Masters 2018 Tee Times: Pairings and Predictions for Thursday

Thursday's tee times and pairings for the 2018 Masters have been revealed, as the players gear up for the first round proper on April 5 at Augusta, Georgia.

The final group will consist of Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson and Rafael Cabrera-Bello, while Tiger Woods finds himself in Group 12 alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Marc Leishman.

Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson and Jason Day make up an enticing Group 14, and Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren and Louis Oosthuizen will be another grouping to keep an eye on.

Here's a look at the groupings and tee times for Round 1, per the tournament's official website:

Group 1: Austin Cook, Ted Potter Jr., Wesley Bryan 8:30 a.m. ET/1:30 p.m. BST

Group 2: Ian Woosnam, Ryan Moore, Jhonattan Vegas 8:41 a.m. ET/1:41 p.m. BST

Group 3: Mike Weir, Brendan Steele, Matt Parziale (A) 8:52 a.m. ET/1:52 p.m. BST

Group 4: Jose Maria Olazabal, Kevin Chappell, Dylan Frittelli 9:03 a.m. ET/2:03 p.m. BST

Group 5: Bryson DeChambeau, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Fitzpatrick 9:14 a.m. ET/2:14 p.m. ET

Group 6: Mark O'Meara, Brian Harman, Harry Ellis (A) 9:25 a.m. ET/2:25 p.m. ET

Group 7: Vijay Singh, Satoshi Kodaira, Daniel Berger 9:36 a.m. ET/2:36 p.m. BST

Group 8: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Pat Perez, Francesco Molinari 9:47 a.m. ET/2:47 p.m. BST

Group 9: Danny Willett, Kyle Stanley, Jason Dufner 9:58 a.m. ET/2:58 p.m. BST

Group 10: Hideki Matsuyama, Patton Kizzire, Paul Casey 10:09 a.m. ET/3:09 p.m. BST

Group 11: Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Branden Grace 10:31 a.m. ET/3:31 p.m. BST

Group 12: Tiger Woods, Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood 10:42 a.m. ET/3:42 p.m. BST

Group 13: Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas, Doc Redman (A) 10:53 a.m. ET/3:53 p.m. BST

Group 14: Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Jason Day 11:04 a.m. ET/4:04 p.m. BST

Group 15: Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Adam Hadwin 11:15 a.m. ET/4:15 p.m. BST

Group 16: Billy Horschel, Chez Reavie, Cameron Smith 11:26 a.m. ET/4:26 p.m. BST

Group 17: Sandy Lyle, Si Woo Kim, Doug Ghim (A) 11:37 a.m. ET/4:37 p.m. BST

Group 18: Trevor Immelman, Ian Poulter, Patrick Cantlay 11:48 a.m. ET/4:48 p.m. BST

Group 19: Angel Cabrera, Ross Fisher, Jimmy Walker 11:59 a.m. ET/4:59 p.m. BST

Group 20: Fred Couples, Haotong Li, Joaquin Niemann (A) 12:10 p.m. ET/5:10 p.m. BST

Group 21: Larry Mize, Russell Henley, Shubhankar Sharma 12:32 p.m. ET/5:32 p.m BST

Group 22: Bernhard Langer, Tony Finau, Yuta Ikeda 12:43 p.m. ET/5:43 p.m. BST

Group 23: Charl Schwartzel, Webb Simpson, Yuxin Lin (A) 12:54 p.m. ET/5:54 p.m. BST

Group 24: Kevin Kisner, Thomas Pieters, Xander Schauffele 1:05 p.m. ET/6:05 p.m. BST

Group 25: Guy Woodland, Yusaku Miyazato, Tyrrell Hatton 1:16 p.m. ET/6:16 p.m. BST

Group 26: Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar 1:27 p.m. ET/6:27 p.m. BST

Group 27: Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm 1:38 p.m. ET/6:38 p.m. BST

Group 28: Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren, Louis Oosthuizen 1:49 p.m. ET/6:49 p.m. BST

Group 29: Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Rafael Cabrera-Bello 2 p.m. ET/7 p.m. BST

Fireworks in Final Group

Alex Myers of Golf Digest ranked Johnson and Rose as the favourites for the title entering the tournament, and it's easy to see why. The former has taken just one win on the PGA Tour this year, but he's still ranked first in the world for his remarkable consistency.

He was the favourite last year before suffering a freak injury in his rental home, and to the surprise of no one, the lead-up to this year's tournament has been filled with plenty of jokes at his expense:

Playing alongside Rose, one of the most consistent players on the tour who showed his form in Innisbrook and Bay Hill, Johnson has every opportunity to start off on the right foot. The two will be joined by Cabrera-Bello, a popular sleeper pick to do well.

Per Allan Bell, Jr. of 247Sports, the Spaniard looked good in practice:

Prediction: The final group lives up to the hype in Round 1.

Can Spieth's Putter Click?

Spieth's issues in the short game this year have been well documented, and they were on display again in Houston, despite his strong finish.

The 24-year-old took a share of third place, and he mostly did so with his stellar approaches, per the PGA Tour's official Twitter account:

Those tend to be key at Augusta National, a place where he has already won and finished in second place twice. Spieth's 2018 may not have been a good one so far, but his showing in Houston indicates he may be rounding into form at just the right time.

Augusta plays perfectly to his strengths, but even if everything goes according to plan, Spieth will have to come through with his putter at some point. Whether he can keep up with the likes of Rose, Johnson and Rory McIlroy―who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the strength of his short game―remains to be seen.

Prediction: Spieth stays out of trouble with his putter on Thursday.