Oosthuizen to start with Hoffman, Leishman

Louis Oosthuizen will be joined by Charley Hoffman and Marc Leishman for the first two rounds of The Masters after the groupings were announced on Tuesday.

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The top-ranked South African, who was famously beaten in a playoff in 2012 by Bubba Watson, will start his campaign for his first Green Jacket (and first win on US soil) at 4:42pm local time.

Oosthuizen remains SA’s best chance for glory this week after top five finishes at the Valspar Championship and WGC-Dell Match Play. The world No 19 – he moved up one place last week – is joined by Australian Leishman, a player who he knocked out of the match play in Texas, and whose place he has taken in the latest Official World Golf Rankings.

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The group is completed by Hoffman, who has impressed several times around Augusta National.

Before Oosthuizen hits his first tee shot there will already be three South Africans out on the course.

First up, debutant Justin Harding at 3:03pm with former champion Angel Cabrera and current Rookie of the Year Aaron Wise.

At 3:36pm, Branden Grace starts his bid with potential Presidents Cup teammate Emiliano Grillo and Dell Match Play fourth-placed finisher Lucas Bjerregaard. Grace has a relatively poor record in the year’s first Major, something that he will be looking to change in 2019.

Eleven minutes later, Charl Schwartzel, now ranked outside the world’s top 100, goes in search of Major No 2 alongside Charles Howell III and England’s Eddie Pepperell. Schwartzel will be buoyed by the good memories he has of not only winning (2011), but finishing third two years ago.

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Trevor Immelman, Martin Kaymer and amateur Devon Bling start their Masters journey at 5:37pm with South African amateur Jovan Rebula having to wait until 12:43pm local time (6:43pm SA time) for his first tee shot. He is joined by a golfer that his uncle Ernie Els has battled against many, many times in Vijah Singh, with Billy Horschel completing the trio.

Tiger Woods, in search of his fifth Masters win this week, will play with Jon Rahm and China’s HaoTong Li for the first two rounds at Augusta National, while Rory McIlroy – last month’s winner of THE PLAYERS Championship – is grouped with Rickie Fowler and Aussie Cameron Smith.

The trio of Dustin Johnson/Bryson DeChambeau/Jason Day, then Phil Mickelson/Justin Rose/Justin Thomas, and lastly Jordan Spieth/Paul Casey/Brooks Koepka will have to wait until Thursday’s final three times.

Defending champion Patrick Reed is grouped with 2018 PLAYERS champ Webb Simpson and US Amateur winner Viktor Hovland.

First round tee times (add six hours for SA time):