British Open Tee Times 2017: Pairings and Predictions for Thursday Schedule

The third major championship of the year appears to be a wide-open event. 

With elite players Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day struggling, this could be the tournament that sees a sleeper, underdog or unknown come to the forefront and dominate at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

North American golf fans who want to see the first two rounds will either have to stay up all night or get up early, as the British Open gets underway at 1:35 a.m. ET on the Golf Channel. It's a five-hour time difference between the Eastern Time Zone and Southport, England, and the early groups will tee off before 7 a.m. local time.

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Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas are scheduled to tee off at 4:58 a.m., and they will be followed by U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood.

The latter grouping should be one of the glamour threesomes to follow in the first two rounds of the tournament. In addition to Koepka's exploits, Matsuyama has become one of the most dangerous players on the PGA Tour and Fleetwood is the top-ranked player on the European Tour.

Fleetwood used to sneak on to Royal Birkdale to play when he was a youngster. "It was a course I would have crept on now and again," Fleetwood said, per the European Tour website.  "It's where the Open is, and now I'm playing. You can't sneak on the places that we used to sneak on any more."

Those who get up a little later can follow Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott and Paul Casey on their tour around Royal Birkdale. That group will tee off at 8:26 a.m. 

Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Charl Schwartzel will tee off at 9:48 a.m., while Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and Lee Westwood will follow that threesome.

Phil Mickelson won the British Open in 2013, and he will try to do it again this year. He will play with Francesco Molinari and Marc Leishman, and they will tee off at 10:10 a.m.

2017 British Open Championship tee times, pairings (courtesy of theopen.com)

Thursday (ET)

1:35 a.m. — Mark O'Meara, Chris Wood, Ryan Moore
1:46 a.m. — Phachara Khongwatmai, Maverick McNealy, Stuart Manley
1:57 a.m. — Stewart Cink, Sandy Lyle, Jeunghun Wang
2:08 a.m. — Paul Broadhurst, Thongchai Jaidee, Roberto Castro
2:19 a.m. — Tom Lehman, Ben An, Darren Fichardt
2:30 a.m. — Soren Kjeldsen, Billy Horschel, Danny Willett
2:41 a.m. — Matthew Fitzpatrick, Steve Stricker, Emiliano Grillo
2:52 a.m. — Jason Dufner, Branden Grace, Bryson DeChambeau
3:03 a.m. — Alex Noren, Russell Knox, Ian Poulter
3:14 a.m. — David Duval, Prayad Marksaeng, KT Kim
3:25 a.m. — Younghan Song, David Horsey, Dylan Frittelli
3:36 a.m. — Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Charles Howell III, Shiv Kapur
3:47 a.m. — Russell Henley, Fabrizio Zanotti, Peter Uihlein
4:03 a.m. — Alexander Levy, Brendan Steele, Webb Simpson
4:14 a.m. — Wesley Bryan, Anirban Lahiri, Alfie Plant
4:25 a.m. — Darren Clarke, Gary Woodland, Harry Ellis
4:36 a.m. — Padraig Harrington, Pat Perez, Thomas Pieters
4:47 a.m. — Henrik Stenson, Si Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth
4:58 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
5:09 a.m. — Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood
5:20 a.m. — J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker, Shane Lowry
5:31 a.m. — Richard Bland, Shaun Norris, Luca Cianchetti
5:42 a.m. — Yikeun Chang, Chan Kim, Mark Foster
5:53 a.m. — Sung-Hoon Kang, Tony Finau, Matthieu Pavon
6:04 a.m. — Alexander Bjork, Joe Dean, Robert Streb
6:15 a.m. — Robert Dinwiddie, Julian Suri, Adam Hodkinson
6:36 a.m. — Andrew Johnston, Adam Hadwin, Todd Hamilton
6:47 a.m. — John Daly, Adam Bland, Connor Syme
6:58 a.m. — William McGirt, Toby Tree, Jamie Lovemark
7:09 a.m. — Matthew Griffin, Austin Connelly, Matthew Southgate
7:20 a.m. — Cameron Smith, Bill Haas, Callum Shinkwin
7:31 a.m. — Michael Hendry, Brian Harman, Martin Laird
7:42 a.m. — Ernie Els, Ross Fisher, Bernd Wiesberger
7:53 a.m. — Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Kaymer, Aaron Baddeley
8:04 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia
8:15 a.m. — Andy Sullivan, Joost Luiten, David Lipsky
8:26 a.m. — Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Paul Casey
8:37 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Richie Ramsay, Ryan Fox
8:48 a.m. — Kevin Kisner, Charley Hoffman, David Drysdale
9:04 a.m. — Jimmy Walker, Hideto Tanihara, Thorbjorn Olesen
9:15 a.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Brandon Stone, Sean O'Hair
9:26 a.m. — Daniel Berger, Pablo Larrazabal, Yuta Ikeda
9:37 a.m. — Paul Lawrie, Kevin Chappell, Yusaku Miyazato
9:48 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel
9:59 a.m. — Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood
10:10 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman
10:21 a.m. — Scott Hend, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Bubba Watson
10:32 a.m. — Paul Waring, Kyle Stanley, Kevin Na
10:43 a.m. — Giwhan Kim, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Dodt
10:54 a.m. — Haotong Li, Kent Bulle, Haydn McCullen
11:05 a.m. — Jbe Kruger, Nick McCarthy, Ashley Hall
11:16 a.m. — Ryan McCarthy, Laurie Canter, Sebastian Munoz

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

Predictions

While a stellar first round is not required to win the British Open, it's always a good idea to stay fairly close in the first couple of rounds before the legitimate contenders make their moves on Saturday.

Look for Fleetwood to get off to a great start on his home course. The British native is obviously familiar with Royal Birkdale and there's no reason he can't fire a three-under 67 to take the lead.

Fowler should be prepared for a strong opening round. He may have problems on Saturday or Sunday, but look for Fowler to get off to a good start with a 69.

Koepka should be at his best for the two weekend round, but don't be surprised if he fails to break par in the opening round. 

Johnson and McIlroy have both been struggling, and that may not turn around at Royal Birkdale. Johnson has not been sharp, and McIlroy has failed to make the cut in his last two European starts. It would be somewhat surprising if either player shot better than a three-over 73 in the opening round.

Keep your eye on Oosthuizen in this tournament. He should be in contention from start to finish and look for him to get started with an even par round of 70.