New on Sports Illustrated: Masters Round 1 Live Blog, Scoreboard: Tracking Leaders at Augusta National

Stay up to date with the latest first-round scores and highlights at the 2021 Masters.

The 85th edition of the Masters kicks off on Thursday as golf's most prestigious tournament returns to its traditional April setting.

The 2020 Masters was held in November as

Dustin Johnson secured his first green jacket. Johnson will tee off on Thursday morning as he looks to become the first back-to-back champion since Tiger Woods in 2001-02. Woods will not be present at the 2021 Masters as he recovers from a car crash in February, but there is still plenty of talent on hand at Augusta National.

Will Johnson go back-to-back? Will Bryson DeChambeau bash his way to a victory? Follow along as we capture all the action in a star-studded first round at Augusta on Thursday.

Notable Tee Times

10:06 a.m. – Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland 

10:30 a.m. – Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, Tyler Strafaci

10:42 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy

1:12 p.m. – Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler

1:36 p.m. – Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa

2 p.m. – Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa

Full Round 1 leaderboard

LIVE UPDATES

8:20 a.m. ET - Thompson Struggles Early

Hudson Swafford will head to the second hole at even for the tournament, but morning partner Michael Thompson wasn’t so lucky.

Thompson found the bunker off the tee at the par-4 first, and his approach then missed the green. A nice chip shot allowed Thompson to two-putt to close the hole as he now sits 1-over for the tournament. 

8:00 a.m. ET – First Group Tees Off

Michael Thompson and Hudson Swafford began play on the first tee at Augusta National early Thursday morning. Swafford’s tee shot landed just off the fairway in the first cut of rough, while Thompson ran into some trouble off the tee. 

7:45 a.m. ET – Lee Elder Celebrated at Honorary Tee Shot

Lee Elder made Masters history in 1975 when he became the first Black man to play at Augusta National, and he was honored before the 2021 Masters began on Thursday. 

Elder joined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player for the honorary tee shot, continuing one of the golf's great traditions. Elder didn’t take a shot on the first tee, though he watched along as Nicklaus and Player knocked their annual drives down the fairway before play began.

This post will be updated throughout the day. Stay tuned to Sports Illustrated for the latest from Augusta.