British Open 2016 Tee Times and Pairings for Royal Troon Golf Club Announced

The Open Championship revealed its tee times for Thursday's and Friday's play at the 145th iteration of the tournament at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland on Monday, with the trio of Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Bubba Watson highlighting the groups. 

Here are the top pairings for Thursday and Friday:

Time (BST)	Time (ET)	Group
6:35 a.m.	1:35 a.m.	Colin Montgomerie, Marc Leishman, Luke Donald
9:03 a.m.	4:03 a.m.	Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry
9:25 a.m.	4:25 a.m.	Danny Willett, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day
9:36 a.m.	4:36 a.m.	Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson
1:26 p.m.	8:26 a.m.	Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els
2:04 p.m.	9:04 a.m.	Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Russell Knox
2:15 p.m.	9:15 a.m.	Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson

For the full list of tee times, be sure to check out TheOpen.com.

Last year's winner, Zach Johnson, will surely be among the favorites for the title, though The Open Championship hasn't had a back-to-back winner since Padraig Harrington pulled off the feat in 2007 and 2008. Tiger Woods also managed repeat titles in 2005 and 2006. 

Before that, Tom Watson was the last back-to-back winner in 1982 and 1983.

The current big three in the golf world—Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and McIlroy—will also be among the favorites. Of the trio, only McIlroy has won this tournament (2014), though Day was the last among the three to win a major (2015 PGA Championship). 

Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, both former winners of the tournament, will tee off together at 8:26 a.m. ET, while 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett will get underway at 4:25 a.m. in a group that includes Day and Rickie Fowler, and it will be well worth tracking before the weekend. 

Dustin Johnson, the champion at the 2016 U.S. Open, will get underway at 9:04 a.m. alongside Martin Kaymer and Russell Knox.

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