The Masters ends the 9-month wait for golf's most anticipated major

AUGUSTA, Ga. — For a sport renowned for moving slowly, the Masters can't get started fast enough.

Wednesday at Augusta National was filled with anticipation, not to mention a bit of pollen from a glorious spring day in the South, as players filed out of the clubhouse for a final dress rehearsal at what has become the most anticipated major of the golf season.

Rory McIlroy walked out of the clubhouse through a crowd under the live oak tree and headed out for a quick nine holes in his bid for an elusive Masters green jacket, the final piece of the career Grand Slam. He played a money game with Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry before heading over to the Par 3 Tournament.

The Masters is so different from the other four majors.

It has the smallest field (95 players) on the prettiest property (home of a former nursery that now boasts more than 80,000 plants of 350 varieties) and is the only major referred to as a ''tournament'' instead of a ''championship.''

And the final act Wednesday afternoon is for players to walk over to the Par 3 course with their toddlers dressed in white coveralls to play a tournament no one wants to win — the Augusta National curse is that no one has ever won the Par 3 Tournament and the Masters in the same years.

''The buildup to this event is a lot, and the sort of anticipation and we're waiting eight or nine months for the next major to roll around from the Open championship,'' McIlroy said. ''To end your preparation with an afternoon like this ... it's such a fun afternoon.''

And then it's time to get to work.

McIlroy comes to the Masters in the best form, having already won twice this year, and with arguably the most attention as he tries for the 17th time to join the elite list of slam winners.

The betting favorite remains Scottie Scheffler, coming up on two years as the No. 1 player in the world, already with two Masters titles. Jack Nicklaus is the only player to have won three times in a four-year span.

Scheffler said he's feeling good, even if he didn't sound that way with his nose stopped up.

''This rain and pollen out here,'' he said. "I get out of my car in the morning, my eyes start watering. It's a little bit worse than normal years.

''I'm feeling good,'' he said. ''Sniffles aren't going to stop me.''

The next four days will determine who can stop him.

This is the first time Scheffler hasn't won going into the Masters since 2021, when he was the No. 22 player in the world without a PGA Tour victory.

Scheffler is not big on looking ahead or celebrating anything behind him. His amazing season of nine wins worldwide, including Olympic gold, is a thing of the past. He doesn't know what scores Augusta National will yield or what it will take to win. It's about Thursday.

''I focus a lot on the preparation and getting ready to play in tournaments, and then I try to — while I'm playing — have a good attitude and approach the shots the right way. And that's what I define success as,'' Scheffler said.

''When I think about getting ready for this week, when I step on the first tee on Thursday, I'm going to remind myself that I've done what I needed to do to play well, and it's all about going out and competing now.''

Augusta National was in pristine condition — anyone surprised? — despite the destructive Hurricane Helene that roared through the region last September and knocked out so many of the Georgia pines.

There is a noticeable difference, though maybe not to the television viewer. CBS Sports does not plan to show any before-and-after pictures, only what Augusta National is like now.

The stand of trees down the left side of No. 1 and the right side of adjacent No. 9 is thinner. Certain points up high reveal a view of Augusta Country Club, previously hidden by trees.

Jordan Spieth has quietly gone about his work this week, a player who typically can't be ignored at the Masters because of his history. He had the lead with 11 holes to play when he was a 20-year-old Masters rookie. He went wire-to-wire to win in 2015 and had a five-shot lead going to the back nine in 2016 until his famous implosion on the 12th hole.

Now he is on his way back from surgery on his left wrist last August, an injury that first affected him two years ago. He has flirted with contention a couple of times since his return, which was one of his goals.

''When I started back up, it was a 10-year outlook, not an April of '25 outlook,'' Spieth said. ''It's a little too much to ask to feel I'm the best I've ever been coming off surgery. So I try to hit the fairway on No. 1 tomorrow and then I try to hit the middle of the green, and I go from there.

''You just take for granted being in contention on Sunday here. I was doing it a lot early on,'' he said. ''It's just like there's no cooler place to do it, no better feeling. So the goal is to get yourself on the back nine and have a chance.''

That's the goal of practically everyone at the Masters. The preparations are over. The fun ended with the Par 3 Tournament. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit the honorary tee shots Thursday morning to get the Masters started.

''If you're not ready by now, then you don't really have a chance," McIlroy said.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf