Masters 2018: Predictions, Live Stream and TV Coverage Hub for Thursday
The 2018 Masters gets under way on Thursday, and all eyes will be on Tiger Woods as he returns to Augusta National in Georgia for the first time since 2015.
A run of fine form from the 14-time major golf champion has set expectations high that he could compete for the green jacket this year, and he will be looking to make a solid start to proceedings on Day 1.
The Masters cannot be won on Thursday, but it is possible to drop out of contention in no time with a disastrous opening round.
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All the big names on show—the likes of Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson and defending champion Sergio Garcia—will simply be looking to keep themselves in touch at the end of Thursday.
Here is how to follow all the action from the opening day.
Date: Thursday, April 5
Live Coverage: from 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET
TV Info: Sky Sports Golf, Sky Sports Main Event (UK), ESPN (U.S.)
Live Stream: Sky Go, WatchESPN, Masters.com
Leading wire-to-wire at the Masters is a tough task.
Two players in the 2018 tournament's field of 87 players have achieved the feat—Woods in 1997, Spieth in 2015—but they were only the fourth and fifth ever to do so.
In all likelihood, the leader of the 2018 Masters at the end of the first round will not be the man slipping on the green jacket come Sunday.
However, that does not mean competitors will not be looking to go as low as possible among the azaleas on Thursday.
Woods, 42, will be desperate for a decent start to maintain the aura he has taken to Augusta of the fallen champion who is ready to reclaim his crown.
He has said in the buildup to the first major of the year that he feels revitalised, per BBC Sport:
More than anyone else in the field, he knows how to win at Augusta. Woods has four green jackets to his name and nine more top 10 finishes, and a solid three-under par opening round of 69 would keep him touch after Day 1.
Two-time former champion Bubba Watson goes into the 2018 Masters in fine form having won the Genesis Open in February and the WGC Match Play at the end of March.
McIlroy, 28, is also in the winning mood after a final-round 64 saw him to a spectacular triumph at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in his last outing.
The Northern Irishman still needs a Masters win to complete the career Grand Slam, and he will be eager for a fast start to the 2018 edition.
Leading after the first round of last year's tournament was American Charley Hoffman, who headed the field by four shots after an opening-day 65.
He also started the 2015 Masters well, tying for second after Thursday's action with a 67.
The world No. 28 fell off the pace on both occasions, but he knows how to make a statement early on at the Masters. It would be no surprise to see him head the leaderboard again after Day 1 this year.
Prediction: Hoffman and Watson to lead by one on six-under par
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