Quest for green jacket begins as 83rd Masters opens
Golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player launched the 83rd Masters on Thursday with ceremonial first tee shots before a cheering crowd at Augusta National Golf Club.
Honorary starters: Former Masters champions Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus on the first tee at Augusta National to launch the first round of the 83rd Masters. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Andrew Redington
The legends were shortly followed by American Andrew Landry hitting the first competitive drive from the field of 87 in the year’s first major championship under the towering Georgia pines.
Oddsmakers darling Rory McIlroy, seeking a green jacket to complete a career Grand slam, and Tiger Woods, a 14-time major champion seeking his first major title since 2008 and his fifth Masters crown, were set for late-morning starts at Augusta National.
Teeing off in the final two groups of the afternoon will be world number one Justin Rose of England, twice a Masters runner-up and seeking to become only the fourth player to win the Masters while atop the rankings, and Phil Mickelson, trying to become the oldest major champion at age 48.
None of the world’s current top 10 players, including three-time major champion Brooks Koepka, has won the green jacket, a Masters first.
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