Golf: Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Jon Rahm among 2024 Masters favorites

April 10 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Jon Rahm are among the expected contenders at the 2024 Masters Tournament, which is scheduled to tee off Thursday in Augusta, Ga.

The first major of the season is to be held Thursday through Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club. The first two rounds of the Masters will air Thursday and Friday on ESPN. The final two rounds will air Saturday and Sunday on CBS.

Streaming coverage of the Masters will be available on Masters.com, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app. The honorary starters ceremony will tee off at 8:15 a.m. EDT Thursday and be shown on Masters.com.

"It would be quite special to be one of the few players to win it more than once and be able to have [the green jacket] at home for more than one year," Rahm told reporters Tuesday in Augusta.

No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 5 Xander Schauffele, No. 33 Brooks Koepka, No. 12 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 18 Jordan Spieth join Rahm (No. 3) and Scheffler as favorites to win the green jacket and $3.24 million first-place prize.

The 89-player field includes 18 former Masters champions, including 15-time major winner Tiger Woods. Woods, the No. 959 player in the world, withdrew from his only other event this season, the Genesis Invitational, in February because of an illness.

He withdrew from the Masters in the third round last year, citing plantar fasciitis. This year, he can set a Masters record by making the third-round cut for the 24th consecutive time.

Woods cited consistency, longevity and his understanding of how to play the 7,555-yard course as keys for his success in Augusta.

"That's one of the reasons why you see players in their 50s and 60s make cuts here or players in their late 40s have runs at winning the event," Woods said. "You still have to go out and execute it, but there is a lot of knowledge that goes into understanding how to play it."

Woods, 48, said "every shot that isn't in the tee box" will be a physical challenge, due to his chronic back and leg issues. He said his right ankle injury, which resulted in his 2023 Masters exit, no longer hurts.

Several players cited greens and tee box changes throughout the years at Augusta, but said the overall configuration of the greens and angles remain similar. The Masters is the only major played annually at the same site.

The famed, brilliant azaleas, meticulously mowed bright green lawns and crowds of ancient trees remain course staples, but some holes are lengthened, resurfaced and reshaped.

"This golf course gets you to chase things a little more than other golf courses, if you make a bogey or get yourself out of position, because it always tempts you to do something you think you can do," McIlroy said.

"I'm pretty confident in my golf game and think I can do most things, but sometimes you have to be the conservative route and be a little more disciplined and patient."

Rain and thunderstorms are forecast for Thursday's opening round and could become an early factor, potentially altering tee times or pushing first-round play into Friday. The weather is expected to be clear, but windy, on Friday. No rain is expected Saturday or Sunday.

"There are so many factors here," said No. 6 Viktor Hovland said. "Obviously, the wind here swirls. You can hit good shots, but the wind might swirl or you might read a situation wrong. Even through there is not that much water around the greens or off the tees, there are a lot of really penal shots around the greens."

"There is some factor of luck in there, but I think it's also cool that you see the guys with certain course management styles usually do pretty well year in and year out."

The first group is scheduled to tee off at 8 a.m. Thursday in Augusta. Matusyama, No. 28 Justin Thomas and No. 31 Will Zalatoris are expected to start the first round at 10:18 a.m. Rahm, No. 10 Matt Fitzpatrick and No. 70 Nick Dunlap will start 12 minutes later.

Scheffler, McIlroy and Schauffele will tee off in the next group at 10:42 a.m. Hovland, No. 4 Wyndham Clark and No. 68 Cameron Smith will tee off at 10:54 a.m.

Woods, No. 11 Max Homa and No. 21 Jason Day will tee off at 1:24 p.m. Koepka, No. 8 Brian Harman and No. 23 Tom Kim will start the next group at 1:36 p.m. Spieth, No. 9 Ludvig Aberg and No. 15 Sahith Theegala will start 12 minutes later.

No. 13 Tommy Fleetwood and No. 20 Collin Morikawa and No. 336 Dustin Johnson will tee off in the final group at 2 p.m.

Masters TV schedule

All times EDT

Thursday

First-round coverage from 3 to 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Friday

Second-round coverage from 3 to 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

Third-round coverage from 3 to 7 p.m. on CBS

Sunday

Final-round coverage from 2 to 7 p.m. on CBS