WGC-Mexico 2017: Tee times, TV schedule for Thursday’s round

Rory McIlroy returns to action this week, though the WGC-Mexico Championship will be without ailing Jason Day, who withdrew from the former Florida swing event that moved from Donald Trump’s Doral across the imaginary wall to Mexico.

All eyes will be on McIlroy, fresh from a controversial round of golf with the 45th president of the U.S., as he starts his first competitive event since a fractured rib sent him to the MASH unit in mid-January.

Speaking of ailing golfers, Day, who lost his No. 1 ranking to last month’s Genesis Open winner Dustin Johnson, seems to be taking after Tiger Woods in one unfortunate way — he’s beginning to rival his mentor for number of injury timeouts. The often-unwell Aussie announced last week that the flu and a double ear infection would force him to miss the no-cut, limited-field tourney in which everyone gets a paycheck.

Day, even casual golf fans may recall, battled vertigo at the 2015 U.S. Open, among the many ailments he has dealt with in recent years. A back injury took him out of the 2016 Tour Championship, and there have been ankle and thumb injuries to go with a number of illnesses that have knocked him out of five competitions in the past 12 months-plus, according to GolfChannel.com.

“I’m truly disappointed to announce that I won’t be able to play,” Day said in a statement. “I have a double ear infection and the flu, which precludes me from preparing for and playing in the tournament. I have heard great things about the Mexico Championship and the golf course. I want to thank the Salinas family for their support of the event. I look forward to teeing it up there next year.”

Day will be the only player among the top 50 golfers in the official world rankings to miss this week’s tournament at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

For sure, it’s a stacked roster going at it south of the border. Rickie Fowler, newly installed as No. 9 in the world after last week’s Honda Classic victory, will seek to follow his triumph at PGA National with his fifth tour triumph. DJ, who won the tournament at Doral in 2015, will take his top-ranked stature to the course, while Adam Scott (No. 7) hopes to defend his 2016 title.

As for McIlroy, it’s probably a good thing this week’s tilt is being contested far from Trump’s Miami track, which hosted the tournament on the Blue Monster course from 2007 through 2016. With the hoopla already surrounding the controversial 18 holes he played with POTUS, imagine the frenzy that would ensue were The Donald actually on-site as McIlroy tries to shake off the rust of a nearly seven-week layoff.

McIlroy, who can reclaim the No. 1 ranking with a win and a fifth-place finish or worse by Johnson, draws DJ and Hideki Matsuyama for the first two rounds on the course that’s high above sea level, at some 7,780 feet. They’ll start trying to blast drives 500 yards into the thin air on Thursday from the 10th tee at 11:36 a.m. local time.

Here are all your media options for Thursday’s opening round:

2 to 7 p.m. ET — Golf Channel

8 p.m. to Midnight — Golf Channel replay

11:30 a.m. -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

2 to 7 p.m. -- PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage (No subscription required)

2 to 7 p.m. -- Golf Channel simulcast stream

1 to 7 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)