Honorary starters for this year’s Masters Tournament will be Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson.
The three will tee off on Thursday, April 6 during opening ceremonies at 7:40 a.m. on the No. 1 tee.
Nicklaus, Player and Watson combined are the winners of 11 Masters Tournaments and have made 140 Tournament appearances.
The custom of having Honorary Starters began in 1963 with Jock Hutchison (1963-1973) and Fred McLeod (1963-1976) performing the duties. Byron Nelson (1981-2001, non-consecutive), Gene Sarazen (1981-1999), Ken Venturi (1983), Sam Snead (1984-2002), Arnold Palmer (2007-2016), Nicklaus (2010-present), Player (2012-present), Lee Elder (2021) and Watson (2022-present) have continued the tradition.
