Masters 2015 Tee Times and Pairings for Augusta National Golf Club Announced

For many golf fans, the Masters represents both the curtain-raiser and pinnacle of the major tournament season.

The number of green jackets a player wins is often one of the standards for excellence in the sport. Perhaps it isn't a coincidence that Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods top the list of most Masters victories.

The first round for the 2015 edition is set to begin on Thursday. You can view the full tee times for Round 1 below, followed by four golfers to watch as the tournament unfolds.

Tee Times

Time (ET)	Round 1			Round 2
7:45 a.m.	Brian Harman	Charley Hoffman		Ian Woosnam	Erik Compton	Marc Leishman
7:56 a.m.	Larry Mize	Danny Willett	Byron Meth	Trevor Immelman	Kevin Stadler	Scott Harvey
8:07 a.m.	Tom Watson	Gary Woodland	Camilo Villegas	Ben Martin	Robert Streb	Cameron Tringale
8:18 a.m.	Mike Weir	Ben Crane	Corey Conners	Sandy Lyle	Seung-yul Noh	Bradley Neil
8:29 a.m.	Vijay Singh	Russell Henley	Darren Clarke	Bernhard Langer	Bernd Wiesberger	Geoff Ogilvy
8:40 a.m.	Jose Maria Olazabal	Brendon Todd	Kevin Na	Zach Johnson	Jim Furyk	Ernie Els
8:51 a.m.	Jonas Blixt	Kevin Streelman	Stephen Gallacher	Angel Cabrera	Louis Oosthuizen	Matias Dominguez
9:02 a.m.	Patrick Reed	Keegan Bradley	Ian Poulter	Mark O'Meara	Chris Kirk	Shane Lowry
9:13 a.m.	Miguel Angel Jimenez	Lee Westwood	Anirban Lahiri	Padraig Harrington	Ryan Palmer	Thomas Bjorn
9:24 a.m.	Bubba Watson	Justin Rose	Gunn Yang	James Hahn	Mikko Ilonen	Hunter Mahan
9:35 a.m.	Adam Scott	Dustin Johnson	Antonio Murdaca	Matt Kuchar	Brooks Koepka	Graeme McDowell
9:57 a.m.	Morgan Hoffmann	Steve Stricker	Matt Every	Jordan Spieth	Henrik Stenson	Billy Horschel
10:08 a.m.	Ben Crenshaw	Bill Haas	Jason Dufner	Fred Couples	Branden Grace	Thongchai Jaidee
10:19 a.m.	Webb Simpson	Hideki Matsuyama	Paul Casey	Luke Donald	Victor Dubuisson	John Senden
10:30 a.m.	Charl Schwartzel	Joost Luiten	Sangmoon Bae	Tiger Woods	Jamie Donaldson	Jimmy Walker
10:41 a.m.	Phil Mickelson	Rory McIlroy	Ryan Moore	Jason Day	Sergio Garcia	Rickie Fowler
10:52 a.m.	J.B. Holmes	Martin Kaymer	Brandt Snedeker	Brian Harman	Charley Hoffman
11:03 a.m.	Ian Woosnam	Erik Compton	Marc Leishman	Larry Mize	Danny Willett	Byron Meth
11:14 a.m.	Trevor Immelman	Kevin Stadler	Scott Harvey	Tom Watson	Gary Woodland	Camilo Villegas
11:25 a.m.	Ben Martin	Robert Streb	Cameron Tringale	Mike Weir	Ben Crane	Corey Conners
11:36 a.m.	Sandy Lyle	Seung-yul Noh	Bradley Neil	Vijay Singh	Russell Henley	Darren Clarke
11:47 a.m.	Bernhard Langer	Bernd Wiesberger	Geoff Ogilvy	Jose Maria Olazabal	Brendon Todd	Kevin Na
12:09 p.m.	Zach Johnson	Jim Furyk	Ernie Els	Jonas Blixt	Kevin Streelman	Stephen Gallacher
12:20 p.m.	Angel Cabrera	Louis Oosthuizen	Matias Dominguez	Patrick Reed	Keegan Bradley	Ian Poulter
12:31 p.m.	Mark O'Meara	Chris Kirk	Shane Lowry	Miguel Angel Jimenez	Lee Westwood	Anirban Lahiri
12:42 p.m.	Padraig Harrington	Ryan Palmer	Thomas Bjorn	Bubba Watson	Justin Rose	Gunn Yang
12:53 p.m.	James Hahn	Mikko Ilonen	Hunter Mahan	Adam Scott	Dustin Johnson	Antonio Murdaca
1:04 p.m.	Matt Kuchar	Brooks Koepka	Graeme McDowell	Morgan Hoffmann	Steve Stricker	Matt Every
1:15 p.m.	Jordan Spieth	Henrik Stenson	Billy Horschel	Ben Crenshaw	Bill Haas	Jason Dufner
1:26 p.m.	Fred Couples	Branden Grace	Thongchai Jaidee	Webb Simpson	Hideki Matsuyama	Paul Casey
1:37 p.m.	Luke Donald	Victor Dubuisson	John Senden	Charl Schwartzel	Joost Luiten	Sangmoon Bae
1:48 p.m.	Tiger Woods	Jamie Donaldson	Jimmy Walker	Phil Mickelson	Rory McIlroy	Ryan Moore
1:59 p.m.	Jason Day	Sergio Garcia	Rickie Fowler	J.B. Holmes	Martin Kaymer	Brandt Snedeker

Golfers to Watch

Rory McIlroy

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The Masters is the one major tournament Rory McIlroy has yet to win after he captured the 2014 Open Championship title. If the 25-year-old is to truly be remembered among the greats, getting at least one green jacket is essentially a must.

In an interview with Brian Wacker of PGATour.com, McIlroy admitted that he never foresaw himself reaching such great heights already, but now that he has, he wants to become the best ever:

"

I never wanted to try to break records or looked at someone and said I wanted to do that. I just wanted to win the biggest golf tournaments in the world and be the best player in the world. Now it's more I want to be the best player I can be because I know if I can do that hopefully it's going to be better than anyone else. Now it's all self-motivation.

"

The biggest thing for McIlroy will be putting together four strong rounds at Augusta, something he's failed to really accomplish since 2009:

Year	R1	R2	R3	R4	Final Score	Place
2009	72	73	71	70	-2	20th
2010	74	77	---	---	+7	69th
2011	65	69	70	80	-4	15th
2012	71	69	77	76	+5	40th
2013	72	70	79	69	+2	25th
2014	71	77	71	69	E	8th

It's about time McIlroy tamed Augusta National.

Jason Day

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

You can't get much closer than Jason Day has to winning a green jacket without actually winning it. He finished in a tie for second in 2011 and placed third in 2013.

Day looked like a strong contender going into the 2014 Masters, but health problems hindered his performance, and he wound up tied for 20th.

"I came back early from injury just to play Augusta," said Day, per The Guardian's Ewan Murray. "I actually played well but didn't putt that great and found myself off for another six weeks after that. I came back again, had another six weeks off again. Later in the year I had a bulged disc in my back so it was a struggle."

The 27-year-old has looked good so far in 2015, picking up one win and four top-10 finishes in seven events. According to the PGA Tour, he's third in green-in-regulation percentage, second in birdie average and ninth in scoring average.

Day should be one of the guys near the top of the leaderboard heading into the final day.

Jordan Spieth

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

At last year's Masters, Jordan Spieth burst onto the scene. He shocked just about everybody by finishing in a tie with Jonas Blixt for second.

That doesn't appear to be a one-off, either. While Spieth's subsequent major results couldn't match up, you could see him making strides as the PGA season went on. The 21-year-old has been excellent in 2015, as well, racking up two wins and six top-10s in 10 PGA events.

Golf Channel's Justin Ray thinks Spieth is heading into Augusta on a healthy run of form:

It might be too much to expect Spieth to win the 2015 Masters or even duplicate last year's showing. He's still so young, and there are bound to be growing pains. Just think back to how much criticism McIlroy received before last year.

A disastrous finish wouldn't be all that terrible for Spieth, but many golf fans, especially those in the United States, will want him to at least be in contention during the final 18 holes.

Dustin Johnson

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Pretty much every golf fan is aware of the Dustin Johnson saga. He returned from his six-month absence in February at the Farmers Insurance Open, missing the cut.

The 30-year-old is the classic case of a guy with all the talent in the world failing to make the most of his otherworldly abilities. Johnson hasn't been a complete bust, but there isn't much separating him from every other somewhat young American golfer.

His win at the WGC-Cadillac Championship has led some to ponder whether Johnson is finally ready to fulfill his potential. Golf.com posed the question to a panel of writers, many of whom were bullish on his prospects.

A strong finish at Augusta would really drive home that Johnson is moving forward. He's never placed higher than 13th.