Updated April 7, 2026, 1:02 p.m. ET
- The 2026 Masters will start with the Honorary Starters Ceremony at 7:25 a.m. on Thursday.
- Golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson will function this 12 months’s honorary starters.
- The custom of an honorary first shot dates again to 1941 with newbie Francis Ouimet.
- The official function of Honorary Starter started in 1963 with Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The 2026 Masters will not formally start till Thursday’s Honorary Starters Ceremony, and we now know when that can start.
Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson will kick off this 12 months’s ninetieth Masters at Augusta National Golf Club with the opening tee photographs. The three legends at the Masters, with 11 inexperienced jackets between them, will formally start the tournaments by hitting driver down the first gap.
The ceremony is scheduled to start at 7:25 a.m. on the No. 1 tee.
When did Honorary Starter ceremony start?
Having somebody hit the first shot at the Masters dates to 1941, when newbie Francis Ouimet performed the first spherical earlier than withdrawing. While the function of Honorary Starter wasn’t official fairly but, Ouimet’s look at the urging of Tournament co-founder Bobby Jones was sufficient to plant the seed of an thought that might finally begin the custom, per the Masters web site.
Who has been a Masters Honorary Starter?
- Jock Hutchison: 1963 – 1973
- Fred McLeod: 1963 – 1976
- Byron Nelson: 1981 – 2001 (non-consecutive)
- Gene Sarazen: 1981 – 1999
- Ken Venturi: 1983
- Sam Snead: 1984 – 2002
- Arnold Palmer: 2007 – 2016
- Jack Nicklaus: 2010 – current
- Gary Player: 2012 – current
- Lee Elder: 2021
- Tom Watson: 2022 – current
