FILE - In this Sunday, April 12, 2015, file photo, empty chairs sit around the 18th green before the fourth round of the Masters golf tournament, in Augusta, Ga. Fans get to the Masters early, set up their chairs, then leave. When they come back, no one has moved their chair. There is a respect for the tradition, sure, but there is an atmosphere at Augusta that starts with how it expects the fans to behave. No running. No screaming. No phones for talking, texting, tweeting. It's rare to see fans in blue jeans, even though that's not part of any dress code. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

2019 Masters Preview

The 2019 Masters Tournament beings Thursday, April 11th at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA. This year is the 83rd Masters Tournament. In 2018, Patrick Reed won the title and took home $1,980,000 out of an $11 million purse.

Defending champion Patrick Reed says that with a win under his belt now, he knows what he needs to do and is confident heading into the tournament.

Will he defend his title or will someone else make headlines? Let’s take a look at this year’s tournament breakdown and schedule:

Tournament Field

There are 87 players participating in this year’s tournament. For the first round, the first tee time starts at 8:15 a.m. with Jack Nicklaus teeing off first and the last tee time starts at 2 p.m. with Jordan Spieth.

According to CBS Sports, this is one of the strongest fields in the history of the event. The field includes Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, as previously mentioned, Jordan Spieth, and many more.

This year’s purse is the same it has been the past two years: $11,000,000. This years winner will take home $1.98 million, the same as Reed won last year.

Round two start time is at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, round three starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and round four starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Coverage of each round can be found on CBS and ESPN.

The Course

The Augusta National Golf Club is a Par 72 and is made up of 7475 yards. The course originally played around 6,700 yards. This years course is 40 yards longer than last year.

Here’s a quick guide to each hole:

  • No.1: Par 4, 445 Yards
    • Hardest hole on the course in the third round in 2018
  • No.2: Par 2, 575 Yards
  • No.3: Par 4, 350 Yards
  • No.4: Par 3, 240 Yards
  • No.5: Par 4, 495 Yards
  • No.6: Par 3, 180 yards
  • No.7: Par 4, 450 yards
    • Hardest hole in the opening round last year
  • No.8: Par 5, 570 Yards
  • No.9: Par 4, 460 Yards
  • No.10: Par 4, 495 Yards
  • No.11: Par 4, 505 Yards
  • No.12: Par 3, 155 Yards
  • No.13: Par 5, 510 Yards
  • No.14: Par 4, 440 Yards
  • No.15: Par 5, 530 Yards
  • No.16: Par 3, 170 Yards
  • No.17: Par 4, 440 Yards
  • No.18: Par 4, 465 Yards

Compared to last year, the course added a new tee box on the fifth hole and also a pair of bunkers along the left side of the fairway.

Overall, the players have been looking forward to this tournament all year and are excited to get on the course.

Jordan Spieth said this tournament is why he fell in love with playing golf.

About Sydney Jones

Sydney is a senior studying telecommunications with a specialization in sports media at the University of Florida. She is a multimedia sports reporter for ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF and WUFT-TV.

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