Come Thursday at the US Open, the reality of golf’s new world order will play out at The Country Club. Eleven golfers who participated in the debut last week of the LIV Golf Invitational series – including former US Open winner Dustin Johnson and six-time runner-up Phil Mickelson – are competing at Brookline, the USGA deciding to let them play even as seven of them have been suspended from competing on the PGA Tour. The potential for awkwardness is high.
In turn, the question many had is how will the USGA handle threesome pairings as the renegades return. Who will Mickelson play with as he makes his first appearance in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event since February? Will James Piot, the US Amateur champion who has turned pro and played over in London last week, find himself in a traditional threesome with Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa, the reigning US Open and Open Championship winners? Or is something else in store?
Interestingly, the USGA often has made a habit of trying to get creative when it comes to early round tee-times. Pairings of past winners of USGA events are frequent, but sometimes officials get even a little more esoteric. In 2013, before the ban on anchored putting, there was a pairing of three Major winners who used long putters (Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson). Threesomes of long drivers seem to happen every year. College alums or international brethren find a way of being grouped together. And famously when the US Open was previously held at Torrey Pines in 2008, the USGA went ahead and paired the No.1, 2 and 3 players in the world: Tiger Woods, Mickelson and Adam Scott.
As it turns out, the LIV players weren’t grouped together in their own pods, or generally isolated from the other players. Piot, indeed, is playing with Morikawa and Rahm. Mickelson will tee it up with Shane Lowry and Louis Oosthuizen; DJ is down with Matt Fitzpatrick and Webb Simpson.
Below is the complete list of starting times for the first and second rounds. All times are local; Australia’s east coast is 14 hours ahead of Boston, Western Australia is 12 hours ahead.
FIRST ROUND
First hole
6:45 a.m. – (a) Michael Thorbjornsen, Wellesley, Mass.; Erik Barnes, Marion, Ind.; Matt McCarty, Scottsdale, Ariz.
6:56 a.m. – Matthew NeSmith, Aiken, S.C.; Patrick Rodgers, Jupiter, Fla.; (a) Travis Vick, Hunters Creek Village, Texas
7:07 a.m. – Troy Merritt, Eagle, Idaho; (a) William Mouw, Chino, Calif.; Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash.
7:18 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, La Canada, Calif.; James Piot, Canton, Mich.; Jon Rahm, Spain
7:29 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas; Adam Scott, Australia; Max Homa, Valencia, Calif.
7:40 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Patrick Cantlay, Jupiter, Fla.; Daniel Berger, Jupiter, Fla.
7:51 a.m. – Harold Varner III, Gastonia, N.C.; Sebastián Muñoz, Colombia; Alex Norén, Sweden
8:02 a.m. – Joaquin Niemann, Chile; Cameron Young, Scarsborough, N.Y.; Will Zalatoris, Dallas, Texas
8:13 a.m. – Adam Schenk, Vincennes, Ind.; (a) Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif.; Grayson Murray, Raleigh, N.C.
8:24 a.m. – Guido Migliozzi, Italy; Branden Grace, South Africa; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada
8:35 a.m. – Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.; Kalle Samooja, Finland; Satoshi Kodaira, Japan
8:46 a.m. – Richard Mansell, England; Tomoyasu Sugiyama, Japan; Roger Sloan, Canada
8:57 a.m. – (a) Caleb Manuel, Topsham, Maine; Keith Greene, DeBary, Fla.; Ben Silverman, Juno Beach, Fla.
12:30 p.m. – Kevin Chappell, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Chase Seiffert, Panama City Beach, Fla.; Andrew Novak, St. Simons Island, Ga.
12:41 p.m. – Thorbjørn Olesen, Denmark; Brian Stuard, Jackson, Mich.; Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill.
12:52 p.m. – Sam Horsfield, England; Cameron Tringale, Juno Beach, Fla.; Shaun Norris, South Africa
1:03 p.m. – Sungjae Im, Republic of Korea; Mito Pereira, Chile; Erik van Rooyen, South Africa
1:14 p.m. – Justin Thomas, Louisville, Ky.; Viktor Hovland, Norway; Tony Finau, Salt Lake City, Utah
1:25 p.m. – Joohyung Kim, Republic of Korea; Séamus Power, Republic of Ireland; Min Woo Lee, Australia
1:36 p.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, England; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.
1:47 p.m. – Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Shane Lowry, Republic of Ireland; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa
1:58 p.m. – Danny Lee, New Zealand; (a) Keita Nakajima, Japan; Nick Taylor, Canada
2:09 p.m. – Jim Furyk, Jacksonville, Fla.; (a) Nick Dunlap, Huntsville, Ala.; Adam Hadwin, Canada
2:20 p.m. – Richard Bland, England; Rikuya Hoshino, Japan; Ryan Fox, New Zealand
2:31 p.m. – Jonas Blixt, Sweden; Bo Hoag, Columbus, Ohio; Todd Sinnott, Australia
2:42 p.m. – Isaiah Salinda, South San Francisco, Calif.; Sean Jacklin, Scotland; (a) Charles Reiter, Palm Desert, Calif.
10th hole
6:45 a.m. – Fran Quinn, Holden, Mass.; Callum Tarren, England; Hayden Buckley, Tupelo, Miss.
6:56 a.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Las Vegas, Nev.; Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md.; (a) Sam Bennett, Madisonville, Texas
7:07 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, Denver, Colo.; Brandon Matthews, Dupont, Pa.; Wil Besseling, Netherlands
7:18 a.m. – David Lingmerth, Sweden; Sepp Straka, Austria; Si Woo Kim, Republic of Korea
7:29 a.m. – Scott Stallings, Worcester, Mass.; Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Victor Perez, France
7:40 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif.
7:51 a.m. – Kevin Kisner, Aiken, S.C.; Russell Henley, Columbus, Ga.; Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga.
8:02 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Woodstock, Vt.; Marc Leishman, Australia; Aaron Wise, Jupiter, Fla.
8:13 a.m. – Francesco Molinari, Italy; (a) Laird Shepherd, England; Stewart Cink, Atlanta, Ga.
8:24 a.m. – Marcel Schneider, Germany; Chan Kim, Gilbert, Ariz.; Joseph Bramlett, Las Vegas, Nev.
8:35 a.m. – Lanto Griffin, Blacksburg, Va.; Joel Dahmen, Clarkston, Wash.; Jinichiro Kozuma, Japan
8:46 a.m. – Chris Gotterup, Little Silver, N.J.; (a) Fred Biondi, Brazil; Harry Hall, England
8:57 a.m. – Chris Naegel, Wildwood, Mo.; Andrew Beckler, Topeka, Kan.; Luke Gannon, Wichita, Kan.
12:30 p.m. – Jed Morgan, Australia; Taylor Montgomery, Las Vegas, Nev.; Sean Crocker, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
12:41 p.m. – (a) Maxwell Moldovan, Uniontown, Ohio; Yannik Paul, Germany; M.J. Daffue, South Africa
12:52 p.m. – Talor Gooch, Edmond, Okla.; Adri Arnaus, Spain; Tom Hoge, Fargo, N.D.
1:03 p.m. – Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Tyrrell Hatton, England
1:14 p.m. – Sam Burns, Shreveport, La.; Abraham Ancer, Mexico; Thomas Pieters, Belgium
1:25 p.m. – Brooks Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Cameron Smith, Australia; Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas
1:36 p.m. – Luke List, Augusta, Ga.; (a) Austin Greaser, Vandalia, Ohio; Corey Conners, Canada
1:47 p.m. – Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; Justin Rose, England; Bryson DeChambeau, Dallas, Texas
1:58 p.m. – K.H. Lee, Republic of Korea; Tommy Fleetwood, England; Patrick Reed, The Woodlands, Texas
2:09 p.m. – Jason Kokrak, Hudson, Ohio; Harris English, Sea Island, Ga.; Lucas Herbert, Australia
2:20 p.m. – Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan.; (a) Ben Lorenz, Peoria, Ariz.; Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn.
2:31 p.m. – Daijiro Izumida, Japan; (a) Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Belgium; Sebastian Söderberg, Sweden
2:42 p.m. – Ryan Gerard, Raleigh, N.C.; Brady Calkins, Chehalis, Wash.; Jesse Mueller, Phoenix, Ariz.
SECOND ROUND
First hole
6:45 a.m. – Jed Morgan, Australia; Taylor Montgomery, Las Vegas, Nev.; Sean Crocker, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
6:56 a.m. – (a) Maxwell Moldovan, Uniontown, Ohio; Yannik Paul, Germany; M.J. Daffue, South Africa
7:07 a.m. – Talor Gooch, Edmond, Okla.; Adri Arnaus, Spain; Tom Hoge, Fargo, N.D.
7:18 a.m. – Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Tyrrell Hatton, England
7:29 a.m. – Sam Burns, Shreveport, La.; Abraham Ancer, Mexico; Thomas Pieters, Belgium
7:40 a.m. – Brooks Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Cameron Smith, Australia; Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas
7:51 a.m. – Luke List, Augusta, Ga.; (a) Austin Greaser, Vandalia, Ohio; Corey Conners, Canada
8:02 a.m. – Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; Justin Rose, England; Bryson DeChambeau, Dallas, Texas
8:13 a.m. – K.H. Lee, Republic of Korea; Tommy Fleetwood, England; Patrick Reed, The Woodlands, Texas
8:24 a.m. – Jason Kokrak, Hudson, Ohio; Harris English, Sea Island, Ga.; Lucas Herbert, Australia
8:35 a.m. – Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan.; (a) Ben Lorenz, Peoria, Ariz.; Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn.
8:46 a.m. – Daijiro Izumida, Japan; (a) Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Belgium; Sebastian Söderberg, Sweden
8:57 a.m. – Ryan Gerard, Raleigh, N.C.; Brady Calkins, Chehalis, Wash.; Jesse Mueller, Phoenix, Ariz.
12:30 p.m. – Fran Quinn, Holden, Mass.; Callum Tarren, England; Hayden Buckley, Tupelo, Miss.
12:41 p.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Las Vegas, Nev.; Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md.; (a) Sam Bennett, Madisonville, Texas
12:52 p.m. – Wyndham Clark, Denver, Colo.; Brandon Matthews, Dupont, Pa.; Wil Besseling, Netherlands
1:03 p.m. – David Lingmerth, Sweden; Sepp Straka, Austria; Si Woo Kim, Republic of Korea
1:14 p.m. – Scott Stallings, Worcester, Mass.; Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Victor Perez, France
1:25 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif.
1:36 p.m. – Kevin Kisner, Aiken, S.C.; Russell Henley, Columbus, Ga.; Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga.
1:47 p.m. – Keegan Bradley, Woodstock, Vt.; Marc Leishman, Australia; Aaron Wise, Jupiter, Fla.
1:58 p.m. – Francesco Molinari, Italy; (a) Laird Shepherd, England; Stewart Cink, Atlanta, Ga.
2:09 p.m. – Marcel Schneider, Germany; Chan Kim, Gilbert, Ariz.; Joseph Bramlett, Las Vegas, Nev.
2:20 p.m. – Lanto Griffin, Blacksburg, Va.; Joel Dahmen, Clarkston, Wash.; Jinichiro Kozuma, Japan
2:31 p.m. – Chris Gotterup, Little Silver, N.J.; (a) Fred Biondi, Brazil; Harry Hall, England
2:42 p.m. – Chris Naegel, Wildwood, Mo.; Andrew Beckler, Topeka, Kan.; Luke Gannon, Wichita, Kan.
10th hole
6:45 a.m. – Kevin Chappell, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Chase Seiffert, Panama City Beach, Fla.; Andrew Novak, St. Simons Island, Ga.
6:56 a.m. – Thorbjørn Olesen, Denmark; Brian Stuard, Jackson, Mich.; Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill.
7:07 a.m. – Sam Horsfield, England; Cameron Tringale, Juno Beach, Fla.; Shaun Norris, South Africa
7:18 a.m. – Sungjae Im, Republic of Korea; Mito Pereira, Chile; Erik van Rooyen, South Africa
7:29 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Louisville, Ky.; Viktor Hovland, Norway; Tony Finau, Salt Lake City, Utah
7:40 a.m. – Joohyung Kim, Republic of Korea; Séamus Power, Republic of Ireland; Min Woo Lee, Australia
7:51 a.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, England; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.
8:02 a.m. – Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Shane Lowry, Republic of Ireland; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa
8:13 a.m. – Danny Lee, New Zealand; (a) Keita Nakajima, Japan; Nick Taylor, Canada
8:24 a.m. – Jim Furyk, Jacksonville, Fla.; (a) Nick Dunlap, Huntsville, Ala.; Adam Hadwin, Canada
8:35 a.m. – Richard Bland, England; Rikuya Hoshino, Japan; Ryan Fox, New Zealand
8:46 a.m. – Jonas Blixt, Sweden; Bo Hoag, Columbus, Ohio; Todd Sinnott, Australia
8:57 a.m. – Isaiah Salinda, South San Francisco, Calif.; Sean Jacklin, Scotland; (a) Charles Reiter, Palm Desert, Calif.
12:30 p.m. – (a) Michael Thorbjornsen, Wellesley, Mass.; Erik Barnes, Marion, Ind.; Matt McCarty, Scottsdale, Ariz.
12:41 p.m. – Matthew NeSmith, Aiken, S.C.; Patrick Rodgers, Jupiter, Fla.; (a) Travis Vick, Hunters Creek Village, Texas
12:52 p.m. – Troy Merritt, Eagle, Idaho; (a) William Mouw, Chino, Calif.; Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash.
1:03 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, La Canada, Calif.; James Piot, Canton, Mich.; Jon Rahm, Spain
1:14 p.m. – Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas; Adam Scott, Australia; Max Homa, Valencia, Calif.
1:25 p.m. – Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Patrick Cantlay, Jupiter, Fla.; Daniel Berger, Jupiter, Fla.
1:36 p.m. – Harold Varner III, Gastonia, N.C.; Sebastián Muñoz, Colombia; Alex Norén, Sweden
1:47 p.m. – Joaquin Niemann, Chile; Cameron Young, Scarsborough, N.Y.; Will Zalatoris, Dallas, Texas
1:58 p.m. – Adam Schenk, Vincennes, Ind.; (a) Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif.; Grayson Murray, Raleigh, N.C.
2:09 p.m. – Guido Migliozzi, Italy; Branden Grace, South Africa; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada
2:20 p.m. – Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.; Kalle Samooja, Finland; Satoshi Kodaira, Japan
2:31 p.m. – Richard Mansell, England; Tomoyasu Sugiyama, Japan; Roger Sloan, Canada
2:42 p.m. – (a) Caleb Manuel, Topsham, Maine; Keith Greene, DeBary, Fla.; Ben Silverman, Juno Beach, Fla.
PHOTO: Sam Greenwood
