Staff Reporter.
(AFP) – Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy were grouped together for the opening two rounds of the PGA Championship, the PGA of America announced on Tuesday.
Creating a star-studded pairing that figures to draw a huge crowd of spectators, the epic comeback story of Woods will play out alongside Spieth’s bid for a career Grand Slam and McIlroy’s quest for a fifth major title.
The trio will start Thursday’s opening round from the 10th tee at 3:10pm (SA, CAT, GMT+2) and Friday’s second round from the first tee at 8:36pm.
Woods, a 15-time major winner, returned from severe leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash at last month’s Masters and struggled to walk 72 holes at Augusta National but finished level 47th despite playing the weekend in pain.
Spieth, a three-time major champion, will try to complete the career Slam by capturing the Wanamaker Trophy after a PGA Heritage victory last month and a runner-up effort last week.
McIlroy, chasing a third PGA title, has not won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship.
Going off the 10th tee Thursday three groups ahead of Woods and company at 2:38 pm will be Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele, fellow American Tony Finau and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
The 3pm 10th tee on Thursday group just ahead of Woods will include world No 4 Cameron Smith of Australia, American Will Zalatoris and sixth-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway.
Just behind the Woods pairing will be Masters champions Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson and US Open winner Justin Rose.
Thursday afternoon will feature four-time major winner Brooks Koepka of the United States alongside Australian Adam Scott and Ireland’s Shane Lowry at 8:03pm with the next group including Americans Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay.
Top-ranked Masters champion Scottie Scheffler of the United States goes off the first tee at 8:36pm alongside reigning US Open champion Jon Rahm of Spain and reigning British Open champion Collin Morikawa of the United States.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia, South African Charl Schwartzel and England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick will start on the front nine Thursday at 9:09pm.
John Daly, the 1991 PGA Championship winner, is set to hit the opening tee shot of the tournament at 2am on Thursday with fellow former winners Shaun Micheel and South Korean Yang Yong-Eun, the first Asian man to win a major from his 2009 triumph at Hazeltine.
Saffers in the mix
Other than Schwartzel there will be 10 Saffers in the field at Southern Hills, who will all be hoping to end South Africa’s drought at the PGA Championship which spans back to 1972 when Gary Player last won the Major.
Dean Burmester leads off the contingent at 2:22pm before Shaun Norris makes his third PGA Championship start at 2:44pm.
Garrick Higgo and Daniel van Tonder follow shortly behind, going off at 3:28pm and 3:33pm, from the first and 10th tees respectively, before Oliver Bekker rounds of the early starters at 4:04pm..
The afternoon session includes the likes of Justin Harding, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Branden Grace, and Louis Oosthuizen, who all go off between 7:41pm and 8:47pm, while Erik van Rooyen brings up the rear as the last of the South African starters when he begins his campaign at 9:20pm