For a second straight year, the discussion in the early days of US Open week won’t just be about the favourites to win America’s national championship but also the future of professional golf. The surprise announcement of a framework deal between the PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the DP World Tour will no doubt be the talk of the driving range as players from LIV Golf League join their former fellow pros from the other tours will be teeing it up at Los Angeles Country Club.
Recall that a year ago at The Country Club, LIV Golf’s inaugural event had just been contested, and the pre-major talk was about what impact the upstart Saudi-funded circuit would have on the game.
While the same holds true this week, this year’s Masters and PGA Championship helped defuse the idea that there might be bitterness between players on the rival circuits. The storyline of LIV vs the PGA Tour played out mostly in just which group of players might perform better in the two majors. It remains a question now, too, whether the more spread-out schedule LIV golfers play might help them be better prepared compared to PGA Tour players who have competed already in 10 designated events or majors since the start of the year.
Whether the USGA pairs any of the 15 LIV golfers in the field with PGA Tour pros is also far less of a concern than a year ago. Yet there’s still a curiosity as to who’ll play with who during the opening two rounds when the USGA reveals the threesomes playing the first two days, as well as the tee-times and playing companions of the seven Australians in the field.
So what’s in store for this year at LACC? Tee-times have just been announced, with players competing in threesomes off the first and 10th tees during the first and second rounds this Thursday and Friday.
(All times US PDT, which is 17 hours behind AEST)
Thursday (June 15), Hole 1 / Friday (June 16), Hole 10
6:45 a.m. / 12:15 p.m. – (a) Omar Morales, Mexico; Deon Germishuys, South Africa; Jacob Solomon, Auburn, Ala.
6:56 a.m. / 12:26 p.m. – Ryan Gerard, Raleigh, N.C.; Yuto Katsuragawa, Japan; (a) Michael Brennan, Leesburg, Va.
7:07 a.m. / 12:37 p.m. – Hayden Buckley, Tupelo, Miss.; Adam Svensson, Canada; Pablo Larrazabal, Spain
7:18 a.m. / 12:48 p.m. – Carson Young, Anderson, S.C.; Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore.; Roger Sloan, Canada
7:29 a.m. / 12:59 p.m. – Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Kevin Streelman, Wheaton, Ill.; Matthieu Pavon, France
7:40 a.m. / 1:10 p.m. – Shane Lowry, Republic of Ireland; Justin Thomas, Louisville, Ky.; Tommy Fleetwood, England
7:51 a.m. / 1:21 p.m. – Sungjae Im, Republic of Korea; KH Lee, Republic of Korea; JT Poston, Sea Island, Ga.
8:02 a.m. / 1:32 p.m. – Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; Adam Scott, Australia; Corey Conners, Canada
8:13 a.m. / 1:43 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.; Max Homa, Valencia, Calif.; Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas
8:24 a.m. / 1:54 p.m. – Denny McCarthy, Jupiter, Fla.; Joel Dahmen, Clarkston, Wash.; Adam Hadwin, Canada
8:35 a.m. / 2:05 p.m. – (a) Matthew McClean, Northern Ireland; Seamus Power, Republic of Ireland; Ryan Fox, New Zealand
8:46 a.m. / 2:16 p.m. – Mac Meissner, Dallas, Texas; (a) Barclay Brown, England; Gunn Charoenkul, Thailand
8:57 a.m. / 2:27 p.m. – (a) Alexander Yang, Hong Kong, China; Jesse Schutte, Florence, Ore.; Andy Svoboda, Milford, Conn.
Thursday (June 15), Hole 10 / Friday (June 16), Hole 1
6:45 a.m. / 12:15 p.m. – Berry Henson, La Quinta, Calif.; Ryutaro Nagano, Japan; Hank Lebioda, Ponte Vedra, Fla.
6:56 a.m. / 12:26 p.m. – Michael Kim, Addison, Texas; Jordan Smith, England; (a) Wenyi Ding, People’s Republic of China
7:07 a.m. / 12:37 p.m. – Scott Stallings, Oak Ridge, Tenn.; (a) Preston Summerhays, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Lucas Herbert, Australia
7:18 a.m. / 12:48 p.m. – Jens Dantorp, Sweden; Patrick Rodgers, Avon, Ind.; Ryan Armour, Silver Lake, Ohio
7:29 a.m. / 12:59 p.m. – Thomas Pieters, Belgium; Aaron Wise, Jupiter, Fla.; (a) Gordon Sargent, Birmingham, Ala.
7:40 a.m. / 1:10 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif.; Francesco Molinari, Italy; Tyrrell Hatton, England
7:51 a.m. / 1:21 p.m. – Tom Hoge, Fargo, N.D.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Sepp Straka, Austria
8:02 a.m. / 1:32 p.m. – Justin Rose, England; Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Jason Day, Australia
8:13 a.m. / 1:43 p.m. – Patrick Reed, The Woodlands, Texas; Matt Kuchar, Jupiter, Fla.; Si Woo Kim, Republic of Korea
8:24 a.m. / 1:54 p.m. – Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif.; Viktor Hovland, Norway; Jon Rahm, Spain
8:35 a.m. / 2:05 p.m. – Martin Kaymer, Germany; Stewart Cink, Atlanta, Ga.; (a) Michael Thorbjornsen, Wellesley, Mass.
8:46 a.m. / 2:16 p.m. – David Horsey, England; (a) Brendan Valdes, Orlando, Fla.; Paul Barjon, France
8:57 a.m. / 2:27 p.m. – Jordan Gumberg, Delray Beach, Fla.; Kyle Mueller, Athens, Ga.; (a) Bastien Amat, France
Thursday (June 15), Hole #1 / Friday (June 16), Hole #10
12:15 p.m. / 6:45 a.m. – Brent Grant, Honolulu, Hawaii; Vincent Norrman, Sweden; Charley Hoffman, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
12:26 p.m. / 6:56 a.m. – Simon Forsström, Sweden; Carlos Ortiz, Mexico; (a) Maxwell Moldovan, Uniontown, Ohio
12:37 p.m. / 7:07 a.m. – Eric Cole, Delray Beach, Fla.; Thriston Lawrence, South Africa; Adam Schenk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
12:48 p.m. / 7:18 a.m. – Luke List, Augusta, Ga.; Wilco Nienaber, South Africa; Alejandro Del Rey, Spain
12:59 p.m. / 7:29 a.m. – Adrian Meronk, Poland; Harris English, Sea Island, Ga.; Joaquin Niemann, Chile
1:10 p.m. / 7:40 a.m. – Alex Noren, Sweden; Wyndham Clark, Denver, Colo.; Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla.
1:21 p.m. / 7:51 a.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Chico, Calif.; Cam Davis, Australia; Russell Henley, Columbus, Ga.
1:32 p.m. / 8:02 a.m. – Cameron Smith, Australia; Sam Bennett, Madisonville, Texas; Matt Fitzpatrick, England
1:43 p.m. / 8:13 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Chris Kirk, Athens, Ga.; Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga.
1:54 p.m. / 8:24 a.m. – Brooks Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland
2:05 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – Sebastián Muñoz, Colombia; Nick Taylor, Canada; Taylor Montgomery, Las Vegas, Nev.
2:16 p.m. / 8:46 a.m. – Olin Browne Jnr, Hobe Sound, Fla.; David Puig, Spain; (a) Karl Vilips, Australia
2:27 p.m. / 8:57 a.m. – Corey Pereira, Cameron Park, Calif.; (a) Isaac Simmons, Huddleston, Va.; JJ Grey, England
Thursday (June 15), Hole #10 / Friday (June 16), Hole #1
12:15 p.m. / 6:45 a.m. – Ross Fisher, England; Nico Echavarria, Colombia; Paul Haley II, Dallas, Texas
12:26 p.m. / 6:56 a.m. – (a) Nick Dunlap, Northport, Ala.; Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill.; Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan.
12:37 p.m. / 7:07 a.m. – Taylor Pendrith, Canada; (a) Aldrich Potgieter, South Africa; Romain Langasque, France
12:48 p.m. / 7:18 a.m. – Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash.; Victor Perez, France; Abraham Ancer, Mexico
12:59 p.m. / 7:29 a.m. – Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Padraig Harrington, Republic of Ireland; Keegan Bradley, Woodstock, Vt.
1:10 p.m. / 7:40 a.m. – Mito Pereira, Chile; Emiliano Grillo, Argentina; (a) Mateo Fernandez De Oliveira, Argentina
1:21 p.m. / 7:51 a.m. – Tom Kim, Republic of Korea; Sahith Theegala, Houston, Texas; Cameron Young, Jupiter, Fla.
1:32 p.m. / 8:02 a.m. – Sam Burns, Shreveport, La.; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.; Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn.
1:43 p.m. / 8:13 a.m. – Tony Finau, Lehi, Utah; Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas; Patrick Cantlay, Jupiter, Fla.
1:54 p.m. / 8:24 a.m. – Davis Thompson, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Min Woo Lee, Australia; Justin Suh, Las Vegas, Nev.
2:05 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – Taylor Moore, Trophy Club, Texas; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada; (a) Ben Carr, Columbus, Ga.
2:16 p.m. / 8:46 a.m. – Patrick Cover, Charlotte, N.C.; (a) David Nyfjäll, Sweden; Frankie Capan III, North Oaks, Minn.
2:27 p.m. / 8:57 a.m. – Austen Truslow, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.; (a) Christian Cavaliere, Katonah, N.Y.; Alex Schaake, Omaha, Neb.
(a): amateur
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