Tee times set for Thursday’s Open(er)
SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND — Henrik Stenson will begin defence of his British Open title alongside reigning Players champion Si Woo Kim and two-time major champion Jordan Spieth when the 146th edition of the oldest championship in golf begins Thursday.
The three begin play at 9:47 a.m. local time (4:47 a.m. ET) at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in the city of Southport in northwest England.
Hitting the first tee shot of the tournament at 6:35 a.m. local time will be Mark O’Meara, who won the Open here in 1998. The forecast is good, with temperatures in the 20s and the typical Birkdale seashore winds to be battled on the links course.
Padraig Harrington, who won in 2008 when the Open was last played at Birkdale, is off with Pat Perez and Thomas Pieters (4:36 a.m.). Reigning U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who hasn’t played since he torched Erin Hills in Wisconsin to win the national championship, is playing with Hideki Matsuyama, who tied for second in the U.S. Open, and Tommy Fleetwood, who finished fourth at Erin Hills (5:09 a.m.).
Sergio Garcia, who won his first major at the Masters in April, plays with Jason Day and Zach Johnson. Rory McIlroy, who has missed the cut in three of his last four starts, is off with world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (9:48 a.m.).
Jon Rahm, who won the Irish Open in his last start, is grouped with Patrick Reed and Lee Westwood (9:59 a.m.).
Morning tee times
All times local 6:35 a.m. — Mark O’Meara, Chris Wood, Ryan Moore 6:46 — Phachara Khongwatmai, Maverick McNealy (a), Stuart Manley 6:57 — Stewart Cink, Sandy Lyle, Jeunghun Wang 7:08 — Paul Broadhurst, Thongchai Jaidee, Roberto Castro 7:19 — Tom Lehman, Byeong Hun An, Darren Fichardt 7:30 — Soren Kjeldsen, Billy Horschel, Danny Willett 7:41 — Matthew Fitzpatrick, Steve Stricker, Emiliano Grillo 7:52 — Jason Dufner, Branden Grace, Bryson DeChambeau 8:03 — Alex Noren, Russell Knox, Ian Poulter 8:14 — David Duval, Prayad Marksaeng, KT Kim 8:25 — Younghan Song, David Horsey, Dylan Frittelli 8:36 — Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Charles Howell III, Shiv Kapur 8:47 — Russell Henley, Fabrizio Zanotti, Peter Uihlein 9:03 — Alexander Levy, Brendan Steele, Webb Simpson 9:14 — Wesley Bryan, Anirban Lahiri, Alfie Plant (a) 9:25 — Darren Clarke, Gary Woodland, Harry Ellis (a) 9:36 — Padraig Harrington, Pat Perez, Thomas Pieters 9:47 — Henrik Stenson, Si-Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth 9:58 — Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas 10:09 — Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood 10:20 — JB Holmes, Brandt Snedeker, Shane Lowry 10:31 — Richard Bland, Shaun Norris, Luca Cianchetti (a) 10:42 — Yikeun Chang, Chan Kim, Mark Foster 10:53 — Sung-Hoon Kang, Tony Finau, Matthieu Pavon 11:04 — Alexander Bjork, Joe Dean, Robert Streb 11:15 — Robert Dinwiddie, Julian Suri, Adam Hodkinson 11:36 — Andrew Johnston, Adam Hadwin, Todd Hamilton 11:47 — John Daly, Adam Bland, Connor Syme (a) 11:58 — William McGirt, Toby Tree, Jamie Lovemark 12:09 — Matthew Griffin, Austin Connelly, Matthew Southgate 12:20 — Cameron Smith, Bill Haas, Callum Shinkwin 12:31 — Michael Hendry, Brian Harman, Martin Laird 12:42 — Ernie Els, Ross Fisher, Bernd Wiesberger 12:53 — Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Kaymer, Aaron Baddeley 1:04 — Zach Johson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia 1:15 — Andy Sullivan, Joost Luiten, David Lipsky 1:26 — Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Paul Casey