Masters 2019 Tee Times: Groups and Predictions for Thursday

Excitement is beginning to build ahead of the 2019 Masters, with the groups confirmed for the first two rounds at Augusta.

As always, there are some interesting trios to keep tabs on, with a number of high-profile players set to be in close proximity as they try to set themselves up for a glorious weekend.

Defending champion Patrick Reed will go off with Webb Simpson and Viktor Hovland. Meanwhile, two of the tournament favourites in Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler will play together on Thursday and Friday alongside rising Australian star Cameron Smith. 

Tiger Woods will play alongside Haotong Li and Jon Rahm, while world No. 1 Justin Rose has been grouped with Americans Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas.

Here are the standout threeballs for Days 1 and 2, as well as a closer look at some trios likely to attract the biggest swell of crowds for the first half of the tournament.

Selected Groups

10:31 a.m. Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson and Viktor Hovland

11:04 a.m. Tiger Woods, Haotong Li and Jon Rahm

11:15 a.m. Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Smith

1:38 p.m. Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Jason Day

1:49 p.m. Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas

2 p.m. Jordan Spieth, Paul Casey and Brooks Koepka

All tee times are in Eastern time. For the full list of groupings and start times, visit the competition website.

McIlroy, Fowler, Smith

McIlroy and Fowler will both be determined to don the green jacket on Sunday, but they will have different motivations.

For the Northern Irishman, a win at the Masters would round off a career grand slam. He has already enjoyed two successes at the USPGA Championship, as well as one win at the Open and the U.S. Open.

While his last major win actually came in 2014, McIlroy is the favourite in the eyes of many for this week, as he's been performing well in 2019 so far.

Per Jason Sobel of the Action Network, the 29-year-old has been speaking a lot about his improved mindset ahead of the tournament:

McIlroy has appeared relaxed in the buildup, entertaining the crowd with shots like these in practice:

Fowler's motivation will be a little different, as he's still searching for his maiden major title. A year ago, he finished second to Reed; he has also finished runner-up at the Open and the U.S. Open in the past.

The 30-year-old has been speaking about possibly building on last year's performance in the 2019 edition:

For Smith, playing with two competitors like McIlroy and Fowler may be daunting, and despite his clear ability, he may find the going tough on Day 1. Expect his experienced playing partners to get off to solid starts.

Thursday Prediction: McIlroy (-2), Fowler (-2), Smith (+1)

Rose, Mickelson, Thomas

There are likely to be some special moments when this trio take to the Augusta course, and there is potential for the winner of the Masters to come from this group.

Rose, 38, usurped Dustin Johnson this week to become the top-ranked player in the world again. That will surely give him an injection of confidence as he goes in search of his second major win.

In the past, the Englishman has come close too, most notably in 2017 after losing in a play-off to Sergio Garcia, having led for the first three rounds.

In recent years, Rose has appeared more at ease around the course:

Mickelson should be, as he's enjoyed some of the best moments of his career at Augusta, winning three green jackets. 

The 48-year-old has not been showing much in terms of recent form in the buildup to the Masters, though, as he failed to get out of the group stage at the World Match Play and missed the cut in the two tournaments before that.

Giving his fans something to cling to, he did win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

Thomas has also seen his touch desert him in recent weeks, having started the year with some impressive results. At the Masters, he's never quite been able to find his best either, per Chris Fallica:

This is the sort of group where the players have the potential to inspire each other, especially if Mickelson can get on a roll and get the crowd going. But at the moment, Rose is the only man of the three who looks capable of challenging for glory come Sunday.

Thursday Prediction: Rose (-2), Mickelson (+1), Thomas (+1)