Masters TV Schedule 2016: Online Coverage Live Stream Guide for Full Tournament
For the second time in three years, Tiger Woods' back will prevent him from being at the Masters Tournament. Luckily, the field is filled with competitive stars who have more than adequately transitioned the game into a new era.
Defending champion Jordan Spieth is looking to become the first back-to-back winner since Woods triumphed in 2001 and 2002. Recent history has not been kind to returning winners. The last defending champion with a top-10 finish in his title defense was also Woods, who came in third place in 2006 following his 2005 championship—his last green jacket.
Looking at Spieth's 2016 results, it's fair to wonder if he'll be able to break that streak. He hasn't finished any higher than a tie for 15th since winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January. Iron play has been a mess throughout the season, with Spieth ranking well outside the top 100 in greens in regulation and sand saves.
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“Last year my consistency was there,” Spieth said, per George Willis of the New York Post. “We were coming off better finishes than I am this year. But everything is exactly where it was last year. It’s right where we want it to be going into the Masters. It’s just a matter now of hitting nerve-racking shots and putts.”
| Date | Round | Start Time (ET) | TV | Time (ET) | Live Stream |
| Wednesday, April 6 | Par-3 Contest | 12 p.m. | ESPN | 3-5 p.m. | CBSSports.com |
| Thursday, April 7 | 1st Round | 9:15 a.m. | ESPN | 3-7:30 p.m. | CBSSports.com |
| Friday, April 8 | 2nd Round | 9:15 a.m. | ESPN | 3-7:30 p.m. | CBSSports.com |
| Saturday, April 9 | 3rd Round | 10:15 a.m. | CBS | 3-7:30 p.m. | CBSSports.com |
| Sunday, April 10 | 4th Round | 10:15 a.m. | CBS | 2-7 p.m. | CBSSports.com |
Masters.com will also be providing live coverage throughout the week.
Last year, Spieth transitioned a Masters win into an ascent to the game's mountaintop. He went on to take the U.S. Open and two more trophies in the calendar year on his way to sweeping Player of the Year awards and becoming the world's No. 1 player.
That distinction now belongs to Jason Day, who enters Augusta on a directly opposite path of Spieth. The Aussie has won his last two events, taking home the stroke play Arnold Palmer Classic and WGC Match Play championship. Day has now won six events since last July and moved into the co-favorite conversation with Spieth and Rory McIlroy, per Odds Shark.
“The mindset is different [now],” Day said, per Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post. “Knowing that I’ve been in the heat of the battle, especially more so recently, and understanding what that feels like—because everyone knows when you’re standing there on Sunday at Augusta, it’s quiet and you’re in your own little world. ... I’m going to have a lot of fun there this year. And I feel like I’m going to play well.”
Day has an inconsistent history at Augusta. He made a surprising debut in 2011, finishing in a tie for second behind Charl Schwartzel. A year later, he was cut. In 2013, he returned and wound up with a third-place finish—only to fall well out of contention each of the last two years.
Those inconsistencies have to speak to McIlroy, who will again try to complete a career Grand Slam at the year's first major. There have been times when he's looked unbeatable on the course, firing a first-round 65 in 2011 and a final-day 66 a year ago. There have been other times where he's looked utterly incompetent, including a final-round 80 in 2011 and a second-round 77 in 2014.
"I'd definitely wait four years for another chance at the Olympics if I could win the Masters this year," McIlroy told CNN's Rob Hodgetts in February.
In a nutshell, that's how much this tournament means. Players are willing to forgo Olympic gold, largely seen as the highest accomplishment in any sports arena, to wear a green jacket. It's the only major played on the same course every year, the only one that offers this unmatched sense of prestige.
The likes of Phil Mickelson and others enter the event knowing they have a chance to win every year because they know the course so intimately. Mickelson hasn't won on tour in nearly three calendar years, but there he is sitting with better odds than Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.
That's the beauty of Augusta. We'll just have to see if it's one of those big names or if someone else ascends to stardom over the weekend.
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