British Open Tee Times 2023: Pairings and Predictions for Friday Schedule

The first day of the Open Championship is complete, and 22-year-old amateur golfer Christo Lamprecht is tied atop the leaderboard with Tommy Fleetwood and Emiliano Grillo at five under.

This year's Open Championship is taking place at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Wirral in Merseyside, England.

Rory McIlroy, who is coming off a victory at the Scottish Open, won it all the last time the Open was at Royal Liverpool in 2014. He's hanging around at even par after a great par save on the last hole.

Other notable performances include a three-under day from U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, a two-under round via three-time major winner Jordan Spieth and a three-under day from 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink.

On the flip side, some big names struggled, including Justin Thomas (11 over), Joaquin Niemann (seven over) and Phil Mickelson (six over).

Friday is obviously a big day for the field with many golfers fighting just to make the cut, which currently sits at two over. Some others are close enough to the lead to at least make a charge to or near the top on Day 2.

With all that in mind, here's a look at some notable tee times and some quick predictions on which golfers will make a surge on Friday.

Notable Friday Tee Times

3:25 a.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Sahith Theegala, Dustin Johnson

4:47 a.m.: Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, Justin Thomas

4:58 a.m: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose

5:09 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Tyrell Hatton

7:53 a.m.: Christo Lamprecht, Joost Luiten, Louis Oosthuizen

9:04 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jason Day

9:37 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama

9:48 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott

9:59 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark

All tee times can be found via Open Championship website.

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Rory McIlroy

It was an up-and-down day for McIlroy, who posted three birdies and three bogeys. The low point occurred on the eighth hole, when he missed a putt of under three feet to save par.

The high point was on the par-five 18th hole, when he saved par despite hitting his second shot snug up next to the ledge of a pot bunker. It took two shots for him to get out, and then he drilled a 10-footer to stay at even par for the first round.

McIlroy could use that momentum going into the second round. He ultimately finished strong by shooting two under over the final six holes. If he keeps that trend going into Friday, then he should position himself to be in the mix over the weekend.

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Scottie Scheffler

The World No. 1 player has been a superstar from tee-to-green, but the putter has failed him all year, with the Masters being the most notable example.

It's more of the same in the Open. Scheffler is right in the mix at one under, but he lost 1.48 strokes putting, per Data Golf. That ranks him outside the top 130 in the 156-golfer field.

There's obviously reason for optimism outside the fact that he's arguably the best golfer in the world right now, and that's the fact that he's dominating tee-to-green once again. Scheffler is fifth in the field in that respect.

If Scheffler's putter gets going, there's reason to believe he makes a big leap up the leaderboard and contends for the Claret Jug.

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Rickie Fowler

Don't let Fowler's one-over score fool you. If you ignore the first and last holes, he shot three under on the day.

The problem is that he bogeyed the first and triple bogeyed the last, making for an undesirable finish that leaves him a stroke above the cut line.

But Royal Liverpool is a place where Fowler has excelled. He finished tied for second with Sergio García at 15 under in 2014, just two shots behind McIlroy.

That score seems farfetched for Fowler (or anyone else) in the field this week, but if you erase one terrible hole, he's looking at heading into Friday at two under. He's absolutely capable of contending for the Claret Jug this week, and the guess here is that he makes a big Friday move.