GOLF
2024 British Open Thursday: Round 1 tee times, pairings and featured groups
The 152nd Open Championship is set to get underway on Thursday at Royal Troon in Scotland and runs through to Sunday (21 July).
Last weekend Robert MacIntyre became the first Scot to win the Scottish Open for 25 years at The Renaissance Club on Sunday and has propelled the 27-year-old into the spotlight ahead of the 2024 British Open. It is also 25 years since Paul Lawrie lifted the Claret Jug.
Since Lawrie’s surprise Open triumph in 1999 at Carnoustie, Britain has endured a barren spell at the world’s oldest major, with only Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy triumphing.
MacIntyre will be a genuine contender though at Troon and none of the other 157 players teeing it up on Thursday will have more vocal support than the 27-year-old from Oban.
MacIntyre has quickly re-focussed for the start of The Open and said he will adopt the same relaxed mindset.
“Last week I was absolutely chilled out. All week I was as relaxed as I’ve ever been for the Scottish Open, for a golf tournament, to be honest. There was no nerves,” he told reporters. “There was nothing going on.
“Coming here, it’s the exact same again. I’m very relaxed and enjoying time with friends and family back at the house when I’m not on the golf course and enjoying time with my team when I’m on the golf course.
“It’s just about getting in that position on Sunday and seeing where the cards fall. Obviously last week they fell my way. My job is to go out there, fight as hard as I can, try my best, and hopefully get in a position where I have a chance.”
England expects
England’s wait for an Open champion goes back even further -- to Nick Faldo’s victory in 1992.
One of those trying to put that right is Tommy Fleetwood who was right in contention on his local course last year in Hoylake but eventually faded on the final day to finish tied for 10th.
Fleetwood, who finished third at the Masters, said it is hard to fathom why British players have struggled.
“It just doesn’t seem to happen,” he told reporters. “Who knows if one breaks through and then there comes a flood of British winners. I think you look at tournaments that didn’t quite go the way of some British players in the past.
“It’s a strange one because you think for all of us we grow up, especially on the amateur circuit, playing a lot of links golf, and we’ve had some phenomenal golfers over the years.
“It’s not that easy. There’s always a lot of great golfers. But it’s hard. You can’t really put any rhyme or reason to it. It’s just the way it’s been. Hopefully that streak can end.”
The 152nd Open Championship gets underway on Thursday, 18 July and concludes on Sunday, 21 July.
British Open picks: Scheffler, McIlroy, Morikawa...
At the time of writing, the Open odds has Scheffler (who sat out the Scottish Open) leading as the favorite at +450. Trailing behind him are McIlroy at +750, PGA Champion Xander Schauffele at +1100, and DeChambeau, Ludwig Aberg and Collin Morikawa all at +1400.
Morikawa, who won The Open at Royal St George’s in 2021, has been tipped to do well by many after being in the hunt to win (without doing so) on several occasions in recent months.
Thursday, 18th: Round 1 Tee Times
Times: Local BST and (ET)
6:35am (1:35am) - Justin Leonard, Todd Hamilton, Jack McDonald
6:46am (1:46am) - Alex Noren, Tom McKibbin, Calum Scott (a)
6:57am (1:57am) - Jesper Svensson, Vincent Norrman, Michael Hendry
7:08am (2:08am) - Younghan Song, Daniel Hillier, Ryosuke Kinoshita
7:19am (2:19am) - Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Abraham Ancer
7:30am (2:30am) - Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Scott, Keita Nakajima
7:41am (2:41am) - Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Jasper Stubbs (a)
7:52am (2:52am) - Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, Matthew Southgate
8:03am (3:03am) - Nick Taylor, Matt Wallace, Laurie Canter
8:14am (3:14am) - Sebastian Soderberg, Matteo Manassero, Shubhankar Sharma
8:25am (3:25am) - Zach Johnson, Austin Eckroat, Thorbjorn Olesen
8:36am (3:36am) - John Daly, Santiago de la Fuente (a), Aaron Rai
8:47am (3:47am) - Stewart Cink, Chris Kirk, Dominic Clemons (a)
9:03am (4:03am) - Stephan Jaeger, Adam Schenk, Joaquin Niemann
9:14am (4:14am) - Adam Hadwin, Lucas Glover, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
9:25am (4:25am) - Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Matthieu Pavon
9:36am (4:36am) - Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre
9:47am (4:47am) - Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim
9:58am (4:58am) - Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala
10:09am (5:09am) - Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton
10:20am (5:20am) - Keegan Bradley, Will Zalatoris, Gordon Sargent (a)
10:31am (5:31am) - Harris English, Maverick McNealy, Alexander Bjork
10:42am (5:42am) - Guido Migliozzi, Sean Crocker, Tommy Morrison (a)
10:53am (5:53am) - David Puig, John Catlin, Gun-Taek Koh
11:04am (6:04am) - Thriston Lawrence, Dan Bradbury, Elvis Smylie
11:15am (6:15am) - Nacho Elvira, Minkyu Kim, Darren Fichardt
11:26am (6:26am) - Mason Andersen, Masahiro Kawamura, Sam Hutsby
11:47am (6:47am) - Ewen Ferguson, Marcel Siem
11:58am (6:58am) - CT Pan, Romain Langasque, Yuto Katsuragawa
12:09pm (7:09am) - Rikuya Hoshino, Angel Hidalgo, Richard Mansell
12:20pm (7:20am) - Corey Conners, Ryan Fox, Jorge Campillo
12:31pm (7:31am) - Ernie Els, Gary Woodland, Altin van der Merwe (a)
12:42pm (7:42am) - Henrik Stenson, Rasmus Hojgaard, Jacob Skov Olesen (a)
12:53pm (7:53am) - Louis Oosthuizen, Billy Horschel, Victor Perez
1:04pm (8:04am) - Sepp Straka, Brendon Todd, Jordan Smith
1:15pm (8:15am) - Denny McCarthy, Taylor Moore, Adrian Meronk
1:26pm (8:26am) - Jason Day, Byeong Hun An, Rickie Fowler
1:37pm (8:37am) - Alex Cejka, Eric Cole, Kurt Kitayama
1:48pm (8:48am) - Darren Clarke, JT Poston, Dean Burmester
2:04pm (9:04am) - Phil Mickelson, Joost Luiten, Dustin Johnson
2:15pm (9:15am) - Padraig Harrington, Davis Thompson, Matthew Jordan
2:26pm (9:26am) - Wyndham Clark, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka
2:37pm (9:37am) - Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay
2:48pm (9:48am) - Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Si Woo Kim
2:59pm (9:59am) - Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick
3:10pm (10:10am) - Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
3:21pm (10:21am) - Akshay Bhatia, Tom Hoge, Sami Valimaki
3:32pm (10:32am) - Emiliano Grillo, Ben Griffin, Mackenzie Hughes
3:43pm (10:43am) - Yannik Paul, Joe Dean, Andy Ogletree
3:54pm (10:54am) - Ryan van Velzen, Charlie Lindh, Luis Masaveu (a)
4:05pm (11:05am) - Kazuma Kobori, Jaime Montojo (a), Liam Nolan (a)
4:16pm (11:16am) - Daniel Brown, Denwit Boriboonsub, Matthew Dodd-Berry (a)
4:27pm (11:27pm) - Jeung-Hun Wang, Aguri Iwasaki, Sam Horsfield