Countdown to US Masters on Sky Sports

At 7pm tonight, Sky Sports will be going live for the start of The Masters from Augusta National. For the entire team, it’s the highlight of the tournament. The Masters is a real buzz and it’s a fantastic honour being able to broadcast it to our viewers, giving it the Sky Sports treatment – we all get really excited as the titles roll for the first time.

The Masters is a special event. The golf course is beautiful, cleverly designed and immaculately presented, and then there’s the history – legends like Palmer, Nicklaus and Player who all loved winning here. In 1980, Seve Ballesteros stamped his mark on the Masters and ushered in an era of European glory, making it a must-watch for every British sports fan.

And this year the coverage promises be better than ever. Not only will our virtual computer graphics of the course be sharper, but we will have more on-course commentary positions than ever before and, for the first time, our ProTracer technology on the 13th tee will track the arc of the ball-flight, showing exactly how much players curve the ball on that crucial tee shot.

Six-times Masters champion, Jack Nicklaus, will be joining us on the first day of the tournament as our Studio guest and in the commentary box, while Mark Roe’s “In the Frame” feature will be a fun addition, placing him at the scene of some of the best shots ever hit at Augusta. Last but not least, Sky Sports will be bringing you the action from the last four holes on all four days in fantastic 3D.

To complement our live coverage we have an interactive service available via the Red Button providing live tournament coverage from 3.45pm on the first two days and 4pm over the weekend, enabling viewers to watch live coverage over 3 hours before the main broadcast on Sky Sports. During our live programme, options will include uninterrupted coverage from Amen Corner and holes 15 and 16, additional feature group feeds, rolling highlights, alternative commentary options and an extensive stats area including a course guide, news, player profiles, tournament history, and the live leaderboard.

For those wanting to keep up with the action on the move, the Masters Match Centre is available via Sky Sports App for iPad and will enable access to the same video feeds as our interactive service.

There are so many unique aspects to the Masters – such as The Green Jacket, the Azaleas, Amen Corner, Rae’s Creek, The Eisenhower Tree, the Hogan Bridge, the Butler Cabin – all of which are etched in golfing folklore. With Tiger returning to the top of the world rankings, Rory fighting for form and perennials favourites such as Mickleson and Westwood it promises to be a fantastic tournament.