Inherently, golf is often unfair. Any veteran of the game would agree that a great swing and great contact does not always engender a great result. A drive can go 300 yards immaculately down the middle of the fairway, only to inauspiciously hit a minute imperfection in the hole’s topography and go careening sideways into trouble.
A perfect pitch into a sloped green can barely nick the flagstick an inch above the cup and somehow roll into a hazard. The examples are countless. It is agonizingly frustrating because most of us believe that we deserve to be rewarded for the things we do well.
As much as golf requires incredible skill to master, there is no denying that there is an element of luck to the game as well.
It is impossible to take luck out of golf entirely, but the consensus among the best players in the world is that Royal Birkdale, the English monolith that hosts this year’s Open Championship, does the best job of mitigating the luck factor among the modern British Open rota.
That is one thing that nearly anyone asked about the course will say: it is brutally tough, but it is fair. Good swings are rewarded, while mistakes are magnified 100-fold. At Royal Birkdale, great scores are reflective of great play, and the bad scores – and there will be many of them this week – are close to 100% reflective of poor, but fixable individual shortcomings.
This week, The Open Championship will be teeing off for an incredible 146th time. Despite being large on volume, it has never become a tournament that is too much of a good thing. A century a half later, the event is still taking our breath away, each and every year.
A prime example occurred just last year as Royal Troon in Scotland erupted into a duel for the ages between Phil Mickelson and eventual champion Henrik Stenson. The bar for this year has been set sky-high, but great expectations have rarely prevented The Open from delivering in the past.
With an incredible field, who wins this year’s coveted Claret Jug is anyone’s guess. It is a tournament that historically favors seasoned veterans over supremely talented young guns, more so than any of the four majors, but with a young contingency that includes the likes of Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Hideki Matsuyama, among others, all bets are off.
Regardless of the drama and twists guaranteed in Chapter 146, there is one thing we can confidently bet on: at Royal Birkdale it will probably be fair, even if the traditionally treacherous wind and weather conditions aren’t.
Tournament History
The oldest of the four majors, The Open Championship has humble roots that date all the way back to 1860. The inaugural tournament featured a small handful of professionals playing three 12-hole rounds in one day at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland.
That first Open was won by Willie Park Sr., who finished the event in 174 strokes (this was back even before pars were a thing).
The early winners were awarded a red belt, known as the Challenge Belt, but the event to come up with something new after the legendary Young Tom Morris was able to invoke a myopic condition where a player with three consecutive Open victories gets to keep the belt.
The belt became a medal, and as the tournament increased in prestige and participation, the belt was transmuted into The Claret Jug, one of the greatest symbols of achievement in the world of elite-level sports.
The Open Championship’s illustrious list of winners includes both of the Tom Morrises (Old and Young), Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson, among others.
Vardon is the tournament’s all-time leader in wins with six, followed by James Braid, John Henry Taylor, Peter Thomson, and Watson with five a piece. In all, 27 players have won multiple Open Championships.
The Course
Southport, England’s Royal Birkdale Golf Club was established in 1889, and hosted its first Open Championship in 1954, three years after achieving “royal” status.
The club has hosted the Open nine times, yielding eight different winners. Australian legend Peter Thomson won the first (1954) and is the only player to take two, with Ireland’s Padraig Harrington winning the most recent (2008).
It is a classic links style course, with roaring wind, mounds, and sand dunes the main defenses against low scores.
Open Championship Winners at Royal Birkdale
1954: Peter Thomson
1961: Arnold Palmer
1965: Peter Thomson
1971: Lee Trevino
1976: Johnny Miller
1983: Tom Watson
1991: Ian Baker-Finch
1998: Mark O’Meara
2008: Padraig Harrington
The Skinny
Name: Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Where: Southport, England
Distance: 7156 yards, par 70
Architect: Frederick G. Hawtree, J.H. Taylor
Purse: $10,250,000
Winning Share: $1,845,000
FedEx Cup Points: 600
Defending Champion
The defending champion of The Open Championship is Henrik Stenson of Sweden. In a record-smashing Open, Stenson survived a thrilling Sunday duel with 2013 Open Champion Phil Mickelson.
Stenson shot a major-tying low round of 63 in a round that included 10 birdies, to finish three shots ahead of Mickelson, who produced a bogey-free 65. At -20, Stenson set the all-time record for lowest score in any major. Stenson finished an incredible 14 strokes ahead of third-place finisher, J.B. Holmes.
Other Recent Champions
2015: Zach Johnson
2014: Rory McIlroy
2013: Phil Mickelson
2012: Ernie Els
2011: Darren Clarke
Key Pairings
3:03 AM: Alex Noren, Russell Knox, Ian Poulter
4:47 AM: Henrik Stenson, Si-Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth
4:58 AM: Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
5:09 AM: Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood
8:04 AM: Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia
8:26 AM: Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Paul Casey
9:48 AM: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel
9:59 AM: Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood
10:10 AM: Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman
Tournament Records
Lowest Final Score: 20-under 264 (Henrik Stenson, 2016, Royal Troon)
Low Round: 63, 10 times
Television
Round 1: 1:30-4:00 PM (Golf Channel)
Round 2: 1:30-4:00 PM (Golf Channel)
Round 3: 4:30-7:00 AM (Golf Channel); 7:00 AM-3:00 PM (NBC)
Round 4: 4:00-7:00 AM (Golf Channel); 7:00 AM-2:00 PM (NBC)
Online
Website: TheOpen.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/The-Open-Championship
Twitter: @TheOpen
Instagram: @TheOpen
Storyline 1: The Dust(in) Bowl?
Dustin Johnson is ranked #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), and it is really not even close. In fact, the 4.31 point difference between Johnson and No. 2 Hideki Matsuyama is bigger the than gap between Matsuyama and #28 Kevin Chappell.
The man they call DJ is the current betting favorite, and for good reason. He has three wins on the season, with two of those, the WGC-Mexico and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, coming against loaded fields.
Over half of his 2017 starts have resulted in a finish of T6 or better, and since his breakthrough victory at the 2016 U.S. Open, he is no longer suffocating under the intense pressure of major winlessness. He also leads the Tour in greens in regulation, strokes gained: off-the-tee, and strokes gained: tee-to-green.
All that being said, DJ’s victory is far from being a foregone conclusion. His recent play could easily be characterized as mediocre or worse. The freak injury on Masters Eve that forced him to withdraw in Augusta, and the resulting time off, seemed to sap the incredible amount of momentum he had.
His three starts before the April injury resulted in WIN-WIN-WIN. His first three after? T2-T12-T13, nowhere within miles the ballpark of bad, but a significant drop-off from an absurdly high perch.
Since that Baker’s Dozen finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson, however, DJ’s two starts have been a missed cut at The Memorial and a missed cut at The U.S. Open. The 75-73 start at Erin Hills, the site of the U.S. Open, had to be especially agonizing for him, as the tournament went on to obliterate the scoring section of the record books.
There are a number of potential reasons for the precipitous June drop in his recent results. Most reasonably, his fiancée Paulina Gretzky gave birth to the couple’s second son on June 14th. Many hardcore gamblers are going to be hoping that the newborn novelty has worn off, and that his mind has transitioned back to February-March domination mode. If it has, putting down a few bucks on his 12-1 odds could be a prolific short-term investment.
Storyline 2: Odds of Stenson-Mickelson Part II?
If we had gotten that Stenson v. Mickelson Ryder Cup match we were all voraciously yearning for (we didn’t), this booming rivalry could have even dwarfed the Cavaliers/Warriors tussle that occasionally gets play in the media. If the two are able to get into the weekend mix again, television ratings should skyrocket.
Both Stenson and Mickelson are in markedly different situations than they were at this time last year. After his win, Stenson kept his hot play going to the end of 2016.
Since mid-March, however, Stenson has played in six PGA Tour events, posting five missed-cuts and a T16. He did finish T3 in the BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship event in May, but for the most part has just not looked like that golfer who was playing a different game than anyone last July. He is hitting fewer fairways and struggling around the greens.
Mickelson also finds himself trying to cope with new circumstances. Now 47 years old, Phil has recently suffered through an allegedly mutual break-up with Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, his caddy of 25 years.
His new caddy, younger brother Tim Mickelson, is at least someone Phil ostensibly trusts, but he has yet to test out that rapport during an intense moment of a big event.
The Mickelson brothers have been together for just one event, The Greenbrier Classic two weeks ago, where a solid first round (67) turned into two poor rounds (71-72), and then a phenomenal finish (64).
This dynamic will be among the most interesting things to track at Royal Birkdale.
As for Mickelson himself, he has made the cut in all 16 events he has started this season, an astounding feat for a man who is less than three years away from Champions Tour eligibility, but he is still looking for his first win since the 2013 Open Championship.
Storyline 3: What’s Wrong With Rory?
Rory McIlroy made easy work of the 2014 Open Championship, exploding out of the gate with a pair of 66s, and then accumulating a six stroke 54-hole lead, which allowed him to cruise on Sunday to a sound victory.
That marked the third of Rory’s four major titles, during a time where he had cemented his status as the best golfer in the world.
Unfortunately, the 2017 Rory McIlroy does not look very much like the 2014 Rory McIlroy. He is still highly ranked at world #4, but a nagging rib injury combined with a strange inability to avoid the big number has defined a surprisingly poor season.
He missed the cut by a mile at the U.S. Open, a course that probably would have been a field day for prime Rory, and he’s followed that up with two consecutive missed-cuts on the European Tour, with the latter occurring at the Scottish Open, where he was the defending champion.
He has a few good finishes as well, including a T7 at The Masters, but each week has him further removed from his best stretch of the season.
A potential silver lining for Rory: the missed cut in Scotland allowed him extra prep time at Royal Birkdale, where he played a practice round on both Saturday and Sunday.
His putting has been off lately, to put it nicely (he used three different putters in four rounds of the recent Travelers Championship), but The Open tends to be an event where players can get away without first-class putting, but he has work to do to get even passable in that area.
Storyline 4: Brooks & Sergio: the 2017 Major Winners
The recent trend of brand new major winners has spanned full-force into 2017, as both major winners this season, Sergio Garcia at The Masters, and Brooks Koepka at the U.S. Open, were first-timers.
Sergio has continued to play well since Augusta, aside from a slow start at THE PLAYERS. A confident Sergio at Royal Birkdale could be scary, as his game is a near perfect match this course. It bodes exceptionally well for Sergio that his narrative has changed from “Will he ever win a major?” to “How many can he win?”.
It feels like Sergio has been around forever, but at just 37-years old, his prime could last for years still.
Koepka partied hard after his U.S. Open victory last month, and he earned it. He could do little wrong during his 16-under record romp at Erin Hills, and it is always gratifying when years of hard work pay off.
However, it is back to business for the 27-year-old Koepka, and we are yet to catch a glimpse of post-U.S. Open Brooks. Will he be focused at Royal Birkdale? His newfound celebrity could make that difficult.
Storyline 5: Can Justin Thomas Bounce Back?
Brooks Koepka was not the only young gun to smash scoring records at Erin Hills. Justin Thomas had undeniably the best round of the U.S. Open, a record 9-under 63 in the third round that made Johnny Miller’s head spin.
Getting himself into the penultimate Sunday pairing, Thomas looked primed to capture his first major title. Unfortunately for Thomas, a different golfer appeared to show up for the final round.
Sunday was an outright collapse for the three-time 2017 winner, as he could only muster up one birdie, just a day removed from carding nine (and an eagle), and limped to the finish line with an inexcusable 75, given the facile conditions. He finished T9.
As a whole, Thomas’ season has been nothing short of phenomenal – in addition to his three victories, he has eight top 10s, and joined the 59 club at the Sony Open in January – but he has yet to mentally recover from what happened on Sunday at Erin Hills.
Thomas missed the cut in both his starts since, posting 5-over for two rounds at both the Travelers Championship and Quicken Loans National. While it is a discouraging trend, the 24-year-old has proven to be resilient in the past, and nobody thinks he will never be the same again.
It is just a question of whether that bounce-back is this week.
Other Notables In The Field
Jordan Spieth
Perhaps the biggest testament to the strength of this field is that we are over 2400 words into this primer and have not yet talked about Spieth. The last time we saw the 23-year-old wunderkind, he was body-checking caddy Michael Greller in a jubilant celebratory explosion after holing a shot out of the bunker on the first playoff hole of the Travelers Championship.
With that victory, which the man Spieth defeated in the playoff, Daniel Berger, perfectly described as “Jordan doing Jordan things,” Spieth joined the pantheon of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players with double-digit victories before their 24th birthday.
Speith is a two-time major winner, and nearly added a third when he finished a single stroke out of the playoff at the 2015 Open Championship. However, his performance in majors since his Player of the Year season in 2015 has not quite been what we know Spieth is capable of.
In 2017, he faded badly on Sunday at The Masters after playing himself into contention, and he barely registered at all at the U.S. Open, where he finished +1, often a great score at a U.S. Open, but in this year’s edition, it left him in a tie for 35th place.
An excellent argument could be made that Spieth is the favorite this week, but that is not to say that there aren’t any questions.
Rickie Fowler
Since Sergio Garcia’s breakthrough at The Masters, Rickie has more-or-less taken over the top spot on the dubious list of best players without a major victory.
Like Spieth, Fowler was MIA on Sunday at Augusta. It looked like Erin Hills might finally be his time, as he stormed out of the gate with a first round 65. He also added a third round 68, but a mediocre round 2 73 and a prosaic round of even-par 72 on Sunday meant yet another high finish in a major that he did not win.
In the current season, Fowler has been fantastic, with a win (the Honda Classic) in addition to three other finishes inside the top three.
The extremely popular 28-year-old also leads the Tour in scoring average. He has a check next to every item on a list of attributes needed to win this championship. He now just needs to get out of his own way.
Jon Rahm
Like Spieth, Jon Rahm is a man who has played well beyond his years. In his first full season on the PGA Tour, the 22-year-old Arizona State product has six finishes inside the top 5, including a win at the difficult Farmer’s Insurance Open.
On the PGA Tour, he has cooled off his torrid early pace, and was a surprising missed cut at his last two events, The Memorial and the U.S. Open. However, in his last tournament appearance, he blitzed the field in Ireland, winning the European Tour’s DDF Irish Open by an unbelievable six strokes. He has flashed as much talent as anyone in the game, and if he can keep his emotions intact, something he has not always been able to do this year, he stands a great chance of becoming the youngest player to win The Open Championship since the 1800s.
Rahm’s profile shows that he can win on any style of course, but if there is one thing that might be a small concern at Royal Birkdale, it could be that he has one of the highest ball flights on Tour, which often works to his advantage, but could make it difficult to stay out of trouble when the wind gets going, which it will in this tournament. His ability to adapt could be key.
Jason Day
The early landslide winner for most disappointing golfer in 2017 has to be Day, who started the year ranked No. 1, but has fallen to No. 6.
Recovery from a 2016 back injury and personal problems have made his 2017 difficult, as the former PGA Champion has just two top 10s in 13 events. He was abysmal at the U.S. Open, reaching +10 after two rounds and emphatically missing the cut.
The 29-year-old Aussie also missed the cut at his most recent event, the Travelers Championship, although we did see flashes of the old Jason at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he lost to Billy Horschel in a playoff.
Day might be the most difficult player in the field to predict this week.
Xander Schauffele
The 23-year-old Schauffele came out of seemingly nowhere to contend at the U.S. Open, where he shot an opening-round 66 and finished in a tie for fifth. He then showed that Erin Hills was no fluke as he won The Greenbrier Classic in his last start.
Schauffele has a hot hand, and it will be interesting to see how he fares in a tournament where he would otherwise be a forgotten man.
Padraig Harrington
The 45-year-old from Dublin won the last Open that was played at Royal Birkdale, taking the 2008 title by four strokes despite finishing 3-over.
Harrington rarely looks like that championship player anymore, but he is coming off a week on the European Tour where he was 75% tremendous, and showed some grit by bouncing back from a disastrous third round 79 to shoot a Sunday 66 and finish T4 at the Scottish Open.
Adam Scott
Perhaps as much as anyone in the field, Scott has a clear affinity for The Open Championship. From 2012 to 2015, Scott had finishes in this event of 2, T3, T5, and T10.
Scott’s elite iron game continues to make him a prime threat on this style of course, and while it seems like he has barely played this year, he has still looked great at times, finishing T9 at The Masters and T6 at THE PLAYERS.
Louis Oosthuizen
The 2010 landslide Open Champion appears to be perfect fit for this course and this tournament. He continues to have just the one major victory, but has contended at several others, twice losing in playoffs, and seems to be lurking in every major field.
The 2017 PLAYERS runner-up will be a difficult man to beat if he is in the Sunday mix.
Hideki Matsuyama
Now the No. 2 ranked player in the world, Matsuyama was a runner-up at the U.S. Open and has won twice on the current season, although the wheels have fallen off a bit since the second of those two wins, the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February.
The 25-year-old from Japan would be a great fit with the recent trend of first-time major champions. He has been terrible on the greens, but incredible every where else, and if there is one major where someone can get away with that, it is the Open Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood
Among the English contingency at The Open, Fleetwood might be in the best position to win. He has won twice this season on the European Tour, and has finished in the top 10 of his last four tournaments between Europe and the U.S. Among those are a win at the French Open, and a solo-fourth at the U.S. Open, where he played in the final Sunday pairing.
Fleetwood also has the advantage of this tournament being played in his hometown, at his home course.
Field: Tee Times
All times, EST
Thursday, Round 1
1:35 AM: Mark O’Meara, Chris Wood, Ryan Moore
1:46 AM: Phachara Khongwatmai, Maverick McNealy (a), Stuart Manley
1:57 AM: Stewart Cink, Sandy Lyle, Jeunghun Wang
2:08 AM: Paul Broadhurst, Thongchai Jaidee, Roberto Castro
2:19 AM: Tom Lehman, Byeong Hun An, Darren Fichardt
2:30 AM: Soren Kjeldsen, Billy Horschel, Danny Willett
2:41 AM: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Steve Stricker, Emiliano Grillo
2:52 AM: Jason Dufner, Branden Grace, Bryson DeChambeau
3:03 AM: Alex Noren, Russell Knox, Ian Poulter
3:14 AM: David Duval, Prayad Marksaeng, K.T. Kim
3:25 AM: Younghan Song, David Horsey, Dylan Frittelli
3:36 AM: Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Charles Howell III, Shiv Kapur
3:47 AM: Russell Henley, Fabrizio Zanotti, Peter Uihlein
4:03 AM: Alexander Levy, Brendan Steele, Webb Simpson
4:14 AM: Wesley Bryan, Anirban Lahiri, Alfie Plant (a)
4:25 AM: Darren Clarke, Gary Woodland, Harry Ellis (a)
4:36 AM: Padraig Harrington, Pat Perez, Thomas Pieters
4:47 AM: Henrik Stenson, Si Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth
4:58 AM: Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
5:09 AM: Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood
5:20 AM: J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker, Shane Lowry
5:31 AM: Richard Bland, Shaun Norris, Luca Cianchetti (a)
5:42 AM: Yikeun Chang, Chan Kim, Mark Foster
5:53 AM: Sung-Hoon Kang, Tony Finau, Matthieu Pavon
6:04 AM: Alexander Bjork, Joe Dean, Robert Streb
6:15 AM: Robert Dinwiddie, Julian Suri, Adam Hodkinson
6:36 AM: Andrew Johnston, Adam Hadwin, Todd Hamilton
6:47 AM: John Daly, Adam Bland, Connor Syme (a)
6:58 AM: William McGirt, Toby Tree, Jamie Lovemark
7:09 AM: Matthew Griffin, Austin Connelly, Matthew Southgate
7:20 AM: Cameron Smith, Bill Haas, Callum Shinkwin
7:31 AM: Michael Hendry, Brian Harman, Martin Laird
7:42 AM: Ernie Els, Ross Fisher, Bernd Wiesberger
7:53 AM: Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Kaymer, Aaron Baddeley
8:04 AM: Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia
8:15 AM: Andy Sullivan, Joost Luiten, David Lipsky
8:26 AM: Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Paul Casey
8:37 AM: Matt Kuchar, Richie Ramsay, Ryan Fox
8:48 AM: Kevin Kisner, Charley Hoffman, David Drysdale
9:04 AM: Jimmy Walker, Hideto Tanihara, Thorbjorn Olesen
9:15 AM: Jhonattan Vegas, Brandon Stone, Sean O’Hair
9:26 AM: Daniel Berger, Pablo Larrazabal, Yuta Ikeda
9:37 AM: Paul Lawrie, Kevin Chappell, Yusaku Miyazato
9:48 AM: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel
9:59 AM: Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood
10:10 AM: Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman
10:21 AM: Scott Hend, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Bubba Watson
10:32 AM: Paul Waring, Kyle Stanley, Kevin Na
10:43 AM: Giwhan Kim, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Dodt
10:54 AM: Haotong Li, Kent Bulle, Haydn McCullen
11:05 AM: Jbe Kruger, Nick McCarthy, Ashley Hall
11:16 AM: Ryan McCarthy, Laurie Canter, Sebastian Munoz
Friday, Round 2
1:35 AM: Andrew Johnston, Adam Hadwin, Todd Hamilton
1:46 AM: John Daly, Adam Bland, Connor Syme (a)
1:57 AM: William McGirt, Toby Tree, Jamie Lovemark
2:08 AM: Matthew Griffin, Austin Connelly, Matthew Southgate
2:19 AM: Cameron Smith, Bill Haas, Callum Shinkwin
2:30 AM: Michael Hendry, Brian Harman, Martin Laird
2:41 AM: Ernie Els, Ross Fisher, Bernd Wiesberger
2:52 AM: Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Kaymer, Aaron Baddeley
3:03 AM: Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia
3:14 AM: Andy Sullivan, Joost Luiten, David Lipsky
3:25 AM: Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Paul Casey
3:36 AM: Matt Kuchar, Richie Ramsay, Ryan Fox
3:47 AM: Kevin Kisner, Charley Hoffman, David Drysdale
4:03 AM: Jimmy Walker, Hideto Tanihara, Thorbjorn Olesen
4:14 AM: Jhonattan Vegas, Brandon Stone, Sean O’Hair
4:25 AM: Daniel Berger, Pablo Larrazabal, Yuta Ikeda
4:36 AM: Paul Lawrie, Kevin Chappell, Yusaku Miyazato
4:47 AM: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel
4:58 AM: Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood
5:09 AM: Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman
5:20 AM: Scott Hend, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Bubba Watson
5:31 AM: Paul Waring, Kyle Stanley, Kevin Na
5:42 AM: Giwhan Kim, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Dodt
5:53 AM: Haotong Li, Kent Bulle, Haydn McCullen
6:04 AM: Jbe Kruger, Nick McCarthy, Ashley Hall
6:15 AM: Ryan McCarthy, Laurie Canter, Sebastian Munoz
6:36 AM: Mark O’Meara, Chris Wood, Ryan Moore
6:47 AM: Phachara Khongwatmai, Maverick McNealy (a), Stuart Manley
6:58 AM: Stewart Cink, Sandy Lyle, Jeunghun Wang
7:09 AM: Paul Broadhurst, Thongchai Jaidee, Roberto Castro
7:20 AM: Tom Lehman, Byeong Hun An, Darren Fichardt
7:31 AM: Soren Kjeldsen, Billy Horschel, Danny Willett
7:42 AM: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Steve Stricker, Emiliano Grillo
7:53 AM: Jason Dufner, Branden Grace, Bryson DeChambeau
8:04 AM: Alex Noren, Russell Knox, Ian Poulter
8:15 AM: David Duval, Prayad Marksaeng, K.T. Kim
8:26 AM: Younghan Song, David Horsey, Dylan Frittelli
8:37 AM: Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Charles Howell III, Shiv Kapur
8:48 AM: Russell Henley, Fabrizio Zanotti, Peter Uihlein
9:04 AM: Alexander Levy, Brendan Steele, Webb Simpson
9:15 AM: Wesley Bryan, Anirban Lahiri, Alfie Plant (a)
9:26 AM: Darren Clarke, Gary Woodland, Harry Ellis (a)
9:37 AM: Padraig Harrington, Pat Perez, Thomas Pieters
9:48 AM: Henrik Stenson, Si Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth
9:59 AM: Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
10:10 AM: Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood
10:21 AM: J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker, Shane Lowry
10:32 AM: Richard Bland, Shaun Norris, Luca Cianchetti (a)
10:43 AM: Yikeun Chang, Chan Kim, Mark Foster
10:54 AM: Sung-Hoon Kang, Tony Finau, Matthieu Pavon
11:05 AM: Alexander Bjork, Joe Dean, Robert Streb
11:16 AM: Robert Dinwiddie, Julian Suri, Adam Hodkinson
Credit: R&A Comminications, Getty Images, PGA Tour Media
