Masters 2013 Tee Times: Opening-Day Times and Coverage Info for Top Pairings

With its pageantry and beautiful landscape, the yearly descent of the PGA Tour's best and brightest to Augusta National brings a ravenous hype unforeseen in the golf landscape. It is, as Jim Nantz would like to say over and over in those commercials, a tradition unlike any other.

And as golfers hit the links for the traditional par three contest on Wednesday, the festivities have finally gotten underway. A yearly gathering of all Augusta greats past and present—along with a few guests—Wednesday's contest always brings the touching stories and moments that make Augusta so special.

That said, it's still a mere forebear for Thursday's kickoff to the best of today for the 2013 Masters. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson all head into this weekend's contest as favorites not only in the fans' eyes, but in the sportsbooks as well. 

Woods and Mickelson are among the greatest wearers of a green jacket in history, while McIlroy has been up and down at Augusta to say the least. With Tuesday marking the yearly announcement of pairings and opening-day tee times, we finally know when these favorites will be starting their Masters journey. 

Here is a complete breakdown of the top group's tee times and where to watch them play at Augusta.

For all tee times, visit Masters.com.

Tiger Woods, Luke Donald and Scott Piercy

Tee Time: 10:45 a.m. ET

Coverage: Masters.com's live stream will cover most of this group's round. ESPN's coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET

While it's a bit of a shame the group all fans will be most interested in will be relegated to mostly online coverage, the great thing about the Masters is that the trio can be seen online. It's not the same as watching in high definition, but getting one over on the boss to watch Tiger Woods tee off isn't exactly the worst thing in the world. 

Of course, this group is notable for one reason and one reason only: Tiger. Woods has gotten off to a rip-roaring start in 2013, returning to the world's No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2010. He's done so mostly by destroying the courses he's most comfortable at. Wins at Torrey Pines and Bay Hill have become par for the course during Woods' career, but this season they magnified something more—his return to dominant form.

With three wins in five starts this season, Woods isn't just ranked atop the standings—he looks the part as well. He's been poised and composed on the greens thanks to some help from Steve Stricker, and has saved himself plenty from errant drives in the process.

It's not a guarantee that Woods' current run of strong performances at comfortable courses continues, but his chance is better than it has been in years.

As for Donald and Piercy, they will put their heads down, answer the glowing questions from reporters about what it's like to play with Tiger and try to card a good score—which is exactly what every PGA Tour pro has been doing for the past decade-and-a-half. 

For what it's worth, Donald finished fourth in 2011 and third in 2005 if you're looking for a deep sleeper selection. He's currently going off at 33-1 odds, according to Bovada.

Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer

Tee Time: 1:30 p.m. ET

Coverage: Masters.com's live stream will cover the beginning of this trio. ESPN's coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET and will cover the latter portion.

Though more hype has been reserved for McIlroy and Woods' pseudo-rivalry, arguably the best pairing won't involve either of the world's top-ranked golfers.

Mickelson is one of the best Masters competitors of all-time. He's finished in the top five in four of the past five years and has wound up outside the top 10 on Sunday just twice since 1999. There is no player in the field—not even Tiger Woods—who can rival that level of long-term consistency. Mickelson is money in the bank to be competitive at Augusta on Sunday, a fact he remembers all too well after last year's debacle.

Seemingly ascending his way to a fourth green jacket, Lefty did what only he could do last year—flamed out spectacularly. The real-life embodiment of Happy Gilmore tried to make the impossible happen after an errant tee shot on No. 4 last year, but left himself with a triple-bogey and no chance of making a run. It was the story of Mickelson's career. Great one moment and utterly miserable the next.

Oosthuizen is not without his own Masters disappointments from last year. After three straight years of missing the cut, Oosthuizen made the weekend in 2012 and nearly won his first green jacket before losing in the playoff to Bubba Watson. Oosthuizen's ascent was obviously highlighted by his jaw-droppingly brilliant double-eagle in the final round.

Neither Mickelson nor Oosthuizen should be that enthused with their play heading into the Masters—both have seen the cut-line in the past month—meaning this trip to Augusta may be coming at the perfect time.

Meanwhile, Martin Kaymer will simply hope to make the weekend. His finish of 44th last year was his best in his five appearances at Augusta, with four cuts coming in his previous opportunities. 

Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and Freddie Jacobson

Tee Time: 1:41 p.m. ET

Coverage: Masters.com's live stream will cover the beginning of this trio. ESPN's coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET and will cover the latter portion.

For all of the talk of McIlroy being one of the biggest contenders at Augusta this weekend, his history at golf's most famous course doesn't hold up. McIlroy finished 40th in last year's Masters tournament, finishing with a dreadful weekend that left plenty of pundits confused about his ascent to the mountaintop of golf.

He's actually never finished inside the top 10 in any of his four starts at Augusta, having a best finish of 15th back in 2011. 

What's been interesting about McIlroy's Masters journey is when he's been bad. Over the past two years, McIlroy has been a combined 14-under heading into Saturday's third round—an average score of 68.5. During the weekend, McIlroy has combined to shoot 15-over par—an average score of 75.75. 

The only time McIlroy hasn't had a miserable weekend at Augusta was in 2009, where the then-19-year-old Northern Irishman finished a steady two-under for the tournament in 20th place. While it's speculative, one has to wonder whether McIlroy can handle the white-hot spotlight of Augusta weekend.

What we do know about this pairing, though, is how little informed speculation we can make about Bradley and Jacobson. Bradley qualified for his first Masters in 2012, finishing 27th, while last year was Jacobson's first trip to Augusta since 2007. 

The 26-year-old Bradley has been fantastic this PGA Tour season with four top-10 finishes in a row and goes off at 25-1 odds, per Bovada. Just be wary of this group as a bettor, as none of the trio is proven on Saturdays and Sundays. 

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