Getty Tiger Woods talks with his caddie Joe LaCava.
An empty and much different looking Augusta National in November is set to host the Masters this week as Tiger Woods seeks to defend his title at the major tournament.
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The tournament will be televised on ESPN (1-5:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday) and CBS (1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ET on Sunday), but ESPN+ will have far more comprehensive coverage for every round:
While the television broadcasts won’t start until part-way through each round, ESPN+ will have all-day coverage for all four days of the tournament. There will be several different streams available to watch Thursday through Sunday, including:
Amen Corner: Coverage of Holes 11, 12 and 13
Featured Groups: Coverage of high-profile groups. These won’t be announced until the day before each round, but it is likely to include the groups of Tiger Woods and other big-name golfers
Featured Holes: Coverage of Holes 4, 5 and 6
Features Holes: Coverage of Holes 15 and 16
This is the best way to watch the Masters. ESPN+, which also includes live coverage of other PGA Tour events and lots of on-demand golf content, costs $5.99 for a month or $49.99 for a year.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to about 31 percent savings:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch the Masters live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
2020 Masters Preview
Tiger Woods has been on this stage before at the Masters as the defending champ, but it has never quite been like this — in November, with no fans to cheer him on.
Woods’ best finish since the PGA returned to play following the pandemic was a tie for 37th at the Tour Championship. But he still plans to be competitive and have a chance to defend his title come Sunday.
“Do I expect to contend? Yes, I do,” Woods said Tuesday, not hesitating in the least. “This is a golf course in which having an understanding how to play and where to miss it and how to hit the shots around here, it helps. The golf course keeps getting longer. It gets a little bit more difficult as I’ve gotten older and I don’t quite hit it as far. When I first came here, it was a lot of drivers and a lot of wedges. Now it’s a little bit different and a little bit longer clubs into the holes, but still understanding how to play it definitely helps.”
Woods gutting through some career-altering injuries in the twlight of his greatness to win his 15th major was inspiring for other players, including Phil Mickelson.
“I thought that it was one of the greatest feats in the history of sports,” Mickelson told reporters. “It was an incredible comeback knowing many of the challenges he has gone through over the last few years prior to the win, and the physical and mental fortitude that it takes to come out on top in a major championship.”
Jon Rahm, a top-two contender, is already having quite the week at Augusta, carding a pair of aces. His latest, a skip shot across the water on No. 16, made headlines on Tuesday.
“Yeah, pretty nice birthday present,” Rahm said of the shot. “Can’t complain. Hit my normal tee shot to two feet and then skipped it and made it, which is the craziest thing, the second hole-in-one of the week.”
The event did not go without one of its beloved traditions for the players —
The Masters’ Champions Dinner. Woods got to choose the meal for the dinner that goes back nearly 70 years. On the menu was sushi, steak and chicken fajitas, and three different desserts, per ESPN.
Here are some of the favorites to win this year’s tournament:
Bryson Dechambeau +750
Jon Rahm +1100
Rory McIlroy +1100
Dustin Johnson +1200
Justin Thomas +1200
Xander Schauffele +1400
Brooks Koepka +1800
Patrick Cantlay +2000
Bubba Watson +2700
Collin Morikawa +2700
Patrick Reed +2700
Tiger Woods +2700
Tyrrell Hatton +2900
Webb Simpson +2900
Matthew Wolff +3300
Tony Finau +3300