Tee times

Collin Morikawa will launch his defence of the Claret Jug alongside Rory McIlory and Xander Schauffele in one of the standout groups for rounds one and two of The 150th Open.

The draw was officially announced at midday on Tuesday, headlined by the trio of Morikawa, 2014 Champion Golfer McIlroy and last week’s Genesis Scottish Open winner Schauffele.

They are due to begin their opening rounds at 9.58am BST on Thursday before teeing off at 2.59pm BST the following day as Morikawa attempts to retain the title he won in sensational fashion on his Open debut at Royal St George’s.

McIlroy has not played The Open at St Andrews since 2010, having missed out on defending his title in 2015 due to injury, while Schauffele comes into the Championship on the back of wins at the Scottish Open and the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship.

Another standout group on Thursday afternoon sees three-time Champion Golfer Tiger Woods, who has won two of his three Claret Jugs on the famous Old Course, take to the first tee.

The 15-time major winner goes out alongside reigning US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa, who won the Wells Fargo Championship for a second time in May, with the trio off at 2.59pm BST on Thursday before returning at 9.58am on Friday.

They will be closely followed by another high-profile group as 2017 Champion Golfer Jordan Spieth, world No.3 Jon Rahm and Harold Varner III begin their campaigns.

Spieth just missed out on the play-off when The Open last came to St Andrews in 2015 as Zach Johnson clinched the Claret Jug.

The American tees off with 2021 US Open champion Rahm and Varner at 3.10pm BST on Thursday before hitting the fairways again on Friday morning at 10.09am.

Elsewhere, 2018 Champion Golfer Francesco Molinari is joined by his Ryder Cup partner Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose for an 8.14am BST tee time on Thursday morning.

Molinari and Fleetwood were nicknamed ‘Moliwood’ after winning four points from four to help Team Europe win the Ryder Cup shortly after the Italian lifted the Claret Jug at Carnoustie.

Rose was one of the four players who finished in a tie for second behind Molinari at The 147th Open and completes what is sure to be a popular group for the first two rounds.

2019 Champion Golfer Shane Lowry also goes out on Thursday morning, teeing off just over an hour later at 10.09am BST alongside two-time major winner Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland.

That group will swiftly be followed at 10.20am BST by Will Zalatoris, who has finished runner-up at this year’s PGA Championship and US Open, Tony Finau and Hideki Matsuyama.

Current world No.1 and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler gets his Open campaign underway at 1.26pm BST on Thursday alongside Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton.

Scheffler was right in the mix at Royal St George’s last year, eventually finishing tied-eighth for his best Championship finish, while Hatton finished T5 at Royal Troon in 2016.

And Scotland’s very own Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Champion Golfer, will have the honour of hitting the first tee shot for The 150th Open at St Andrews at 6.35am BST.

Lawrie, who memorably beat Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard in a play-off at Carnoustie to lift the Claret Jug, is partnered by Webb Simpson and Min Woo Lee.