Plan your Masters 2018 binge-watching with this viewer's guide

The tee times and groupings have been announced for the first two rounds of this year's Masters Tournaments, so now two pressing questions remain.

The first -- "Who's going to win?" -- is one that can't be answered until Sunday.

The second -- "Who should I watch?" -- is one that can be settled right now.

Things come in waves at Augusta National Golf Club, and that often includes consecutive must-see groups making their way around the course.

RELATED: Masters TV schedule, live stream guide | Tee times

There's a couple of main waves of groupings, with plenty of action in between, to watch Thursday and Friday. Friday tee times are in parentheses.

The calm before the storm

* 9:47 a.m. -- Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Pat Perez, Francesco Molinari (12:43 p.m.)

* 10:09 a.m. -- Hideki Matsuyama, Patton Kizzire, Paul Casey (1:05 p.m.)

The first of these groupings is a bit of a sleeper despite containing three of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. The leader of that group is the also-must-hear Perez, an entertaining golfer enjoying a major career rebirth, at No. 21. Molinari, ranked 27th, finished tied for second at last year's PGA Championship. Then there's Aphibarnrat, the 30th-ranked player who's known as the John Daly of Thailand because of his style of play.

Up next is a combination of a quick-rising Masters rookie and two golfers who have had their close calls with past green jackets. Kizzire, already twice a winner this season, is the rookie. Matsuyama (above), the sixth-ranked player in the world, has three consecutive top-11 finishes at Augusta. And the 40-year-old Casey, ranked 13th in the OWGR and still seeking his first major, has finished in the top six each of the last three years. This grouping is followed by an open spot, which is necessary considering what follows.

Tiger starts the first big wave

* 10:42 a.m. -- Tiger Woods, Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood (1:27 p.m.)

* 10:53 a.m. -- Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas, Doc Redman (1:38 p.m.)

* 11:04 a.m. -- Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Jason Day (1:49 p.m.)

* 11:15 a.m. -- Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Adam Hadwin (2 p.m.)

Woods' inclusion in the first grouping is reason enough to keep an eye on it, but he's not exactly playing with bottom-of-the-pack talent. Fleetwood, the 27-year-old Englishman, is ranked 12th in the world and has played 13 of 20 rounds under par in PGA Tour events this season. Leishman, ranked 16th, finished tied for fourth at the 2013 Masters and has three other top-six finishes in majors.

That group is immediately followed by defending champion Garcia (above), second-ranked Thomas and U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman. Redman, a Clemson sophomore, said last week that keeping an even keel is one of his strongest strengths on the course. He'll definitely need to be able to do that now as he plays alongside some of golf's most popular players. Garcia is looking to be the fourth back-to-back winner at the Masters, and reigning PGA champion Thomas is coming into this week refreshed and not having to answer any more questions about not having a major title to his name.

Three top-20 golfers follow, led by 11th-ranked Day. He's got the combination of talent and experience to be a serious contender at Augusta. Stenson, the 2016 British Open champion, is ranked 14th. Watson, No. 19 in the OWGR, already has a pair of green jackets and comes to Augusta off a dominant victory at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

The four-group wave ends with what could be the trio that posts the most birdies of the day. Hoffman has been either first or second through 36 holes twice in the last three years. Hadwin, Canada's Mr. 59, has a year of Masters experience under his belt. Reed, the former University of Georgia and Augusta State golfer, is on a bit of a hot streak after top-10 finishes at the Valspar Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational.

* 12:10 p.m. -- Fred Couples, Hao Tong Li, Joaquin Niemann (9:14 a.m.)

Niemann, the world's top-ranked amateur, won last year's Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He'll lose his No. 1 ranking in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after this week, but it will have nothing to do with how he plays -- he's turning pro. Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, is a crowd favorite who never surprises when he makes an early charge. Li, a Masters rookie like Niemann, won in January at the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

The late wave

* 1:05 p.m. -- Kevin Kisner, Thomas Pieters, Xander Schauffele (9:58 a.m.)

* 1:27 p.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar (10:31 a.m.)

* 1:38 p.m. -- Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm (10:42 a.m.)

* 1:49 p.m. -- Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren, Louis Oosthuizen (10:53 a.m.)

* 2:00 p.m. -- Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Rafa Cabrera-Bello (11:04 a.m.)

Kisner kicks off the final wave of the day. He's made the cut in both attempts at the Masters, and now he's looking to contend on the weekend. Pieters tied for fourth last year in his Masters debut, and Tour Championship winner Schauffele is a Masters rookie with two top-10s this year to go with his two titles from last year.

Kuchar joins longtime pals Mickelson and Fowler in a grouping full of crowd favorites. Mickelson, thrice a Masters champion, has played strong to start the season and has a style that's always worth watching. Fowler has threatened plenty but still has yet to win a major. Kuchar finished tied for fourth last year for his fourth top-10 at Augusta.

Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, joins a duo that would each like to add an important piece of history to their collection. McIlroy needs a green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam, and third-ranked Rahm could become No. 1 in the world by capturing his first major championship.

They're immediately followed by two past major champions and a player who very well could win one soon. Spieth, ranked fourth in the world, has finished outside of the top two only once in four tries at Augusta. Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, finished second to Bubba Watson at the 2012 Masters. Noren, the 15th-ranked player in the world, has three top-three finishes on the PGA Tour already this season.

Sending everyone home on the first day of play are golfers that could be playing late on the weekend, too. Johnson (above) comes in as an impossibly under-the-radar World No. 1 with consecutive top-six finishes at Augusta before last year's fall. Rose, twice a runner-up in the last three years, is ranked fifth and has five worldwide top 10s this season. Cabrera-Bello also has five worldwide top 10s, and he tied for 17th at the 2016 Masters.

This article is written by Kyle Dawson from Aiken Standard, S.C. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCredpublisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.