New York – Tiger Woods will tee it up in his first US Open since 2015 alongside world No 1 Justin Thomas and the man Thomas replaced atop the summit, Dustin Johnson.
The US Golf Association released first- and second-round tee times for the 118th US Open on Thursday, and once again their featured groups promise plenty of fireworks.
Woods, whose 14 major titles include three US Opens, has gone from strength to strength in his comeback this year from spinal fusion surgery.
The 32-year-old superstar will have a closeup view of the game’s current top two players when the trio tees off in the first round on June 14 from the first tee at Shinnecock Hills alongside Thomas and Johnson.
Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy, the 2011 US Open champion, will launch his bid for a fifth major title alongside 2015 winner Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson – ho has six runner-up finishes but no US Open on his resume.
Playing right behind them will be Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, Australian Marc Leishman and American Rickie Fowler.
Defending champion Brooks Koepka who won last year at Erin Hills, is grouped with fellow American Bubba Watson and Australian Jason Day – a trio with four majors among them.
Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia, fourth-ranked Jon Rahm and Rafael Cabrera Bello will play together in an all-Spanish group over the first two rounds.
There are six South Africans in the field at the US Open – Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Dylan Frittelli and Dean Burmester.
Tee times for Round 1 and Round 2:
All SA times
Thursday (June 14), hole #1 / Friday (June 15), hole #10
12:45 / 18:30 – Harold Varner, Matthieu Pavon, TBD
12:56 / 18:41 – Michael Putnam, Scott Gregory, Will Zalatoris
13:07 / 18:52 – Brendan Steele, Chesson Hadley, (a) Harry Ellis
13:18 / 19:03 – Jhonattan Vegas, Dylan Frittelli, (a) Doug Ghim
13:29 / 19:14 – Louis Oosthuizen, Jimmy Walker, Justin Rose
13:40 / 19:25 – Bubba Watson, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka
13:51 / 19:36 – Tyrrell Hatton, Danny Willett, Ian Poulter
14:02 / 19:47 – Kevin Chappell, Andrew Johnston, Daniel Berger
14:13 / 19:58 – Bryson DeChambeau, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Matt Kuchar
14:24 / 20:09 – Thorbjorn Olesen, Shubhankar Sharma, Patrick Rodgers
14:35 / 20:20 – Lanto Griffin, Tom Lewis, (a) Jacob Bergeron
14:46 / 20:31 – (a) Kristoffer Reitan, (a) Luis Gagne, Cole Miller
14:57 / 20:42 – Mickey DeMorat, (a) Tyler Strafaci, Calum Hill
Thursday (June 14), hole #10 / Friday (June 15), hole #1
12:45 / 18:30 – Scott Stallings, Sebastian Munoz, Matthew Southgate
12:56 / 18:41 – Trey Mullinax, (a) Matt Parziale, Jason Scrivener
13:07 / 18:52 – David Bransdon, Eric Axley, Tyler Duncan
13:18 / 19:03 – (a) Garrett Rank, Mackenzie Hughes, Aaron Baddeley
13:29 / 19:14 – Alexander Levy, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay
13:40 / 19:25 – Paul Casey, Satoshi Kodaira, Branden Grace
13:51 / 19:36 – Zach Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Patrick Reed
14:02 / 19:47 – Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson
14:13 / 19:58 – Hideki Matsuyama, Marc Leishman, Rickie Fowler
14:24 / 20:09 – Charles Howell, Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman
14:35 / 20:20 – Sungjae Im, Russell Knox, Matthew Wallace
14:46 / 20:31 – (a) Shintaro Ban, Sung Joon Park, Timothy Wilkinson
14:57 / 20:42 – Dylan Meyer, Sulman Raza, Chris Naegel
Thursday (June 14), hole #1 / Friday (June 15), hole #10
18:30 / 12:45 – Sam Burns, Brian Gay, Dean Burmester
18:41 / 12:56 – TBD; (a) Chun An Yu, Wenchong Liang
18:52 / 12:07 – Russell Henley, Aaron Wise, Peter Uihlein
19:03 / 13:18 – Tony Finau, Luke List, Gary Woodland
19:14 / 13:29 – Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Rafa Cabrera Bello
19:25 / 13:40 – Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari, Alexander Noren
19:36 / 13:51 – Cameron Smith, Kyle Stanley, Pat Perez
19:47 / 14:02 – Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods
19:58 / 14:13 – Haotong Li, Si Woo Kim, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
20:09 / 14:24 – Jason Dufner, (a) Braden Thornberry, Brandt Snedeker
20:20 / 14:35 – TBD; (a) Ryan Lumsden, James Morrison
20:31 / 14:46 – Cameron Wilson, (a) Will Grimmer, (a) Philip Barbaree
20:42 / 14:57 – (a) Rhett Rasmussen, Michael Hebert, Michael Block
Thursday (June 14), hole #10 / Friday (June 15), hole #1
18:30 / 12:45 – Matthew Jones, Ryan Fox, Shota Akiyoshi
18:41 / 12:56 – Paul Waring, (a) Theo Humphrey, TBD
18:52 / 13:07 – Richy Werenski, Roberto Castro, Ollie Schniederjans
19:03 / 13:18 – (a) Noah Goodwin, Richie Ramsay, Kenny Perry
19:14 / 13:29 – Keegan Bradley, TBD; Xander Schauffele
19:25 / 13:40 – Lucas Glover, Webb Simpson, Graeme McDowell
19:36 / 13:51 – Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk
19:47 / 14:02 – Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer
19:58 / 14:13 – Kevin Kisner, Ross Fisher, Adam Hadwin
20:09 / 14:24 – Shane Lowry, TBD; Chez Reavie,
20:20 / 14:35 – Lucas Herbert, Brian Stuard, (a) Stewart Hagestad
20:31 / 14:46 – (a) Franklin Huang, Sebastian Vazquez, Michael Miller
20:42 / 14:57 – Christopher Babcock, (a) Timothy Wiseman, David Gazzolo