Masters 2018: What time does it start, which TV channel is it on, where can I watch it, odds and prize money

The year’s first major kicks off this week as The Masters takes place at the picturesque Augusta National Golf Club, with the field boasting a line-up more competitive than ever and the return of Tiger Woods for the first time since 2015.

A number of leading players head into the grand event in form, with 87 men descending on the famous course in Georgia for Masters week that kicks off on Wednesday with the Par 3 competition. There will of course be plenty of attention on the returning Woods, who will play in his first major since the 2015 Masters, but the likes of Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson all winning in recent weeks while both Paul Casey and Ian Poulter have picked up wins.

In fact, it was the latter who clinched the 87th and final spot in the field with his incredible play-off victory at the Houston Open on Sunday, with 11 British players competing this week in the hope of emulating Danny Willett’s victory at Augusta two years ago. In fact, Willett’s and Sergio Garcia’s wins in 2016 and 2017 respectively stand as the first time European’s have won back-to-back Masters since Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal in 1993-94.

With Woods looking to become only the second man to win five Masters titles behind Jack Nicklaus, the American will undoubtedly be under more attention than ever before, which may just play into the hands of his main rivals in McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and plenty of others who have genuine hopes of wearing the Green Jacket comes Sunday night.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Masters.

The Par 3 competition gets underway on Wednesday 4 April as the main tune up for the tournament. The official first day of the Masters begins on Thursday 5 April and runs each day until Sunday 8 April.

Action begins at 08:00 in the US, meaning a 13:00 start in the UK.

Now here’s the tricky bit. Although play starts early in the afternoon, course coverage does not begin until 20:00 due to strict broadcasting rights. There will be some coverage made available throughout the day, but only through online and red button services which you can find in the table below, while Sky’s studio coverage will begin at 19:00 on the first three days and 18:00 for the final round.

The action will also be shown live on The Masters website for the televised times above.

What if I don’t have Sky Sports?

BBC Two will show live coverage on Saturday and Sunday and have radio updates on BBC Radio Five Live, or you can watch full Sky Sports coverage on Now TV for ?7.99.

The three-man groupings for Thursday and Friday will be released on Tuesday evening on the Masters website, with the weekend pairings confirmed shortly after play finishes on Friday night.

Reigning champion Garcia remained true to his Spanish roots for Tuesday's Champions Dinner at Augusta, where he gets to decide what he and his fellow green jacket winners will eat at their traditional gathering ahead of the Masters.

Garcia has selected an international salad which combines ingredients from several countries of past Masters champions to start, followed by Spanish lobster rice and a dessert using a recipe of his wife Angela, a tres leches cake.

The money on offer remains the same total as 2017, meaning the 87 players will be sharing $11m that makes the Masters the second richest major of the year behind the US Open [$12m], while the PGA Championship [$10.5m] places ahead of The Open [$10.25m]. The 2018 allocations have not been confirmed yet, but are likely to resemble the 2017 figures below.

(Top 10 only)

1st: $1,980,000 ?

2nd: $1,188,000 ?

3rd: $748,000 ?

4th: $528,000 ?

5th: $440,000 ?

6th: $396,000 ?

7th: $368,500 ?

8th: $341,000 ?

9th: $319,000 ?

10th: $297,000 ??

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Jordan Spieth – 10/1

Justin Thomas – 11/1

Dustin Johnson – 12/1

Justin Rose – 12/1

Rory McIlroy – 12/1

Tiger Woods – 12/1

Bubba Watson – 16/1

Jason Day -16/1

Phil Mickelson – 16/1

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Paul Casey – 22/1

Rickie Fowler – 25/1

Sergio Garcia – 25/1

Jon Rahm – 28/1

Hideki Matsuyama – 30/1

Henrik Stenson – 40/1

Matt Kuchar – 40/1

Tommy Fleetwood – 40/1

Alexander Noren – 45/1

Patrick Reed – 45/1

Adam Scott – 50/1

Ian Poulter – 50/1

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Louis Oosthuizen – 50/1

Marc Leishman – 55/1

Thomas Pieters – 55/1

Patrick Cantlay – 60/1

Tyrrell Hatton – 70/1

Brian Harman – 80/1

Bryson Dechambeau – 80/1

Charley Hoffman – 80/1

Matthew Fitzpatrick – 80/1

Xander Schauffele – 80/1

Cameron Smith – 90/1

Charl Schwartzel – 90/1

Daniel Berger -90/1

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Kevin Chappell – 90/1

Rafael Cabrera Bello – 90/1

Ryan Moore – 90/1

Tony Finau – 90/1

Adam Hadwin 100/1

Branden Grace – 100/1

Gary Woodland – 100/1

Kevin Kisner – 100/1

Kiradech Aphibarnrat – 100/1

Russell Henley – 100/1

Zach Johnson – 100/1

Jimmy Walker – 125/1

Brendan Steele – 150/1

Francesco Molinari – 150/1

Jason Dufner – 150/1

Kyle Stanley – 150/1

Pat Perez – 150/1

Patton Kizzire – 150/1

Ross Fisher – 150/1

Shubhankar Sharma – 150/1

Webb Simpson – 150/1

Dylan Frittelli – 175/1

Martin Kaymer – 175/1

Chez Reavie – 200/1

Haotong Li – 200/1

Si Woo Kim – 200/1

Austin Cook – 250/1

Bernd Wiesberger – 250/1

Billy Horschel – 300/1

Danny Willett – 300/1

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Fred Couples – 300/1

Angel Cabrera – 400/1

Jhonattan Vegas – 400/1

Wesley Bryan – 400/1

Yusaku Miyazato – 400/1

Bernhard Langer – 500/1

Joaquin Niemann – 500/1

Satoshi Kodaira – 500/1

Ted Potter – 500/1

Vijay Singh – 500/1

Yuta Ikeda – 500/1

Doc Redman – 1000/1

Doug Ghim – 1000/1

Harry Ellis – 1000/1

Jose Maria Olazabal – 1000/1

Lin Yuxin – 1000/1

Mark O'Meara – 1000/1

Matt Parziale – 1000/1

Mike Weir – 1000/1

Trevor Immelman – 1000/1

Ian Woosnam – 2000/1

Larry Mize – 2000/1

Sandy Lyle – 2000/1

(Odds provided by Betfair)