta and his preview to the whole tournament is here. A little twinkly Augusta schmaltz to start us all off, yes? Happy Masters Thursday to all who celebrate! Yes, after eight months, dozens of middling tournaments and literal millions of words and prognostications, we’ve finally arrived at the first major of the year. The Masters at Augusta, Georigia, one of the great weeks in the sporting calendar. The Irish Times liveblog will be running all week, keeping you up to date on everything that’s happening. We’ll obviously have a particular focus on Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, who go out in successive groups around teatime this evening. Plenty of golf to get through before then though. Fore please!