Woods to start title defense at 10:23 a.m. ET

Updated: April 4, 2006, 2:01 PM ET

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Reuters

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Defending champion Tiger Woods has been grouped with Australia's Robert Allenby and 2005 U.S. amateur champion Edoardo Molinari of Italy for the first two rounds of the Masters Tournament starting on Thursday.

World No. 1 Woods, chasing a fifth green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club, will launch his title defense at 10:23 a.m. ET.

Molinari, an engineering student from Turin who is still an amateur, became Italy's first U.S. amateur champion with a 4 & 3 win over American Dillon Dougherty at Merion Golf Club last August.

In-form Phil Mickelson, the 2004 Masters champion who romped to a 13-stroke victory at the BellSouth Classic on Sunday, has been drawn with South Africa's Ernie Els and Shingo Katayama of Japan for the first two rounds. They start at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday in the penultimate group.

World No. 2 Vijay Singh, who won the 2000 Masters, will tee off with Sweden's Henrik Stenson and American Arron Oberholser at 10:12 a.m. ET, one group in front of Woods and company.

U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell has a 9:17 a.m. ET start with two-time Masters winner Tom Watson and Irish amateur Brian McElhinney.