British Open 2013 Tee Times: Pairings and Predictions for Thursday

The 142nd Open Championship will begin in Scotland on Thursday, as golf's biggest names will travel to Muirfield Golf Links for what will be the 16th time the course has hosted the major championship event.

Thursdays at the British Open are always something to look forward to.

As you can see in this tweet from Golf Digest, Muirfield has always held a special place in golf history. As the action shifts back there this week, here's a little trivia question to stump your friends with:

Seventeen previous British Open winners will be in the 2013 field, a list that makes up 27 different championships since 1975. 

Multiple Open title holders Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Nick Faldo and Tom Watson will all look to add another Claret Jug to their trophy case, while the majority of the field just wants to play well enough to be in contention on Sunday.

This year's British Open marks the fifth time since 1980 that Muirfield has hosted the Open. The three men who have won the previous four Claret Jugs will all be in the field, including Faldo, whom BBC Sport mentions in this tweet as mulling the possibility of this being his last British Open:

Faldo, the last Englishman to win the Open in 1992, is a legend of both the major itself and Muirfield. This year, hopes are high that 2013 U.S. Open winner Justin Rose can return the Claret Jug to England and capture the first U.S. Open-British Open sweep since Woods accomplished the feat in 2000. 

Pairings and tee times for Thursday were released earlier in the week, and there's no shortage of big-name golfers teeing it up with each other during the opening round.

Woods' group includes Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy will be paired with Phil Mickelson, Rose and Brandt Snedeker will carry the considerable weight of playing in a group with Els and Adam Scott's two partners (Matt Kuchar and Luke Donald) are both in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings.

Speaking of pairings, how much better does it get for fans than to see Faldo, Watson and PGA Tour favorite Fred Couples in a group together for the first two days of action?

In terms of course layout, Muirfield will continue to play at a par of 71. The layout of the links course makes it difficult to get into a rhythm, largely because the wind tends to be coming at you in a different direction and speed as you move from hole to hole. 

Rainy conditions have been expected at the British Open over the years, but according to Weather.com, the sun will dominate the skies over through Sunday and set Muirfield up perfectly for four strong days of golf. 

With deep bunkers and thick patches of rough, hitting accurate shots in both the fairway and on the approach are crucial in avoiding disastrous holes at Muirfield. Then again, some of the best shots we've seen at the Open over the years have been from the sand, so an ability to hand those situations with grace could play a huge factor in the final outcome. 

There's so many storylines this year in Scotland that it's going to be hard to keep up.

We've got you covered with a complete list of pairings and tee times for Thursday's action below. We'll also take a look at some tournament predictions and what to watch for during the opening round as play is schedule to commence bright and early (6:32 a.m. local time) in Round 1.  

Event Information

What: 2013 Open Championship (British Open)

Where: Muirfield Golf Links; Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland

When: July 18-21, 2013

2013 British Open Round 1 Pairings, Tee Times

Players	Tee Time (ET)	Tee Time (UK)
Peter Senior, Lloyd Saltman, Oliver Fisher	1:32 a.m.	6:32 a.m.
Robert Karlsson, Todd Hamilton, Ben Stow	1:43 a.m.	6:43 a.m.
Thomas Aiken, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Bud Cauley	1:54 a.m.	6:54 a.m.
Mikko Ilonen, Brooks Koepka, Ashun Wu	2:05 a.m.	7:05 a.m.
David Duval, Bernd Wiesberger, Chris Wood	2:16 a.m.	7:16 a.m.
Scott Stallings, Stewart Cink, Richard McEvoy	2:27 a.m.	7:27 a.m.
K.J. Choi, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jimmy Walker	2:38 a.m.	7:38 a.m.
Ben Curtis, Shane Lowry, Rafael Cabrera-Bello	2:49 a.m.	7:49 a.m.
Jonas Blixt, Brian Davis, Graham Delaet	3 a.m.	8 a.m.
Robert Garrigus, John Senden, Marc Warren	3:11 a.m.	8:11 a.m.
Martin Kaymer, Garrick Porteous, Jason Day	3:22 a.m.	8:22 a.m.
Carl Pettersson, Jason Dufner, David Lynn	3:33 a.m.	8:33 a.m.
Bubba Watson, Nicolas Colsaerts, Dustin Johnson	3:44 a.m.	8:44 a.m.
Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Fred Couples	4 a.m.	9 a.m.
Justin Rose, Ernie Els, Brandt Snedeker	4:11 a.m.	9:11 a.m.
Ian Poulter, Keegan Bradley, Billy Horschel	4:22 a.m.	9:22 a.m.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Richard Sterne, Nick Watney	4:33 a.m.	9:33 a.m.
Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Phil Mickelson	4:44 a.m.	9:44 a.m.
Scott Piercy, Tim Clark, Kevin Streelman	4:55 a.m.	9:55 a.m.
Zach Johnson, Shingo Katayama, Thomas Bjorn	5:06 a.m.	10:06 a.m.
Angel Cabrera, Camilo Villegas, Tano Goya	5:17 a.m.	10:17 a.m.
George Coetzee, Ken Duke, Mark Calcavecchia	5:28 a.m.	10:28 a.m.
John Huh, Brendan Jones, Hyung-Sung Kim	5:39 a.m.	10:39 a.m.
Josh Teater, Steven Tiley, Jimmy Mullen	5:50 a.m.	10:50 a.m.
K.T. Kim, Steven Jeffress, Luke Guthrie	6:01 a.m.	11:01 a.m.
John Wade, Gareth Wright, Makoto Inoue	6:12 a.m.	11:12 a.m.
Danny Willett, Y.E. Yang, Johnson Wagner	6:33 a.m.	11:33 a.m.
Thaworn Wiratchant, Lucas Glover, Oscar Floren	6:44 a.m.	11:44 a.m.
Boo Weekley, Sandy Lyle, Niclas Fasth	6:55 a.m.	11:55 a.m.
Marcus Fraser, Grant Forrest, Mark O'Meara	7:06 a.m.	12:06 p.m.
Tom Lehman, Thongchai Jaidee, Fredrik Jacobson	7:17 a.m.	12:17 p.m.
Justin Leonard, Rhys Pugh, Marc Leishman	7:28 a.m.	12:28 p.m.
Alvaro Quiros, Kyle Stanley, Alexander Noren	7:39 a.m.	12:39 p.m.
Russell Henley, Jordan Spieth, Matthew Fitzpatrick	7:50 a.m.	12:50 p.m.
Padraig Harrington, Michael Thompson, Richie Ramsay	8:01 a.m.	1:01 p.m.
Vijay Singh, Darren Clarke, Martin Laird	8:12 a.m.	1:12 p.m.
Ryan Moore, Henrik Stenson, Steven Fox	8:23 a.m.	1:23 p.m.
Thorbjorn Olesen, Jim Furyk, Paul Lawrie	8:34 a.m.	1:34 p.m.
Geoff Ogilvy, Harris English, Stephen Gallacher	8:45 a.m.	1:45 p.m.
Lee Westwood, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia	9:01 a.m.	2:01 p.m.
Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar, Luke Donald	9:12 a.m.	2:12 p.m.
Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero, Hunter Mahan	9:23 a.m.	2:23 p.m.
Peter Hanson, Hiroyuki Fujita, Bill Haas	9:34 a.m.	2:34 p.m.
Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen	9:45 a.m.	2:45 p.m.
Webb Simpson, Branden Grace, Jamie Donaldson	9:56 a.m.	2:56 p.m.
Francesco Molinari, Toru Taniguchi, Bo Van Pelt	10:07 a.m.	3:07 p.m.
D.A. Points, Brett Rumford, Marcel Siem	10:18 a.m.	3:18 p.m.
George Murray, Mark Brown, Justin Harding	10:29 a.m.	3:29 p.m.
Gregory Bourdy, Scott Jamieson, Shiv Kapur	10:40 a.m.	3:40 p.m.
Scott Brown, Satoshi Kodaira, Gareth Maybin	10:51 a.m.	3:51 p.m.
Tyrrell Hatton, Eduardo de la Riva, Kenichi Kuboya	11:02 a.m.	4:02 p.m.
Stephen Dartnall, Darryn Lloyd, Daisuke Maruyama	11:13 a.m.	4:13 p.m.

*All pairings and tee times courtesy of TheOpen.com. 

Preview, Predictions

If you want to win the British Open at Muirfield, you generally need to put together a strong first round. 

In the last seven Opens to be held at the links in Scotland, only Gary Player has won a major championship without shooting at or under par in the first round of the event. 

Lee Trevino (1972) shot a 71 in the opening round of his title at this course, but the past four times Muirfield has hosted the British Open, the champion has been under par when he returns to the course on Friday. 

Watson (1980), Faldo (1987, 1992) and Els (2002) are the three men who fall under that category; Watson posted the lowest overall score of the first round in his victory, but in the last three events at Muirfield the eventual champion did not lead on Friday morning. 

That being said, a huge field of competitors will look to stay ahead of the curve by posting a solid, low-mistake round of golf in Thursday's opening round. 

When it comes to coverage, expect Tiger Woods to get the most press on Thursday. 

In search of his 15th major championship victory and first since 2008, Woods has not played since a disappointing showing at Merion and the 2013 U.S. Open. He's a three-time British Open champion, but his last appearance at Muirfield (third round 81) will be a major point of discussion in the opening round. 

I don't expect Woods to have a first-round lead, but I do expect him to stay under par and show the same consistency we've seen from him for the majority of his 2013 season.

Elsewhere, Adam Scott certainly has something to prove.

The 2013 Masters winner had a four-shot lead heading into the final round of the 2012 Open, but shot a dreadful five-over 75 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes as Els beat him by a stroke for the title.  

Scott and Rose are your major championship winners in 2013, and as you can see in this tweet from the PGA Tour, some are clearly connecting the dots when it comes to predicting the next first-time champion:

Snedeker, who was in the final pairing with Angel Cabrera at the 2013 Masters before flaming out down the back nine, is still in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings and looking to rebound from inconsistent play since his Sunday finish at Augusta. 

Could this be the week he decides to make history, or is another first-time major winner poised to step to the plate?

Elsewhere, Phil Mickelson is also looking for his first British Open victory. The lefty played in (and won) the 2013 Scottish Open to help prepare for the links in Scotland this week, and should be a strong contender if he can avoid the big mistake. Mickelson finished tied for 66th in 2002 at Muirfield, though, and the British Open has always been his toughest major. 

Mickelson's playing partner will be McIlroy. The two-time major winner has also been a major Jekyll and Hyde act this year, and has drawn criticism for a lack of focus during his 2013 season. 

It's getting to the point that "inconsistent" is becoming part of the general fabric we use to categorize McIlroy's tournament appearances, but he can lay to rest any feelings of doubt about his game by making the cut and avoiding the poor rounds that we've seen him play at the other two majors in 2013. 

That being said, don't expect McIlroy to automatically contend this week in Scotland. 

Jordan Spieth is a name many will recognize in the field this week. The 19-year-old became the first teenager to win a PGA Tour event in 82 years by capturing the John Deere Classic last week, and if that wasn't enough, his shot to force a playoff out of the bunker was impressive in and of itself. 

ESPN's Justin Ray had another look at that shot in this tweet:

Some sleepers to watch in the field include Jim Furyk, who leads the PGA Tour in driving accuracy, and Henrik Stenson, who had a strong showing at the Scottish Open and is third on the Tour in greens in regulation percentage. 

I would look to the Scott-Kuchar-Donald group to produce one of the best scores of the day, and expect one of the previous champions in the field to be near the top of the leaderboard when Thursday's action begins. 

Experience at major tournaments doesn't mean as much in Round 1 as it does on Sunday, but it does help at a course like Muirfield, which is why defending champion Els will likely have a solid round on Thursday, too. 

We don't know which golfer will emerge over the four-day journey about to commence in Scotland, but we do have a good idea that tournament itself will be anything but boring. 

Round 1 doesn't usually produce your winner (only five champions in the 72-hole era have led from start to finish), but Thursday will set the stage for the remainder of the tournament. 

And that's something you just don't want to miss. 

*Information from TheOpen.com and PGATour.com was used to compile this report. 

Follow B/R's Ethan Grant (@DowntownEG) on Twitter.