Fred Couples shot a 1-under 71 in the opening round of the Masters on Thursday, the 65-year-old former champion proving to himself as much as anyone else that he still belongs.

The Masters got underway at Augusta National on Thursday with Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson hitting the ceremonial opening tee shots.

Min Woo Lee had won just about everywhere but the PGA Tour before he triumphed at the Texas Open.

Angel Cabrera is back at Augusta National, walking the fairways at the Masters six years after his last appearance and less than two after he was paroled from an Argentine prison.

Joaquin Niemann is headed back to the Masters.

Masters chairman Fred Ridley says Augusta National sustained a lot of damage from Hurricane Helene, just like the rest of the area.

Golf has a ratings problem.

Jon Rahm is serving up quite the Spanish menu for the Masters Club dinner for champions.

Masters chairman Fred Ridley is hopeful of a Masters just like any other.

Few events carry more intrigue than the most exclusive gathering of champions.

The Masters is keeping its criteria the same for next year.

The only color Harold Varner III has been focused on at the Masters is red.

Hideki Matsuyama is a Masters champion and apparently a master host.

Two-time Masters champion Tom Watson has joined an elite fraternity at Augusta National.

As tradition dictates, there is now very bad news to report about Canadian golfers Mike Weir and Mackenzie Hughes.

Golf has a bright future and isn't quite ready to let go of Tiger Woods.

The home of the Masters is making an effort to reach a younger generation of golfers as the tournament nears its 100th birthday.

There was a time when the top golfers at big tournaments would always get a question from Japanese media about Hideki Matsuyama.

Lee Elder was the first Black player to tee it up at the Masters.

The applause started when Lee Elder’s golf cart began moving toward the first tee.

Only a dozen players managed to break par in the opening round of the Masters.

Don't expect a repeat of Dustin Johnson's record-shattering 20-under win as the Masters tees off.

While a tempest brews outside Magnolia Lane over Georgia’s voting rights law, Augusta National would prefer to keep the focus on blooming azaleas, pimento cheese sandwiches and tricky greens.

No one needed to see the colorful blooms at Augusta National to realize this will be a much different Masters than the last one.

Jon Rahm arrived at the Masters on Wednesday, after not sleeping much or touching a club for the past few days.

Dustin Johnson didn’t feel like his Masters victory was less significant last fall because no fans were at Augusta National to see his win and celebrate with him.

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)AUGUSTA, Ga. – The record score at Augusta National wasn't all that set Dustin Johnson apart from other Masters champions. No other Masters champion was allowed to keep his green jacket for only five months before it was time to try to win it again. Augusta National is blazing with pink and red and purple azaleas, accented by the white blooms of dogwood. Ad“I think it will be back to feeling like a normal Masters,” Johnson said. Augusta National had no choice but to keep the spectators away in November because of the pandemic, just like the other majors last year.

FILE - Dustin Johnson waves after winning the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., in a Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, file photo. Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, the club intends to allow a limited number of spectators for the Masters on April 8-11, provided it can be done safely, given the coronavirus pandemic. Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said Tuesday the club intends to allow a limited number of spectators for the Masters on April 8-11, provided it can be done safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ridley said holding the Masters with only essential personnel made the club confident in its ability to stage a major championship with limited fans. For the Augusta National Women's Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt Finals, limited patrons would be allowed, most likely family members.

Langer, a two-time Masters champion and ageless wonder, gets to play two more rounds. He became the oldest player to make the 36-hole cut at the Masters, topping the record by Tommy Aaron in 2000 by 33 days. Tiger Woods constantly cites Langer and Fred Couples as examples of Masters champions who can find their way around the course and post good scores. When golf returned from the pandemic in June, Langer teed it up twice on the PGA Tour because the 50-and-older PGA Tour Champions had not resumed. Langer still decided to check on the policy on Tuesday night during the Masters Club dinner for past champions.

Also, it’s the first bogey-free round for Woods in a major since the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine. The 43-year-old Englishman is leading the Masters after shooting a 7-under 65 in the opening round. But he turned things around in his return to Augusta National, which was delayed for seven months by the coronavirus pandemic. ___2:05 p.m.Tiger Woods is off to a strong start in defense of his Masters championship. He has six top-10 finishes at Augusta National, including a second-place finish in 2010 and a tie for second in 2016.

So much else has changed at Augusta National this week, when the first fall Masters will be held without many of the traditions that make it a tradition unlike any other. Another tradition diminished without fans: golfers trying to skip their shots across the surface of the pond in front of the 16th green. “We do think Butler Cabin is something that is really, not only part of the history, but emblematic of what the Masters is all about, giving the champion the green jacket,” Ridley said. “So we will be in Butler Cabin. The fall date also messed with the Masters' spot on the sports schedule.

It's November, and I think everybody just has to embrace that we're here and we're playing and that's a great thing." In some respects, this Masters is a celebration of what golf has done and a sendoff the sport has never had. For many, it signaled the start of golf season, whether that meant playing or watching. “All the Masters I've watched over the years in Ireland, the golfing season started normally the weekend of the Masters,” British Open champion Shane Lowry said. “I think when The Open Championship was canceled, I had serious doubts we'd play a Masters this year in 2020,” McIlroy said.

Lee Elder talks to the media at the Masters golf tournament Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, in Augusta, Ga. Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced today that Lee Elder, the first Black man to compete in the Masters Tournament 45 years ago, will be honored by establishing scholarships in his name and inviting him to be an Honorary Starter for the 2021 Masters. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The Masters for some two decades has provided scholarship money for Paine College, a private, historically Black college in Augusta. The Lee Elder Scholarship will be endowed for one man and one woman on the golf team. “That is one thing that’s going to be significant to me, because 1975 was just an ordinary shot playing a golf tournament, even though it was the Masters,” Elder said. Never forget.”The connection to Paine College goes beyond it being an HBCU. He said Augusta National would pay for everything.

ESPN's College GameDay is in. Augusta National announced Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, more changes to a Masters tournament that will be unlike any of the previous 83. ESPN's “College GameDay” is in. Augusta National announced Tuesday more changes to a Masters tournament that will be unlike any of the previous 83. The most notable was in 2017 when “College GameDay” was held in Times Square.