Wednesday of a Major championship week, the calm before the storm. All the players will have their physical and mental preparation in the bag, three days of studying a true Open Championship course, in Royal Birkdale, has all come down to Thursday’s first tee shot. Tomorrow the Open begins.
Here are all the times and pairings that you need to know to follow your favourite groups, and yes there are some stellar three-balls.
Two-time major champion Mark O’Meara will hit the opening tee shot of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The 60-year-old won his Open title at Birkdale in 1998 and has been given a 6.35am start time alongside Chris Wood and fellow American Ryan Moore.
Open tee times: Round 1
All times BST. Amateurs marked by (a). Those in bold are our must watch groups.
6.35am: M O’Meara, C Wood, R Moore
6.46am: P Khongwatmai, M McNealy (a), S Manley
6.57am: S Cink, S Lyle, J Wang
7.08am: P Broadhurst, T Jaidee, R Castro
7.19am: T Lehman, BH An, D Fichardt
7.30am: S Kjeldsen, B Horschel, D Willett
7.41am: M Fitzpatrick, S Stricker, E Grillo
7.52am: J Dufner, B Grace, B DeChambeau
8.03am: A Noren, R Knox, I Poulter
8.14am: D Duval, P Marksaeng, KT Kim
8.25am: Y Song, D Horsey, D Frittelli
8.36am: M Lorenzo-Vera, C Howell III, S Kapur
8.47am: R Henley, F Zanotti, P Uihlein
9.03am: A Levy, B Steele, W Simpson
9.14am: W Bryan, A Lahiri, A Plant (a)
9.25am: D Clarke, G Woodland, H Ellis (a)
9.36am: P Harrington, P Perez, T Pieters
9.47am: H Stenson, SW Kim, J Spieth
9.58am: L Oosthuizen, J Rose, J Thomas
10.09am: B Koepka, H Matsuyama, T Fleetwood
10.20am: JB Holmes, B Snedeker, S Lowry
10.31am: R Bland, S Norris, L Cianchetti (a)
10.42am: Y Chang, C Kim, M Foster
10.53am: SH Kang, T Finau, M Pavon
11.04am: A Bjork, J Dean, R Streb
11.15am: R Dinwiddie, J Suri, A Hodkinson
11.36am: A Johnston, A Hadwin, T Hamilton
11.47am: J Daly, A Bland, C Syme (a)
11.58am: W McGirt, T Tree, J Lovemark
12.09pm: M Griffin, A Connelly, M Southgate
12.20pm: C Smith, B Haas, C Shinkwin
12.31pm: M Hendry, B Harman, M Laird
12.42pm: E Els, R Fisher, B Wiesberger
12.53pm: T Hatton, M Kaymer, A Baddely
1.04pm: Z Johnson, J Day, S Garcia
1.15pm: A Sullivan, J Luiten, D Lipsky
1.26pm: R Fowler, A Scott, P Casey
1.37pm: M Kuchar, R Ramsay, R Fox
1.48pm: K Kisner, C Hoffman, D Drysdale
2.04pm: J Walker, H Tanihara, T Olesen
2.15pm: J Vegas, B Stone, S O’Hair
2.26pm: D Berger, P Larrazabal, Y Ikeda
2.37pm: P Lawrie, K Chappell, Y Miyazato
2.48pm: R McIlroy, D Johnson, C Schwartzel
2.59pm: J Rahm, P Reed, L Westwood
3.10pm: P Mickelson, F Molinari, M Leishman
3.21pm: S Hend, R Cabrera Bello, B Watson
3.32pm: P Waring, K Stanley, K Na
3.43pm: G Kim, X Schauffele, A Dodt
3.54pm: H Li, K Bulle, H McCullen
4.05pm: J Kruger, N McCarthy, A Hall
4.16pm: R McCarthy, L Canter, S Munoz
Open tee times: Round 2
6.35am: A Johnston, A Hadwin, T Hamilton
6.46am: J Daly, A Bland, C Syme (a)
6.57am: W McGirt, T Tree, J Lovemark
7.08am: M Griffin, A Connelly, M Southgate
7.19am: C Smith, B Haas, C Shinkwin
7.30am: M Hendry, B Harman, M Laird
7.41am: E Els, R Fisher, B Wiesberger
7.52am: T Hatton, M Kaymer, A Baddely
8.03am: Z Johnson, J Day, S Garcia
8.14am: A Sullivan, J Luiten, D Lipsky
8.25am: R Fowler, A Scott, P Casey
8.36am: M Kuchar, R Ramsay, R Fox
8.47am: K Kisner, C Hoffman, D Drysdale
9.03am: J Walker, H Tanihara, T Olesen
9.14am: J Vegas, B Stone, S O’Hair
9.25am: D Berger, P Larrazabal, Y Ikeda
9.36am: P Lawrie, K Chappell, Y Miyazato
9.47am: R McIlroy, D Johnson, C Schwartzel
9.58am: J Rahm, P Reed, L Westwood
10.09am: P Mickelson, F Molinari, M Leishman
10.20am: S Hend, R Cabrera Bello, B Watson
10.31am: P Waring, K Stanley, K Na
10.42am: G Kim, X Schauffele, A Dodt
10.53am: H Li, K Bulle, H McCullen
11.04am: J Kruger, N McCarthy, A Hall
11.15am: R McCarthy, L Canter, S Munoz
11.36am: M O’Meara, C Wood, R Moore
11.47am: P Khongwatmai, M McNealy (a), S Manley
11.58am: S Cink, S Lyle, J Wang
12.09pm: P Broadhurst, T Jaidee, R Castro
12.20pm: T Lehman, BH An, D Fichardt
12.31pm: S Kjeldsen, B Horschel, D Willett
12.42pm: M Fitzpatrick, S Stricker, E Grillo
12.53pm: J Dufner, B Grace, B DeChambeau
1.04pm: A Noren, R Knox, I Poulter
1.15pm: D Duval, P Marksaeng, KT Kim
1.26pm: Y Song, D Horsey, D Frittelli
1.37pm: M Lorenzo-Vera, C Howell III, S Kapur
1.48pm: R Henley, F Zanotti, P Uihlein
2.04pm: A Levy, B Steele, W Simpson
2.15pm: W Bryan, A Lahiri, A Plant (a)
2.26pm: D Clarke, G Woodland, H Ellis (a)
2.37pm: P Harrington, P Perez, T Pieters
2.48pm: H Stenson, SW Kim, J Spieth
2.59pm: L Oosthuizen, J Rose, J Thomas
3.10pm: B Koepka, H Matsuyama, T Fleetwood
3.21pm: JB Holmes, B Snedeker, S Lowry
3.32pm: R Bland, S Norris, L Cianchetti (a)
3.43pm: Y Chang, C Kim, M Foster
3.54pm: SH Kang, T Finau, M Pavon
4.05pm: A Bjork, J Dean, R Streb
4.16pm: R Dinwiddie, J Suri, A Hodkinson
TV Coverage:
Thursday 20 – Sky Sports (The Open) 4: Starts 6.30am
Friday 21 – Sky Sports (The Open) 4: Starts 6.30am
Saturday 22 – Sky Sports (The Open) 4: Starts 8am
Sunday 23 – Sky Sports (The Open) 4: Starts 8am
