US Open 2011: USGA Has Fun with Opening-Round Groupings

The USGA has a longstanding, unmentioned, bit of fun with the grouping of competitors in the US Open.  One year they put three guys with mustaches together.  Another time, they were all winners of the Met Open. And they’ve even put three guys with long putters together.  This year is no different.  The categories are different, but the idea is the same.   

Let’s start with the Italians:  Francesco Molinari, Matteo Manassero, and Edoardo Molinari.  Or the Spanish:  Miguel Angel Jimenez, Sergio Garcia, and Alvaro Quiros.   Or the Swedes: Henrick Stenson, Johan Edfors, and Fredrik Jacobson. It could be suggested that this works in favor of each group, but there is also pressure to finish low Spaniard, low Italian or low Swede.    

There’s the Carolina Connection: Jonathan Byrd, Bill Haas, and Webb Simpson.

There’s the group that rhymes: Thomas Levet, Brian Gay, and Gregory Havret.  

Major winners: Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera, and Stewart Cink. Or Ernie Els, Davis Love III, and Jim Furyk.

How about a trio of Masters winners? Charl Schwartzel, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson.

There are the good putters, two of whom are major winners: Steve Stricker, Retief Goosen, and David Toms.  The same goes for Nick Watney, Lucas Glover and Geoff Ogilvy.

There’s the peacock group, clothing mavens all: Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter, for what they wear on the golf course along with Hunter Mahan who made recent news for his off-course attire at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

There are svelte guys with long hair: Camilo Villegas, Aaron Baddeley, and Brandt Snedeker.

There’s even the Three R’s:  Ryan Moore, Robert Allenby and Rory Sabbatini.  Who says the USGA doesn’t have a sense of humor?

It was disappointing not to see D.A. Points, K.J.Choi and Y.E.Yang together.  All of them going by initials?  The USGA really missed a golden opportunity there.

Finally, there are the long-hitting, crowd pleasers: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson.

However, there is always one traditional group: the US and British Open champions playing with the US Amateur champ. That is the case with the Thursday morning grouping of defending champion Graeme McDowell, US Amateur champion, Peter Uihlein, and Louis Oosthuizen. 

The organizers also took a page from the WGC Championship by putting the world No.1, 2 and 3 together: Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, and Martin Kaymer.   Will there be added tension in the group?  Obviously the outcome of the tournament affects the standings and who will be the Number One player in the world at the end of the week.

Just as with any tournament, there are several groups of star players one right after the other in the morning and afternoon rounds.  This gives those on site and the television audience groups to enjoy.  It also is easier for television production and for security purposes for the players.     

Thursday (June 16), hole 1; Friday (June 17), hole 10

7 a.m. - 12:40 p.m. - Daehyun Kim, Korea; Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Shane Lowry, Ireland

7:11 a.m. - 12:51 p.m. - Greg Chalmers, Australia; Kirk Triplett, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Tbd

7:22 a.m. - 1:02 p.m. - Marc Leishman, Australia; Alex Cejka, Czech Republic; Kevin Streelman, Scottsdale, Ariz.

7:33 a.m. - 1:13 p.m. - Fred Funk, Ponte Vedra, Fla.; A-David Chung, Fayetteville, N.C.; Michael Campbell, New Zealand

7:44 a.m. - 1:24 p.m. - Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Paul Casey, England; K.J. Choi, Korea

7:55 a.m. – 1:35 p.m. - Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; A-Peter Uihlein, Orlando, Fla.; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa

8:06 a.m. - 1:46 p.m. - Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Johan Edfors, Sweden; Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden

8:17 a.m. - 1:57 p.m. - Ernie Els, South Africa; Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.; Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

8:28 a.m. - 2:08 p.m. - Justin Rose, England; Tim Clark, South Africa; Jason Day, Australia

8:39 a.m. - 2:19 p.m. - Jeff Overton, Bloomington, Ind.; Ryan Palmer, Amarillo, Texas; Tbd

8:50 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. - Brandt Jobe, Westlake, Texas; Nick O'Hern, Australia; D.A. Points, Windermere, Fla.

9:01 a.m. – 2:41 p.m. - Christo Greyling, South Africa; Adam Hadwin, Canada; Joey Lamielle, Sarasota, Fla.

9:12 a.m. - 2:52 p.m. - Michael Tobiason Jr., Wilmington, Del.; Jesse Hutchins, Cincinnati, Ohio; Michael Smith, Lafayette, La.

Thursday (June 16), hole 10; Friday (June 17), hole 1

7 a.m - 12:40 p.m. - Chad Campbell, Andrews, Texas; Harrison Frazar, Dallas, Texas; Marc Turnesa, Jupiter, Fla.

7:11 a.m. - 12:51 p.m. - Justin Hicks, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.; Marcel Siem, Germany; Sunghoon Kang, Korea

7:22 a.m. - 1:02 p.m. - Thomas Levet, France; Brian Gay, Windemere, Fla.; Gregory Havret, France

7:33 a.m. - 1:13 p.m. - Heath Slocum, Alpharetta, Ga.; A-Russell Henley, Macon, Ga.; Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium

7:44 a.m. - 1:24 p.m. - Padraig Harrington, Ireland; Angel Cabrera, Argentina; Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.

7:55 a.m. – 1:35 p.m. - Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Anthony Kim, Los Angeles, Calif.; Y.E. Yang, Korea

8:06 a.m. - 1:46 p.m. - Luke Donald, England; Lee Westwood, England; Martin Kaymer, Germany

8:17 a.m. - 1:57 p.m. - Jonathan Byrd, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.

8:28 a.m. - 2:08 p.m. - Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla.; Adam Scott, Australia; Robert Karlsson, Sweden

8:39 a.m. – 2:19 p.m. - Sam Saunders, Orlando, Fla.; Tim Petrovic, Austin, Texas; Scott Piercy, Las Vegas, Nev.

8:50 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. - Matthew Edwards, Las Cruces, N.M.; A-Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill.; TBD

9:01 a.m. – 2:41 p.m. - Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla.; Adam Long, St. Louis, Mo.; A-Michael Barbosa, St. Petersburg, Fla.

9:12 a.m. - 2:52 p.m. - Michael Whitehead, Sugar Land, Texas; Will Wilcox, Ashville, Ala.; John Ellis, San Jose, Calif.

Thursday (June 16), hole 1; Friday (June 17), hole 10

12:40 p.m. – 7 a.m. - Ty Tryon, Orlando, Fla.; Maarten Lafeber, Netherlands; Scott Barr, Australia

12:51 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Geoffrey Sisk, Marshfield, Mass.; A-Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei; Matt Richardson, England

1:02 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - Bo Van Pelt, Jenks, Okla.; Kyung-Tae Kim, Korea; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.

1:13 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - Mark Wilson, Elmhurst, Ill.; Martin Laird, Scotland; Peter Hanson, Sweden

1:24 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. - Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Alvaro Quiros, Spain

1:35 p.m. – 7:55 a.m. - Francesco Molinari, Italy; Matteo Manassero, Italy; Edoardo Molinari, Italy

1:46 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan; Todd Hamilton, Westlake, Texas; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.

1:57 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Ian Poulter, England; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas

2:08 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Aaron Baddeley, Australia; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.

2:19 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Kevin Chappell, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Dohoon Kim, Korea; Robert Rock, England

2:30 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Jon Mills, Canada; Andreas Harto, Denmark; A-Scott Pinckney, Scottsdale, Ariz.

2:41 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - A-Steven Irwin, Arvada, Colo.; Ryan Nelson, Dickinson, Texas; Elliot Gealy, Salisbury, N.C.

2:52 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - Christopher Deforest, Cottekill, N.Y.; A-Chris Williams, Moscow, Idaho; Wes Heffernan, Canada

Thursday (June 16), hole 10; Friday (June 17), hole 1

12:40 p.m. – 7 a.m. - Alexandre Rocha, Windermere, Fla.; Andres Gonzales, Olympia, Wash.; Bubba Dickerson, Hilliard, Fla.

12:51 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Michael Putnam, Lakewood, Wash.; A-Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.; Robert Dinwiddie, England

1:02 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - John Senden, Australia; Robert Garrigus, Charleston, S.C.; Scott Hend, Australia

1:13 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.; Stephen Gallacher, Scotland; Seung Yul Noh, Korea

1:24 p.m. - 7:44 a.m.- Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Retief Goosen, South Africa; David Toms, Shreveport, La.

1:35 p.m. – 7:55 a.m.- Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.; Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

1:46 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

1:57 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - Nick Watney, Henderson, Nev.; Lucas Glover, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia

2:08 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Ryan Moore, Tacoma, Wash.; Robert Allenby, Australia; Rory Sabbatini, South Africa

2:19 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - David Howell, England; Kenichi Kuboya, Japan; Briny Baird, Palm City, Fla.

2:30 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Charley Hoffman, Las Vegas, Nev.; Alexander Noren, Sweden; Sangmoon Bae, Korea

2:41 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - A-Brett Patterson, McMinnville, Tenn.; Bennett Blakeman, Burr Ridge, Ill.; Brian Locke, Los Angeles, Calif.

2:52 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - Chris Wilson, Dublin, Ohio; David May, Auburn, N.Y.; A-Beau Hossler, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.