It’s the last chance for players to round into form ahead of the US Open in two weeks at Oakmont, but this year’s Memorial Tournament will be far more than a tune up.
The Memorial Tournament 2016: Tee times, pairings for Thursday’s round
Rory and Jordan, together again, after each won their last event. This is set up to be a wonderful weekend at Muirfield Village
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Jack Nicklaus’ tournament at famed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio will boast one of the strongest fields in golf of the year. Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day will all be in the field and coming off recent wins, setting fans up for a preview of what could be one of the most memorable and competitive majors in recent memory in Pittsburgh on Father’s Day weekend.
But make no mistake, the Golden Bear’s tour stop in Central Ohio is still one of the most sought after titles on the PGA Tour circuit and always a favorite stop for players -- and for more reasons than just the famous milkshakes. It sets off the start of a loaded couple months for the game’s biggest stars, too -- with seven big tournaments (Memorial, US Open, Tiger’s Quicken Loans National, WGC-Bridgestone, British Open, PGA Championship, Olympics) coming over the next 11 weeks.
Here are the groups to watch as the event gets underway on Thursday from the Columbus metro.
Highlight Pairing: Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas (8:26 a.m. ET)
We’ll start off the Memorial with a redux of Saturday at Augusta -- with arguably the top two draws in the game playing alongside fellow young star and Players Championship runner-up Justin Thomas. Oh, by the way. Did you know Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are friends? They’re friends. Good friends, maybe even best friends! They went on Spring Break together, even. You will hear these things for the next two days early and often, because, you know, they’re friends.
Afternoon Delight: Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson (1:05 p.m. ET)
It’s tempting to point to the Jason Day-David Lingmerth-Jim Furyk grouping as the highlight of the afternoon, but the extra storyline of Phil Mickelson returning to the golf course for the first time after resolving his insider trading case should make things worth a watch on its own. Add in Hideki and Kuchar, and this one’s worth keeping tabs on through the weekend, too. They will be a significant part of the Golf Channel coverage window on Thursday afternoon, which will from from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The rest of the pairings from Dublin to get the first round started this week:
Morning wave off No.1:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 7:20 a.m. | Jonas Blixt | Kevin Na | Francesco Molinari |
| 7:31 a.m. | Hudson Swafford | Zac Blair | Rafa Cabrera Bello |
| 7:42 a.m. | Andrew Loupe | Scott Pinckney | Byeong Hun An |
| 7:53 a.m. | Tony Finau | Alex Cejka | Kevin Streelman |
| 8:04 a.m. | Steven Bowditch | Russell Henley | Stuart Appleby |
| 8:15 a.m. | Angel Cabrera | John Senden | Keegan Bradley |
| 8:26 a.m. | Vaughn Taylor | Scott Piercy | Ryan Moore |
| 8:37 a.m. | Dustin Johnson | Ben Martin | Stewart Cink |
| 8:48 a.m. | Ken Duke | Jhonattan Vegas | Jason Gore |
| 8:59 a.m. | Brendon de Jonge | Spencer Levin | Mark Hubbard |
Morning wave off No. 10:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 7:20 a.m. | George McNeill | Daniel Summerhays | Daniel Berger |
| 7:31 a.m. | John Huh | Lucas Glover | Anirban Lahiri |
| 7:42 a.m. | Johnson Wagner | Jason Bohn | Soren Kjeldsen |
| 7:53 a.m. | Peter Malnati | Smylie Kaufman | Robert Streb |
| 8:04 a.m. | Fabian Gomez | Hunter Mahan | K.J. Choi |
| 8:15 a.m. | Bubba Watson | Rickie Fowler | Patrick Reed |
| 8:26 a.m. | Jordan Spieth | Justin Thomas | Rory McIlroy |
| 8:37 a.m. | Jason Dufner | Davis Love III | Bill Haas |
| 8:48 a.m. | William McGirt | Roberto Castro | Patrick Rodgers |
| 8:59 a.m. | Thomas Aiken | Ethan Tracy | Bryson DeChambeau |
Afternoon wave off No. 1:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 12:10 p.m | Scott Brown | Brendan Steele | Bud Cauley |
| 12:21 p.m | Chez Reavie | Graham DeLaet | Ricky Barnes |
| 12:32 p.m | Carl Pettersson | D.H. Lee | Harold Varner III |
| 12:43 p.m | Danny Lee | Ernie Els | Luke Donald |
| 12:54 p.m | Jim Herman | Kevin Kisner | Russell Knox |
| 1:05 p.m. | Hideki Matsuyama | Matt Kuchar | Phil Mickelson |
| 1:16 p.m. | Jason Day | David Lingmerth | Jim Furyk |
| 1:27 p.m. | Gary Woodland | David Hearn | Kyle Reifers |
| 1:38 p.m. | Marc Leishman | Sean O'Hair | Jon Curran |
| 1:49 p.m. | Thorbjorn Olesen | Wes Homan | Ryan Ruffels |
Afternoon wave off No. 10:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 12:10 p.m | Charles Howell III | Shawn Stefani | Si Woo Kim |
| 12:21 p.m | Jason Kokrak | Jamie Lovemark | Patton Kizzire |
| 12:32 p.m | Paul Casey | Morgan Hoffmann | Adam Hadwin |
| 12:43 p.m | Chris Kirk | Brian Harman | Matt Jones |
| 12:54 p.m | Brian Stuard | Charl Schwartzel | Camilo Villegas |
| 1:05 p.m. | J.B. Holmes | Geoff Ogilvy | Webb Simpson |
| 1:16 p.m. | Emiliano Grillo | Troy Merritt | Brendon Todd |
| 1:27 p.m. | Aaron Baddeley | Cameron Tringale | Hiroshi Iwata |
| 1:38 p.m. | Freddie Jacobson | Kevin Chappell | Scott Langley |
| 1:49 p.m. | George Coetzee | Nathan Holman | John Hahn |
* * *
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