85th Masters begins, Hughes, Connors legit contenders.. Live scoreboard

 Masters Thursday LIVE scoreboard / tee times  here 

Gary, Jack and Lee Elder have completed the ceremonial opening shots under sunny skies and this years Masters is underway.

It's not often I can say a Canadian is a legit contender, this year there are two, with all due respect to Weirsy who was that guy for years when he won it all in 2003. Mind you he made it to the weekend here in November, T51.

Mac Hughes and Corey Connors are in great form, and more importantly are now well established amongst their peers as guys who can win any week. Their confidence is high, and that is everything, and they both have the experience around Augusta which is crucial.

Corey is a career high #43 in the world, and could have won both the Arnold Palmer 3rd, and the Players 7th and he was 10th here in November.

Mac went right through the Dell Matchplay where he lost on the 17th green in the round of 16 to Sergio Garcia. 

Mike Weir played the practice round pictured above and had this to say afterwards.

 .“I told them out there, I said, you guys are ready. You’ve got the experience now. You’ve been out on tour long enough. You’ve played enough big tournaments. You’ve got to have that self-belief,” said Weir.

“I think they’re both ready to do it. They’re both swinging well. They’re both coming in with good form. Their confidence has got to be high. I hope for good things for them,” 

Both guys expressed confidence in themselves. None of them expect scoring to be low, as Augusta's greens are playing firm and fast, conversely I heard Woosy say the fairways were playing softer in practice, in order to counteract the extraordinary length so many of these guys have off the tee.

As I mentioned yesterday Corey is off at 9.12am and Mac at 11.30am. Mike is at 11.42am with another lefty, young Robert MacIntyre from Scotland.

" I think -10 to -14 would be a really good winning number" was Weirsy's assessment.

Bryan Angus