Masters 2016 LIVE day one: Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Co tee it up at Augusta National - follow the action 

Journalists really do get treated rather well at Augusta National. Breakfast just taken on the clubhouse veranda with a view over the first tee and Arnold Palmer and Ben Crenshaw sat just a few tables away. Sadly no pictures. Bring your phone anywhere near the course here and your accreditation is taken from you before they show you the door.

The American blasts a 350-yard missile down the 2nd fairway - some adrenaline flowing through his veins following that opening double-bogey, no doubt - and then finds the par-5 green with his second shot from nearly 250 yards. 40-odd feet left to get those two dropped shots back at the first opportunity. But he two-puts for birdie.

Spieth opens with a par after getting up-and-down from the right of the 1st green.

And it's three straight pars for Wood, and Westwood too (that wasn't a bogey on the 1st as reported - apologies. There's a few gremlins in the Masters' scoring system.) 

Fowler opens up with double bogey after missing a 10-foot putt for a five. Eugh. 

The defending champion would never do something that daft, surely? Although he has had some issues with his driver - namely breaking it.

He's had to put a new club in play today after cracking his driver clubface on Wednesday. 'It is rare for me to trust anything right away,' said Spieth of his new club. 'I usually need to hit 2,000 or 3,000 balls'. 

He'll have to get used to this one an awful lot quicker. 

But his first drive is just fine, 294 yards to the first cut on the left of the hole.

Bernd Wiesberger, the 30-year-old Austrian, birdies the 1st but Jaidee now has the lead on two-under after sinking a 12-footer on the 350-yard 3rd hole, Flowering Peach.

Many people's tip for the green jacket, the 27-year-old Californian has driven his ball into the trees at the 1st. He follows that up by hitting another tree and watching his ball fly into the woods on the other side of the fairway.

Here's a graphic of his opening shots, as it appears on the brilliant Masters website...

Our early leader's bubble has burst. After finding a fairway bunker at the 5th, he can only splash out 42 yards before finding the green and two-putting for a bogey.

Wood opens up with a par but it's not so good news for his compatriot Westwood, who misses a putt from two feet for a bogey on the 1st. 

Dubuisson makes a four at the 2nd and Thongchai Jaidee opens up with a three at the 1st, and both join leader Herman at one under par.

The Thai hit a quite stunning approach into three feet on one of the hardest holes on the course.

... why not read this dispatch by Sportsmail's chief sports reporter, Matt Lawton, from Augusta.

After sport's winter of discontent, sit back and enjoy the golf - you can't cheat your way into a green jacket

A shot goes for the American after he finds the bunker in front of the 4th green. That par-3 is devilishly hard. It ranked as the second-toughest on the course last year, with just 20 birdies made across all four rounds last year, and 92, with nine double-bogeys or worse.

For more stats, check out our brilliant interactive guide to Augusta National by clicking HERE.

Larry Mize, Kevin Streelman and Victor Dubuisson are the next three man out on the course, all opening with pars. Herman's early run comes to an end with a par four at the 3rd. Bard gets into red figures with a birdie at the 2nd - the amateur is under par at the Masters. How cool must that feel?

Flying start for the man who won for the first time only last week as he gets down in four at the long 2nd hole. Not so good news for Bowditch, whose troubles continue with a double bogey on the course's easiest hole. 

The scores at the 1st for the second group of the day - Robert Streb, amateur Derek Bard and 2008 champion Trevor Immelman.

England's Chris Wood tees off at 2.04pm, with Lee Westwood in the group behind alongside the legendary Tom Watson.

Then follows the marquee groups of the early starters, including Fowler, Oosthuizen, Reed, Spieth, Dustin Johnson and more. A full list of tee times can be found HERE.

Harman chipped in from off the 1st green - a fine start. Here's where the pin - and the other 17 - is located today.

Ok, so only two players have completed a hole, but it's one to tell the grandkids for gentleman Jim.

The 38-year-old from Cincinnati was the last of the 89 men to qualify for this event by winning in Houston last week, and he continues his fine form with a birdie at the 1st hole.

Bowditch can only bogey the tough par-4 opener and might just be a little nervous. Battling the hooks, the Aussie became the first man to shoot four rounds in the 80s at a PGA Tour tournament at the recent WCG Cadillac Championship.

The 80th playing of the Masters Tournament is underway. The good news for the early starters is that there are blue skies and little wind. Could be a huge advantage to get going before that picks up, as 20 mph gusts are forecast.

Sportsmail's golf correspondent Derek Lawrenson reports from Augusta National: 

There’s no place like the first tee at Augusta National on the first morning of the Masters. Thousands of patrons plus modern stars like Rickie Fowler gathered to cheer on the Big Three as they made their way on to the tee. 

Because of his health problems, Arnold Palmer wasn’t able to strike a ceremonial tee shot but there was heartfelt applause as Masters chairman Billy Payne introduced him and thanked him for his contribution to the game. 

Then it was time for Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to take the stage. 

The rain had cleared up and it was a quite beautiful, crisp spring morning as Player, now 80 but with the mobility of a man half that age, absolutely striped one down the middle. As ever, he looked ready to play 18 holes rather than disappear into the press interview room.

Nicklaus looked like a 76-year-old man being asked to strike a drive at 8.05pm. He tried a few stretching exercises and grumbled as he did so. 

‘Oh well,’ he sighed, as he realised he now had to hit his shot. It was respectable, down the left side of the fairway, but nothing like as far as Player’s. You can’t imagine the satisfaction that will have given the South African.

‘The 80th Masters is now officially underway,’ said Payne, and the excitement that rippled around the grounds was so palpable you felt like you could reach out and touch it.  

Bowditch and Herman will be the two to get the competition proper rolling at 1.20pm UK time. Feeling nervous, chaps?

There's nothing worse than turning up for your tee time only to see a group of old duffers on the 1st tee, battling to lift the club up beyond hip height and topping the ball 80 yards. Yep, it's going to be a long round.

But, just in case our first group of Steven Bowditch and Jim Herman are worried, fear not! Because the older gentlemen on the tee right now happen to be two of the finest golfers of all time. It's time for the traditional, ceremonial tee shots... so step forward Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Arnold Palmer is also there for company, meaning the original Big 3 are reunited once again at Augusta.

Player, with nine majors to his name and fresh from his hole-in-one in the Par 3 Contest yesterday, steps up and launches his drive straight down the middle. The 80-year-old then launches a karate kick at the air in celebration. Nicklaus laughs.

Now it's the Golden Bear's turn. It's the 30th anniversary of his sixth and final Masters victory this year. The 76-year-old holder of 18 major titles hits his drive a little left and 20 yards behind Player, but still on the fairway.

Brilliant stuff, long may that continue.

Let the fun begin!

... no, I mean it, literally. After overnight thunderstorms we're expecting howling winds across Augusta for the next three days - not the sort of cool and calm conditions usually associated with this place.

Early reports are that the greens have been set up much firmer and faster than last year following Spieth's astounding feats, so it's going to be tough out there.

While the Big 3 have won five out of the last six majors between them, this Masters is anything but a closed shop. Messrs Fowler, Rose and Johnson all have the game to win the green jacket, while the likes of Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson are in top form and ready to add to their hauls of Masters titles.

The list goes on too... Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Sergio Garcia... stop me when you've heard enough.

And don't forget the Brit pack. As well as McIlroy and Rose, there's Paul Casey, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Andy Sullivan, who could all have good tournaments if they're in form and enjoy a few members' bounces on the most demanding greens in golf.

That's the question on everyone's lips.

Can McIlroy win here to complete the Grand Slam of all four majors?

Can the boy wonder make it two Masters in a row?

Can the world No 1 continue to dominate the world and his rivals in Golf's Big 3?

We're about to find out over the next four days at Augusta National.

Is this the most exciting sporting day of the year?

I'll just let this picture do the talking for now...