Scheffler paired with Justin Thomas on Thursday morning to begin Masters title defence

Scottie Scheffler will begin defence of his second Masters title paired with good friend and two-time major champion Justin Thomas.

The two American Ryder Cup stars will play alongside amateur Jose Luis Ballester as the first- and second-round pairings and tee times were announced for the 89th playing of the Masters Tournament on Tuesday.

The trio will tee off Thursday at 10:15 a.m. ET in Augusta, Ga., just behind a group headlined by Phil Mickelson and ahead of one including Jordan Spieth. Scheffler, the world's top-ranked player, is seeking his third green jacket this week but has yet to win this year.

Scheffler has yet to win this season but still has three top-10 finishes in six starts despite a late jump on the year as his hand healed from the broken wine glass. And Scheffler is coming off a tie for second at the Houston Open, where he finished one back of Min Woo Lee.

He's still the world's top player by a wide margin. His game is in a good place. And his life seems to be, too.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who has won twice already in 2025 as he attempts to complete the career Grand Slam this week, is paired for the first two rounds with young stars Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia.

McIlroy's threesome has the fourth-latest tee time on Thursday at 1:12 p.m. and will turn around for a 9:58 a.m. start Friday.

They are playing two groups ahead of 2023 champion Jon Rahm, who is paired with Wyndham Clark and Tommy Fleetwood in another marquee group.

Playing just ahead of McIlroy is another pre-tournament favourite in Xander Schauffele. Schauffele is seeking to regain the form that saw him claim his first two majors last year.

He is paired with former Masters champion Adam Scott and Viktor Hovland, who is still in search of