British Open Schedule 2016: Thursday Tee Times, TV Coverage and Live Stream

The 2016 majors have been unpredictable to this point, which only brings an extra bit of excitement into the British Open. 

We came into the year expecting the Big Three to take the next step with Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy representing the clear top of the sport. However, Danny Willett surprised everyone with a win at the Masters Tournament in April, and then Dustin Johnson broke through with his first major win at the U.S. Open.

There are still high hopes for the trio of young stars, but there are other players to keep track of over the course of the tournament. Here is a look at how to follow The Open Championship along with a few pairings to follow on Day 1.

British Open Round 1

When: Thursday, July 14

TV: Golf Channel

Coverage Time: 1:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET

Live Stream: NBC Live Extra (live at 1:30 a.m. ET; replay at 4 p.m. ET)

Notable Groups

Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Danny Willett

BEN STANSALL/Getty Images

You know it's a good group when the most recent Masters winner is the biggest underdog. Willett reached the pinnacle of his career at Augusta National but has struggled since on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. After missing the cut in his last two tournaments, he will need to turn things around in a hurry.

On the other hand, it's a close loss that Jason Day will be thinking about this week, via Golf Channel:

Day finished one stroke short of the three-man playoff at last year's Open, missing a putt that ended up just short. Now the No. 1 player in the world is back with a vengeance and hoping to earn his second major title.

Finally, Rickie Fowler appeared ready to take the next step in his career after an excellent past two seasons. However, he seems to have taken a step backward in majors while missing the cut in both the Masters and the U.S. Open.

No one can deny Fowler's talent, but he needs to get his mental state right if he wants to contend in Scotland at Royal Troon Golf Club.

Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Rory McIlroy missed last year's event with an ankle injury, but he did win The Open the last time he competed in 2014. Although the Northern Irish star is known for his inconsistent play, when he is on, he is arguably the best in the world.

As one of the best ball-strikers off the tee, McIlroy can give himself an edge on this course to potentially win his fifth career major.

Bubba Watson is another top contender based on his overall performance over the past year, helping him rank fifth in the world rankings. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite had the same level of success in this event, according to Mike O'Malley of Golf Digest:

At the least, he and McIlroy could have some entertaining driving competitions throughout the first couple of days.

As for Hideki Matsuyama, putting has been the biggest problem holding him back. However, this is the type of course that could hide those issues, making him a possible sleeper heading into the weekend.

Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

It's easy to forget, but Zach Johnson is the defending champion at this event, bringing home the Claret Jug in 2015. After an extended gap between his two majors, however, he is aware that winning does not come easy. He explained, per Mark Tallentire of the Guardian:

"

It took me eight years, I guess, but I knocked on the door a few times. It’s just hard. There’s only four a year, so you’ve got to make the best of your opportunities. You’ve got to get some good bounces, good breaks, some lip-ins instead of lip-outs, and there are only so many things that go along with that.

"

While Johnson is a long shot to win again, you don't want to count out anyone who has had success on links courses like this one.

This includes the other two men in the group in Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson, both of whom have come close to victory in The Open Championship without winning a title.

Stenson has three top-three finishes at this event, most notably in 2013, when he finished as a runner-up to a strong-finishing Phil Mickelson.

Meanwhile, Scott has been as consistent as anyone at this event, finishing in the top 10 in each of the last four years. Based on how well he has played this year, it wouldn't be surprising to see another high finish and possibly another major win for the Australian.

Time (ET)	Time (BST)	Players
1:35 a.m.	6:35 a.m.	Colin Montgomerie	Marc Leishman	Luke Donald
1:46 a.m.	6:46 a.m.	Steven Alker	Marcus Fraser	Sang-hee Lee
1:57 a.m.	6:57 a.m.	Jeunghun Wang	Jon Rahm	Ryan Palmer
2:08 a.m.	7:08 a.m.	Sandy Lyle	Scott Gregory	David Duval
2:19 a.m.	7:19 a.m.	Richie Ramsay	Danny Lee	Harris English
2:30 a.m.	7:30 a.m.	Alex Noren	Steven Bowditch	Kevin Chappell
2:41 a.m.	7:41 a.m.	Darren Clarke	Thorbjorn Olesen	Jim Furyk
2:52 a.m.	7:52 a.m.	Justin Thomas	David Lingmerth	Kiradech Aphibarnrat
3:03 a.m.	8:03 a.m.	Branden Grace	Patrick Reed	Byeong Hun An
3:14 a.m.	8:14 a.m.	Paul Lawrie	Brandt Snedeker	Thongchai Jaidee
3:25 a.m.	8:25 a.m.	Padraig Harrington	Louis Oosthuizen	Jamie Donaldson
3:36 a.m.	8:36 a.m.	Scott Piercy	Paul Dunne	Jamie Lovemark
3:47 a.m.	8:47 a.m.	Victor Dubuisson	Jimmy Walker	Scott Hend
4:03 a.m.	9:03 a.m.	Jordan Spieth	Justin Rose	Shane Lowry
4:14 a.m.	9:14 a.m.	Ross Fisher	Steve Stricker	Vijay Singh
4:25 a.m.	9:25 a.m.	Danny Willett	Rickie Fowler	Jason Day
4:36 a.m.	9:36 a.m.	Rory McIlroy	Hideki Matsuyama	Bubba Watson
4:47 a.m.	9:47 a.m.	Gary Woodland	James Morrison	Soomin Lee
4:58 a.m.	9:58 a.m.	Smylie Kaufman	Chris Kirk	George Coetzee
5:09 a.m.	10:09 a.m.	Billy Horschel	Matthew Fitzpatrick	Hideto Tanihara
5:20 a.m.	10:20 a.m.	Matteo Manassero	Shugo Imahira	Russell Henley
5:31 a.m.	10:31 a.m.	Kodai Ichihara	Robert Rock	William McGirt
5:42 a.m.	10:42 a.m.	Brendan Steele	Richard Sterne	Matt Jones
5:53 a.m.	10:53 a.m.	Patton Kizzire	Nicolas Colsaerts	Rod Pampling
6:04 a.m.	11:04 a.m.	Dave Coupland	Nathan Holman	Phachara Khongwatmai
6:15 a.m.	11:15 a.m.	Scott Fernandez	Rikard Karlberg	Haydn Porteous
6:36 a.m.	11:36 a.m.	Greg Chalmers	Kristoffer Broberg	Clement Sordet
6:47 a.m.	11:47 a.m.	David Howell	Seung Yul Noh	Tony Finau
6:58 a.m.	11:58 a.m.	Jordan Niebrugge	Nick Cullen	Robert Streb
7:09 a.m.	12:09 p.m.	Ben Curtis	Stefano Mazzoli	John Daly
7:20 a.m.	12:20 p.m.	Francesco Molinari	Kevin Kisner	K.T. Kim
7:31 a.m.	12:31 p.m.	Todd Hamilton	Justin Leonard	Mark Calcavecchia
7:42 a.m.	12:42 p.m.	Soren Kjeldsen	Lasse Jensen	Bill Haas
7:53 a.m.	12:53 p.m.	Paul Casey	Charl Schwartzel	Kevin Na
8:04 a.m.	1:04 p.m.	Emiliano Grillo	Joost Luiten	Charley Hoffman
8:15 a.m.	1:15 p.m.	Graeme McDowell	Matt Kuchar	Andrew Johnston
8:26 a.m.	1:26 p.m.	Phil Mickelson	Lee Westwood	Ernie Els
8:37 a.m.	1:37 p.m.	Satoshi Kodaira	James Hahn	Andy Sullivan
8:48 a.m.	1:48 p.m.	Ryan Moore	Bernd Wiesberger	Tommy Fleetwood
9:04 a.m.	2:04 p.m.	Dustin Johnson	Martin Kaymer	Russell Knox
9:15 a.m.	2:15 p.m.	Zach Johnson	Adam Scott	Henrik Stenson
9:26 a.m.	2:26 p.m.	Chris Wood	Yusaku Miyazato	Mark O'Meara
9:37 a.m.	2:37 p.m.	Miguel Angel Jimenez	Jason Dufner	Marc Warren
9:48 a.m.	2:48 p.m.	Anirban Lahiri	Sergio Garcia	Keegan Bradley
9:59 a.m.	2:59 p.m.	Webb Simpson	Yuta Ikeda	Thomas Pieters
10:10 a.m.	3:09 p.m.	Rafa Cabrera-Bello	J.B. Holmes	Brandon Stone
10:21 a.m.	3:21 p.m.	Marco Dawson	Matthew Southgate	Yosuke Tsukada
10:32 a.m.	3:32 p.m.	Jack Senior	James Heath	Brian Gay
10:43 a.m.	3:43 p.m.	Jim Herman	Fabian Gomez	Anthony Wall
10:54 a.m.	3:54 p.m.	Paul Howard	Daniel Summerhays	Colt Knost
11:05 a.m.	4:05 p.m.	Oskar Arvidsson	Harold Varner III	Tyrrell Hatton
11:16 a.m.	4:16 p.m.	Ryan Evans	Callum Shinkwin	Zander Lombard

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