South Carolina’s golf contingent at the Masters has a new look for 2026
Dustin Johnson tees off in his 16th Masters on Thursday, Andrew Novak and Jacob Bridgeman in their firsts. Despite the difference in years, all three South Carolina Junior Golf Association alumni expect to experience the same thrill on the opening tee at Augusta National.
“Obviously, the first year you play, it’s pretty cool just coming out and playing your first practice round,” said Johnson, a Columbia native who starred at Coastal Carolina. Returning year after year “is pretty special.”
Bridgeman, the former Clemson All-American from Inman, echoed the excitement.
“I was sitting on the couch thinking like, ‘Man, it’s already Monday night. I’ve already been out here for two days. I wish it was going a little slower.’
“But I’m excited to get going on Thursday. I think once competition starts, I’ll be in that kind of mode and can kind of tune out all the rest of it. But practice days I’m trying to take it easy the best I can.”
Novak grew up in Mount Pleasant and set records at Wofford, joins the “can’t-wait-to-start” list.
“He’s excited, and we’re excited for him,” Novak’s dad Ralph said Wednesday while watching his son hammer missiles on the practice range.
Johnson, who set the tournament scoring record in winning the 2020 Masters, tees off Thursday at 9:43 a.m. alongside Shane Lowry and Jason Day. Novak goes off at 11:15 in a threesome with Tom McKibbin and Brian Campbell. Bridgeman plays with Sergio Garcia and Aaron Rai at 12:27 p.m.
Johnson, who was once ranked No. 1 in the world rankings for 130 weeks in his career, won at least one tournament in each of his first 13 years on the PGA Tour. His 24 PGA Tour championships include two majors, the 2016 U.S. Open to go with the 2020 Masters.
He resigned his PGA Tour membership in 2022 to join LIV Golf and has largely dropped out of the spotlight. He has won three individual tournaments on the LIV circuit. In three Masters since leaving the PGA Tour, he has tied for 48th and twice missed the cut.
Bridgeman got a jump-start on his pro career by finishing second in the PGA Tour’s University Rankings program in 2022, his senior year at Clemson. He earned his PGA Tour card for 2024 via his 2023 Korn Ferry Tour performance, and his career took off.
He posted four top-five finishes in 2025 and earned his first title in the Genesis Invitational in February. He comes into the Masters ranked No. 1 in the season-long FedEx standings.
Novak earned his PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour and steadily improved after joining golf’s major league. He lost a playoff to Justin Thomas in the RBC Heritage, then bounced back a week later to win the Tour’s team event in New Orleans with Ben Griffin.
Both Novak and Bridgeman qualified for the 2025 Tour playoffs and are exempt into this season’s signature events. Bridgeman is 18th in the world rankings and Novak is 48th.
Where are Glover, Kisner?
Two long-time Palmetto State stalwarts who honed their games in the SCJGA competition — Lucas Glover and Kevin Kisner — did not qualify for this year’s Masters.
Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, underwent shoulder surgery last fall and has made the cut in only two of his seven starts this year. Now 46, he has played in 11 Masters tournaments dating to 2007, made the cut in six and has a best finish of tied for 20th.
The former Clemson All-American who won the South Carolina Amateur three times, he went 10 years between PGA Tour tournament victories, then won the John Deere in 2021 and both the Wyndham and FedEx St. Jude Classic back-to-back in ’23.
Kisner, a former Georgia All-American from Aiken, owns four Tour victories, the last in 2021. He played in eight Masters and made the cut in five with a best finished of tie for 21st.
Now 42, he became the chief analyst for NBC’s PGA Tour coverage last year and played in only 17 tournaments, making three cuts. He has focused on his television responsibilities this year and has not made a Tour start.
Masters 2026: What time, channel, stream
In addition to daily streaming on Masters.com and the Masters app
Thursday, Round 1
Amazon Prime: 1-3 pm
ESPN: 3-7:30 pm
Friday, Round 2
Amazon Prime: 1-3 pm
ESPN: 3-7:30 pm
Saturday, Round 3
Paramount Plus: Noon-2 pm
CBS and Paramount Plus: 2-7 pm
Sunday, Round 4
Paramount Plus: Noon-2 pm
CBS and Paramount Plus: 2-7 pm
Masters tee times Thursday
- 7:40 AM John Keefer, Haotong Li
- 7:50 AM Naoyuki Kataoka, Max Homa, Carlos Ortiz
- 8:02 AM Jose Maria Olazabal, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Aldrich Potgieter
- 8:14 AM Angel Cabrera, Sami Valimaki, Jackson Herrington
- 8:26 AM Charl Schwartzel, Max Greyserman, Ryan Fox
- 8:38 AM Vijay Singh, Matt McCarty, Rasmus Hojgaard
- 8:50 AM Kurt Kitayama, Kristoffer Reitan, Casey Jarvis
- 9:02 AM Bubba Watson, Nicolas Echavarria, Brandon Holtz
- 9:19 AM Cameron Smith, Sam Burns, Jake Knapp
- 9:31 AM Keegan Bradley, Ryan Gerard, Nick Taylor
- 9:43 AM Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Jason Day
- 9:55 AM Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia
- 10:07 AM Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
- 10:19 AM Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley
- 10:31 AM Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell
- 10:43 AM Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren
- 11:03 AM Samuel Stevens, Sungjae Im
- 11:15 AM Andrew Novak, Tom McKibbin, Brian Campbell
- 11:27 AM Mike Weir, Wyndham Clark, Mateo Pulcini
- 11:39 AM Zach Johnson, Michael Kim, Nicolai Hojgaard
- 11:51 AM Danny Willett, Davis Riley, Ethan Fang
- 12:03 PM Adam Scott, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman
- 12:15 PM Fred Couples, Min Woo Lee, Fifa Laopakdee
- 12:27 PM Sergio Garcia, Aaron Rai, Jacob Bridgeman
- 12:44 PM Harry Hall, Corey Conners, Michael Brennan
- 12:56 PM J.J. Spaun, Maverick McNealy, Tyrrell Hatton
- 1:08 PM Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Aberg
- 1:20 PM Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
- 1:32 PM Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas
- 1:44 PM Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
- 1:56 PM Harris English, Marco Penge, Si Woo Kim
Masters tee times Friday
- 7:40 AM Samuel Stevens, Sungjae Im
- 7:50 AM Andrew Novak, Tom McKibbin, Brian Campbell
- 8:02 AM Mike Weir, Wyndham Clark, Mateo Pulcini
- 8:14 AM Zach Johnson, Michael Kim, Nicolai Hojgaard
- 8:26 AM Danny Willett, Davis Riley, Ethan Fang
- 8:38 AM Adam Scott, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman
- 8:50 AM Fred Couples, Min Woo Lee, Fifa Laopakdee
- 9:02 AM Sergio Garcia, Aaron Rai, Jacob Bridgeman
- 9:19 AM Harry Hall, Corey Conners, Michael Brennan
- 9:31 AM J.J. Spaun, Maverick McNealy, Tyrrell Hatton
- 9:43 AM Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Aberg
- 9:55 AM Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
- 10:07 AM Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas
- 10:19 AM Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
- 10:31 AM Harris English, Marco Penge, Si Woo Kim
- 10:51 AM John Keefer, Haotong Li
- 11:03 AM Naoyuki Kataoka, Max Homa, Carlos Ortiz
- 11:15 AM Jose Maria Olazabal, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Aldrich Potgieter
- 11:27 AM Angel Cabrera, Sami Valimaki, Jackson Herrington
- 11:39 AM Charl Schwartzel, Max Greyserman, Ryan Fox
- 11:51 AM Vijay Singh, Matt McCarty, Rasmus Hojgaard
- 12:03 PM Kurt Kitayama, Kristoffer Reitan, Casey Jarvis
- 12:15 PM Bubba Watson, Nicolas Echavarria, Brandon Holtz
- 12:32 PM Cameron Smith, Sam Burns, Jake Knapp
- 12:44 PM Keegan Bradley, Ryan Gerard, Nick Taylor
- 12:56 PM Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Jason Day
- 1:08 PM Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia
- 1:20 PM Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
- 1:32 PM Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley
- 1:44 PM Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell
- 1:56 PM Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 3:47 PM.