PGA Championship 2016 Tee Times: Groupings and Predictions for Thursday Schedule
While there is a long list of golfers ready to contend at the PGA Championship, a handful of stars stand out above the rest.
There are 52 different groups set to tee off for Round 1 Thursday from Baltusrol Golf Course in Springfield, New Jersey. In a sport where anyone can surprise with a few good rounds to contend for a title, just about every group requires some level of monitoring.
Still, some of the trios are definitely better than others, with big names paired together for the first two rounds. Here is a look at some of the groups to watch early on followed by a full list of tee times for Round 1.
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Notable Groups
Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia
Jordan Spieth is a victim of his own success. After dominating the 2015 season with two major titles and top-five finishes in the other two, the American has disappointed by finishing outside the top 25 in the U.S. Open and Open Championship.
Despite failing to add to his two major titles, Spieth is not upset at his performances. He recently explained the only problem is expectations, per Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press (via the Columbus Dispatch):
"I think it’s been a solid year, and I think had last year not happened I’d be having a lot of positive questions. Instead, most of the questions I get are comparing to last year and, therefore, negative because it’s not to the same standard. So that’s almost tough to then convince myself that you’re having a good year...when the questions I get make me feel like it’s not.
"
Bubba Watson has seen his popularity rise after winning two Masters championships. On the other hand, Sergio Garcia is still yet to win his first major title, though he has come close plenty of times in the past.
All three men in this group have the tools to at least be high on the leaderboard by Sunday, but fans might only care if one can get a victory.
Thursday predictions: Watson 71, Spieth 69, Garcia 69
Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson
This is the group of champions—at least in 2016.
Danny Willett pulled the upset at the Masters, winning his first major title as a relative unknown. Dustin Johnson also got his first major title this year, finally breaking through at the U.S. Open after playing well plenty of times in the past. As for Henrik Stenson, his win at the British Open was one of the best individual showings in years.
All three men have had different seasons outside their titles. Johnson has been arguably the hottest player on tour with six top-10 finishes in a row. Conversely, Willett has been extremely inconsistent since Augusta.
Stenson is obviously coming off his strong performance at Royal Troon, but he hasn't even seen the weekend in his last three tournaments on U.S. soil.
Although this group should have the confidence and swagger of recent major-winners, the actual results might be varied.
Thursday predictions: Willett 75, Johnson 68, Stenson 72
Jason Day, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy
Like Spieth, Jason Day has earned question marks only due to his overwhelming success over the past year. The current No. 1 player in the world hasn't won any of the three major titles, which causes some to overlook his two top-10 finishes in this stretch.
As ESPN's John Buccigross noted, Day has also been better in the PGA Championship:
The Australian is the defending champion at this event, where he finished at an incredible 20 under par. His worst round was a 68 en route to his first and only major title. If he can replicate this success, Day could be headed to another PGA Championship victory.
On the other hand, you shouldn't count out the others in this group, who have a combined nine major titles in their careers.
Phil Mickelson was close to adding to his career total with an excellent showing at The Open Championship, but he came up just short against an even better Stenson earlier this month. Rory McIlroy hasn't been as consistent as some would like, but he is always a threat at these events with two majors already in his career.
Talent plus experience makes everyone in this group dangerous.
Thursday predictions: Day 70, Mickelson 73, McIlroy 69
July 28 Tee Times
| Time (ET) | Golfers | ||
| 7 a.m. | Bradley Dredge | Patton Kizzire | Mark R. Brown |
| 7:10 a.m. | K.J. Choi | Tommy Sharp | Jon Curran |
| 7:20 a.m. | Jason Kokrak | Josh Speight | Kristoffer Broberg |
| 7:30 a.m. | Darren Clarke | David Lingmerth | Daniel Berger |
| 7:40 a.m. | Aaron Baddeley | Kevin Kisner | Emiliano Grillo |
| 7:50 a.m. | John Daly | Padraig Harrington | Vijay Singh |
| 8 a.m. | Victor Dubuisson | Marcus Fraser | James Hahn |
| 8:10 a.m. | Soren Kjeldsen | Billy Hurley III | Scott Hend |
| 8:20 a.m. | Matt Jones | Rikard Karlberg | Charley Hoffman |
| 8:30 a.m. | Robert Streb | Vaughn Taylor | Kevin Na |
| 8:40 a.m. | Gregory Bourdy | Jonas Blixt | Roberto Castro |
| 8:50 a.m. | Ross Fisher | Omar Uresti | Greg Chalmers |
| 9 a.m. | Zac Blair | Smylie Kaufman | David Muttitt |
| 12:15 p.m. | Joe Summerhays | Yuta Ikeda | Colt Knost |
| 12:25 p.m. | Ryan Palmer | Rob Labritz | Gary Woodland |
| 12:35 p.m. | Alex Noren | Andrew Johnston | Scott Piercy |
| 12:45 p.m. | Shaun Micheel | Rich Berberian Jr. | Rocco Mediate |
| 12:55 p.m. | Tony Finau | Anirban Lahiri | Matthew Fitzpatrick |
| 1:05 p.m. | Danny Lee | Matt Kuchar | Luke Donald |
| 1:15 p.m. | Jim Furyk | Francesco Molinari | Shane Lowry |
| 1:25 p.m. | Bubba Watson | Jordan Spieth | Sergio Garcia |
| 1:35 p.m. | Patrick Reed | Justin Rose | Charl Schwartzel |
| 1:45 p.m. | Danny Willett | Dustin Johnson | Henrik Stenson |
| 1:55 p.m. | Graeme McDowell | Webb Simpson | Louis Oosthuizen |
| 2:05 p.m. | Ryan Moore | Kyle Reifers | Ben Polland |
| 2:15 p.m. | Mitch Lowe | Kevin Streelman | Young-han Song |
| Time (ET) | Golfers | ||
| 7 a.m. | Chris Kirk | Wyatt Worthington II | Freddie Jacobson |
| 7:10 a.m. | Jason Bohn | Jeunghun Wang | Brian Gaffney |
| 7:20 a.m. | J.B. Holmes | Brian Stuard | Hideki Matsuyama |
| 7:30 a.m. | Tyrrell Hatton | Harris English | Matt Dobyns |
| 7:40 a.m. | Rickie Fowler | Ernie Els | Zach Johnson |
| 7:50 a.m. | Chris Wood | Branden Grace | Jimmy Walker |
| 8 a.m. | Justin Thomas | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | Paul Casey |
| 8:10 a.m. | Brooks Koepka | Brandt Snedeker | Lee Westwood |
| 8:20 a.m. | Adam Scott | Keegan Bradley | Jamie Donaldson |
| 8:30 a.m. | Jason Day | Phil Mickelson | Rory McIlroy |
| 8:40 a.m. | Bill Haas | Jamie Lovemark | Andy Sullivan |
| 8:50 a.m. | George Coetzee | Rod Perry | Hideto Tanihara |
| 9 a.m. | Nicolas Colsaerts | Jhonattan Vegas | Ryan Helminen |
| 12:15 p.m. | Michael Block | Harold Varner III | John Senden |
| 12:25 p.m. | Kevin Chappell | Johan Kok | Troy Merritt |
| 12:35 p.m. | Russell Henley | Fabian Gomez | Thorbjorn Olesen |
| 12:45 p.m. | Rich Beem | Steve Stricker | David Toms |
| 12:55 p.m. | James Morrison | Brandon Stone | Billy Horschel |
| 1:05 p.m. | Jason Dufner | Martin Kaymer | Y.E. Yang |
| 1:15 p.m. | Bernd Wiesberger | Byeong Hun An | Brendan Steele |
| 1:25 p.m. | Marc Leishman | Kiradech Aphibarnrat | Russell Knox |
| 1:35 p.m. | Jim Herman | Thongchai Jaidee | Thomas Pieters |
| 1:45 p.m. | Soomin Lee | William McGirt | Joost Luiten |
| 1:55 p.m. | Brad Lardon | K.T. Kim | Peter Malnati |
| 2:05 p.m. | Daniel Summerhays | Cameron Tringale | Rick Schuller |
| 2:15 p.m. | Brad Ott | Bryce Molder | Si Woo Kim |
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