Hoylake, England – Rory McIlroy will play the first two rounds of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club with Masters champion John Rahm and former No. 1 golfer Justin Rose.
McIlroy, who picked up his third of his four major tournament wins the last time the Open was held at Royal Liverpool in 2014, will kick off the 9:59 a.m. EST Thursday late in the early wave. The trio will start at 4:58 a.m. for the second round on Friday.
McIlroy would attempt to end a nearly nine-year drought without a major championship win.
Defending Open champion Cameron Smith stands in the early counter wave. He will play US Open champions Wyndham Clarke and Xander Schauffele at 4:58 AM ET Thursday and 9:59 AM ET Friday.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler plays with England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Australian Adam Scott. They will depart at 4:47 AM ET Thursday and 9:48 AM ET Friday.
Other featured groups include Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Jason Day (4:03 AM ET Thursday / 9:04 AM ET Friday); Patrick Cantlay, PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama (4:36 a.m. ET Thursday / 9:37 a.m. ET Friday); Victor Hovland, Tony Finau, and Justin Thomas (9:48 a.m. ET Thursday / 4:47 a.m. ET Friday); and Colin Morikawa, Max Homma, and Terrell Hatton (10:10 a.m. ET Thursday / 5:09 a.m. Friday).
With rain in the weather forecast for the North West of England this week, getting on the right side of the draw could once again be a factor at The Open. “[The rough] “Spatty,” Morikawa said, “Some places are really bad. Some places you can get a really good lie. Obviously, if it’s damp, it shifts a lot. There are some places where you might be cutting sideways but also a foot away you might be The ball is sitting and you might be able to go to the green. It should go your way.”