PGA Championship 2018: Tee Times Schedule and Predictions for Round 1 Groups
The opening round of the 2018 PGA Championship is littered with must-see groups in both the morning and afternoon sessions.
Tiger Woods is expected the steal the majority of the headlines from the opening set of tee times Thursday morning at Bellerive Country Club, and depending on how he performs, he could be the story of the round.
Playing in the morning session along with Woods, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy are the trio of Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama and Ian Poulter, as well as the threesome of Phil Mickelson, Jason Day and Keegan Bradley.
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The afternoon groups are led by the trio of 2018 major winners, while Dustin Johnson tees off with Bubba Watson and Adam Scott.
Not all of the marquee players will turn in successful cards at the end of Thursday's rounds, but those who do could set the standard for the rest of the week at Bellerive.
Thursday Tee Times
All Times ET
7:50 a.m.: Michael Block, Eddie Pepperell, Ryan Fox
7:55 a.m.*: Jamie Lovemark, Rich Berberian Jr., Shugo Imahira
8:01 a.m.: Austin Cook, Craig Hocknull, Alexander Bjork
8:06 a.m.*: Brandt Snedeker, Sean McCarty, Haotong Li
8:12 a.m.: Yusaku Miyazoto, Bob Sowards, Scott Brown
8:17 a.m.*: Jim Furyk, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele
8:23 a.m.: Rafa Cabrera Bello, Thomas Bjorn, James Hahn
8:28 a.m.*: Davis Love III, Martin Kaymer, Rich Beem
8:34 a.m.: Billy Horschel, Byeong Hun An, Shane Lowry
8:39 a.m.*: Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Ian Poulter
8:45 a.m.: Brian Harman, Yuta Ikeda, Adam Hadwin
8:50 a.m.*: Henrik Stenson, Danny Willett, Pat Perez
8:56 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Jimmy Walker, Vijay Singh
9:01 a.m.:* Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
9:07 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Andy Sullivan, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
9:12 a.m.*: Shubhankar Sharma, Jordan Smith, Scott Piercy
9:18 a.m.: Ryan Armour, Cameron Smith, Peter Uihlein
9:23 a.m.*: Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy
9:29 a.m.: Paul Dunne, J.B. Holmes, Dylan Fritteli
9:34 a.m.*: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Webb Simpson, Jhonattan Vegas
9:40 a.m.: Charles Howell III, Jason Schmuhl, Brian Gay
9:45 a.m.*: Stewart Cink, Branden Grace, Ryan Moore
9:51 a.m.: David Muttitt, Ollie Schniederjans, Troy Merritt
9:56 a.m.*: Ross Fisher, Alexander Levy, Patton Kizzire
10:02 a.m.: Shawn Warren, Mikko Korhonen, J.J. Spaun
10:07 a.m.*: Julian Suri, Sungjae Im, Craig Bowden
1:15 p.m.*: Danny Balin, Chesson Hadley, Russell Henley
1:20 p.m.: Johan Kok, Brandon Stone, Whee Kim
1:26 p.m.*: Marty Jertson, Luke List, Kevin Chappell
1:31 p.m.: Matt Wallace, Matt Dobyns, Beau Hossler
1:37 p.m.*: Jaysen Hansen, Nick Watney, Kyle Stanley
1:42 p.m.: Chris Wood, Alex Noren, Matt Kuchar
1:48 p.m.*: Ted Potter Jr., Emiliano Grillo, Jorge Campillo
1:53 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott
1:59 p.m.*: Ryan Vermeer, Paul Broadhurst, John Daly
2:04 p.m.: Tommy Fleetwood, Satoshi Kodaira, Marc Leishman
2:10 p.m.*: Si Woo Kim, Brice Garrett, Tyrrell Hatton
2:15 p.m.: Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari
2:21 p.m.*: Y.E. Yang, Jason Dufner, Shaun Micheel
2:26 p.m.: Gary Woodland, Sergio Garcia, Kevin Kisner
2:32 p.m.*: Thorbjorn Olesen, Charl Schwartzel, Patrick Cantlay
2:37 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose
2:43 p.m.*: Brendan Steele, Adrian Otaegui, Kevin Na
2:48 p.m.: Aaron Wise, Paul Casey, Zach Johnson
2:54 p.m.*: Chez Reavie, Charley Hoffman, Russell Knox
2:59 p.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters, Bill Haas
3:05 p.m.*: Zach J. Johnson, Michael Kim, Seungsu Han
3:10 p.m.: Jason Kokrak, Joaquin Niemann, Daniel Berger
3:16 p.m.*: Brian Smock, Anirban Lahiri, Mike Lorenzo-Vera
3:21 p.m.: Omar Uresti, Justin Harding, Andrew Landry
3:27 p.m.*: Ben Kern, Chris Kirk, Ryuko Tokimatsu
3:32 p.m.: Matthew Borchert, Chris Stroud, Andrew Putnam
*Starts round on 10th hole
Predictions
Group Of 2018 Major Winners Struggles
Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari are grouped together in the traditional PGA Championship collection of the season's major winners.
Although each player has already displayed the skill needed to take home another title, none of them will leave Bellerive Country Club with the Wanamaker Trophy.
Since winning The Masters, Reed's experienced a mixed bag of results, with a trio of top-10 finishes, four final placings beneath the top 25 and one missed cut.
Reed doesn't enter the PGA Championship in good form either, as he missed the cut at the Travelers Championship and tied for 28th at The Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Outside of his fifth-place finish at Firestone a week ago, Koepka has struggled to be in contention for titles since the U.S. Open.
Koepka tied for 19th at the Travelers Championship, tied for 39th at The Open and missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open before rebounding at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Molinari, who is the most recent major champion, followed up his win at Carnoustie with a tie for 39th at Firestone, where he shot one round in the 60s.
Recent history isn't on the side of the trio either, as Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are the only golfers to win two majors in a season since 2009.
By taking all of that into account, it won't be a surprise if Reed, Koepka and Molinari struggle Thursday, which could put them out of contention if some of the favorites get off to fast starts.
McIlroy Produces Best Round Out Of Marquee Morning Group
The spotlight will shine bright on Thomas, Woods and McIlroy Thursday morning, as they set out to the course in the marquee threesome of the morning tee times.
Each of the high-profile golfers carries an impressive resume into Bellerive, with Woods garnering the most attention for his recent performances.
As he always is, Woods will be the most eye-catching member of the trio, which could help Thomas and McIlroy get off to strong starts.
It would be easy to pick Thomas as the most successful player from the group due to his win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but McIlroy must not be counted out.
Despite being without a major title since 2014, McIlroy's been in contention for the majority of the 15 tournaments since, and that trend could extend into Bellerive.
Since missing the cut at the U.S. Open, a tournament he's traditionally struggled at, McIlroy hasn't finished lower than 12th in four tournaments.
The key for McIlroy at Bellerive could be his driving, as the course is expected to reward the heavy hitters of the sport because it's dried up due to the heat in the St. Louis area.
McIlroy ranks first on the PGA Tour in driving distance and is sixth in scoring average. If he's able to capitalize on his driving Thursday, McIlroy could end up at, or near, the top of the leaderboard.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.
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