By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) -The weather-delayed start to the Masters began under cloudy skies at windy Augusta National on Thursday with many of the top contenders, including reigning champion Jon Rahm and tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler, still hours from teeing off.
Storms in the area delayed one of the most anticipated days in golf by 2-1/2 hours but that hardly dampened the mood as patrons crowded the first tee to see greats Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit their ceremonial first tee shots.
A more severe storm had been expected to hit the Augusta area but with the threat much lower organisers rescheduled the start to the first round for 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) by which time the rain had stopped.
The delay means the day’s late starters, including five-times champion Tiger Woods, 2023 runner-up Brooks Koepka and former champion Dustin Johnson, will not be able to finish their first round on Thursday.
According to the weather forecast, there is no more than a 40% chance of showers for the duration of the first round but high winds are expected with peak gusts in the 35-40 mph range possible for the rest of the day.
Rahm, one of 13 LIV Golf players in the 89-player field this week, is scheduled to launch his title defence at 1:00 p.m. ET alongside 2022 U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick and Nick Dunlap, one of 20 Masters debutants in the field.
Rahm’s threesome will be followed around the hilly and pristine course by a high-profile group consisting of world number one Scottie Scheffler, Grand Slam-seeking Rory McIlroy and reigning Olympic champion Xander Schauffele.
For world number two McIlroy, who missed the Masters cut in two of the last three years, this week marks his 10th attempt at becoming only the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors.
“Thankfully, I’ve improved a bit since my first start here, and I feel like I’ve got all the tools to do well this week,” McIlroy said earlier this week.
Woods, making only his second start this year due to nagging injuries, is scheduled to tee off at 3:54 p.m. ET in the fourth-to-last group with Australian Jason Day and Max Homa.
The forecast for the next three days is for sunny skies and warmer temperatures.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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