British Open Tee Times 2021: Pairings and Predictions for Friday Schedule

Louis Oosthuizen is once again in contention for a major title, but The Open Championship remains wide open with three days remaining.

Big names like Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson and Collin Morikawa are within a few strokes of the lead, while Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy are capable of posting low numbers over the next few rounds.

The course at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, England, certainly won't make it easy for anyone on top of the leaderboard to pull away. 

It could create plenty of drama heading into Round 2 Friday.

Notable Round 2 Tee Times

2:52 a.m. ET (7:52 a.m. local): Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Adam Hadwin

4:25 a.m. ET (9:25 a.m. local): Webb Simpson, Russell Henley, Shaun Norris

4:58 a.m. ET (9:58 a.m. local): Xander Schauffele, Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler

5:09 a.m. ET (10:09 a.m. local): Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott

5:20 a.m. ET (10:20 a.m. local): Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith

8:04 a.m. ET (1:04 p.m. local): Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Garrick Higgo

9:26 a.m. ET (2:26 p.m. local): Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Branden Grace

9:37 a.m. ET (2:37 p.m. local): Brian Harman,  Mackenzie Hughes, Dylan Frittelli

9:59 a.m. ET (2:59 p.m. local): Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen

10:10 a.m. ET (3:10 p.m. local): Stewart Cink, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer

10:21 a.m. ET (3:21 p.m. local): Dustin Johnson, Will Zalatoris, Justin Rose

Full tee times available at TheOpen.com.

Round 2 Predictions

Louis Oosthuizen Stays in Front

A bogey-free round of 64 put Louis Oosthuizen in first place, and it wasn't a fluke.

The South African was excellent with his short game on the way to six birdies:

It's a continuation of a great year at majors for him, including second-place finishes at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

The winner of the 2010 Open has a total of eight top-three finishes in his career at majors and knows how to stay near the top of the leaderboard when things are going well.

The consistency has continued this year, as he's made the cut in every PGA Tour event since the start of 2021.

While Oosthuizen might not raise the Claret Jug on Sunday, he will likely stay among the leaders throughout the week.

Bryson DeChambeau Falls Short of Cut Line

The first round didn't leave many reasons to be encouraged with Bryson DeChambeau's play.

The American only hit the fairway on 28.6 percent of attempts and struggled to recover.

"The driver sucks. It's not a good face for me and we're still trying to figure out how to make it good on the miss-hits. I'm living on the razor's edge,” DeChambeau said after his one-over round, per Ben Everill of PGATour.com.

"It's quite finicky for me because it's a golf course that's pretty short, and so when I hit driver and it doesn't go in the fairway, it's first cut or it's in the hay, it's tough for me to get it out on to the green and control that… I couldn't control my wedges."

The inconsistency led to five bogeys.

With a closely packed leaderboard, we could see a cut line after Friday of one or two strokes over par. It puts the pressure on DeChambeau to turn things around in a hurry.

Rory Turns Things Around on Day 2

Finishing with four bogeys likely wasn't the plan for Rory McIlroy, but he did have quality shots throughout the round.

He also closed strong while shooting two under in his final seven holes. It's reason enough to be encouraged heading into Round 2 despite finishing at an even 70 for the round.

We know McIlroy doesn't let bad rounds affect him, often bouncing back with brilliant performances to get him back in contention. At the Wells Fargo Championship in May, the 32-year-old shot 72 in Round 1 before three rounds in the 60s helped him finish in first place.

McIlroy won this event in 2014 and knows how to succeed on this type of course. Once he cuts down on his mistakes, he could be a real threat in the coming rounds.