Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm will join Jordan Spieth in a high-profile threesome for the first two days of the PGA Championship on Thursday and Friday at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia.
The trio have accounted for 11 major titles, and Spieth is a PGA Championship shy of the career Grand Slam, something McIlroy achieved last year when he won his first of two consecutive Masters.
But that’s hardly the only storyline. McIlroy and Rahm, the long-time European Ryder Cup teammates from Northern Ireland and Spain, have been at opposite ends of the LIV Golf debate, with both players speaking on the topic on Tuesday.
Rahm, who left the PGA Tour for LIV ahead of the 2024 season, stood firm on his decision in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrawing financial support after the season ends. McIlroy, for his part, said outsiders “almost knew before the LIV players did that this was going to happen” and said those players felt “blindsided” by last month’s news.
McIlroy, Rahm and Spieth will tee off at No 10 on Thursday at 8.40am local time (2.40pm in South Africa) and at No 1 on Friday at 2.05pm (8.05pm).
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler was grouped with Englishmen Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose; they’ll play off No 1 on Thursday at 2.05pm (8.05pm) and off No 10 on Friday at 8.40am (2.40pm), opposite the McIlroy group.
World No 1 Scheffler will play alongside two past Major winners who are playing great golf in their own right, with Fitzpatrick and Rose holding the No 4 and 7 rankings, respectively.
Three-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka — amid his first season back on the PGA Tour after leaving LIV — will play alongside current LIV star Tyrrell Hatton of England and 2024 PGA champion Xander Schauffele. That threesome will go off one group before McIlroy’s, at 8.29am on Thursday (No 10) and 1.54pm (7.54pm) on Friday (No 1).
The group before that sees LIV star Bryson DeChambeau joined by fellow fan favourite Rickie Fowler and Swede Ludvig Åberg. Their tee times are 8.18am (2.18pm) on Thursday (No 10) and 1.43pm (7.43pm) on Friday (No 1).
Other notable groupings include the all-American trio of Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley and Justin Thomas; Collin Morikawa, Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Irishman Shane Lowry; JJ Spaun, Max Homa and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama; and Gary Woodland, Sam Burns and Australian Jason Day.
PGA teaching professional Michael Block is competing again, three years after he tied for 15th at the 2023 PGA Championship and made a hole-in-one on the final day. He’ll spend the first two days with two-time Major champ Dustin Johnson and Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard.
Rory McIlroy ended his Tuesday practice round after just three holes due to a blister on his right pinky toe.
In his first event back after winning his second consecutive Masters championship in April, McIlroy was seen limping in Sunday’s final round of the Truist Championship in Charlotte.
“Yeah, I’ve got a blister on my pinky toe on my right foot, but it’s underneath my nail,” McIlroy said on Sunday. “I can’t really get to it, so it’s a little sore. But I’ll be all right.”
He told Irish media earlier in the day that the nail on his pinky toe had been removed and that he’s trying out a few pairs of shoes to find the ones that most limit his discomfort.
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