The Alabama Crimson Tide has one of the most storied programs in golf and has produced countless pro players and two major champions. To this point, however, no Tide golfer has ever won the sport’s most prestigious event, The Masters.
With three golfers teeing it up at Augusta National in this year’s edition, Alabama fans will hope for the luck to change.
The first Alabama golfer playing this week is of course, to no one’s surprise, Justin Thomas. It has been an up and down year for Thomas, with the former World No. 1 falling all the way to No. 28 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
Still, the 2x major champion is a threat any time he tees it up to compete for victory and he has seemed to have found his stride more as of late.
Thomas is in the morning crowd on Thursday and afternoon on Friday (10:18 a.m. Thursday and 1:24 p.m. Friday). He is paired with world No. 31 Will Zalatoris as well as former Masters champion and current world No. 12 Hideki Matsuyama.
The second player and an exciting name to keep an eye on is PGA rookie Nick Dunlap, who is playing in his first-ever Masters.
Famously back in January, Dunlap won a PGA Tour event as an amateur, the first to accomplish the feat since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
RELATED: Nick Dunlap announces he’s turning pro after PGA victory
Shortly after, Dunlap elected to turn pro despite being just 20 years old. He had already earned an exemption to play in the Masters as the reigning U.S. Amateur winner, but is now playing as a pro instead.
In Masters tradition, the last winner of the U.S. Amateur is paired with the reigning Masters champion, pairing Dunlap with world No. 3 Jon Rahm. The third in their group is another top ten player, world No. 10 Matthew Fitzpatrick.
The group will tee off just after the Thomas group at 10:30 a.m Thursday and 1:36 p.m. on Friday.
The last Alabama player is Lee Hodges, who is also playing in his first Masters. Hodges is 28 years old and turned professional in 2018. He has one PGA win to his credit, winning last year’s 3M Open.
Hodges will be playing with Adrian Meronk (world No. 57) and Grayson Murray (world No. 59) teeing off at 11:06 a.m. on Thursday and 8:00 a.m. on Friday.
All tee times are subject to changing and tweaking as weather is once again going to be a factor this year at Augusta National.
Coverage will begin before 9:00 a.m. on Thursday on both Masters.com and ESPN+.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.