Phil Mickelson’s quest for the career grand slam will begin alongside the man that beat him last year at Merion.
Mickelson will play the first two rounds of the U.S. Open with defending champion Justin Rose as well as reigning U.S. Amateur champion, Matthew Fitzpatrick. After winning the Open Championship last July, this marks Mickelson’s first attempt to complete the career grand slam at the major that has eluded him the most – Lefty’s record six runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open began at Pinehurst in 1999 and include 2013, when he finished two shots behind Rose.
Mickelson, Rose and Fitzpatrick will begin on No. 10 at 7:51 a.m. ET Thursday.
A trio of young guns will play together at Pinehurst, as Jordan Spieth (age 20), Rickie Fowler (25) and Hideki Matsuyama (22) were announced as the second featured group by the USGA Friday. Spieth, who is currently No. 10 in the world, was a runner-up at the Masters in April and tied for fourth at The Players Championship after sharing the 54-hole lead. He’ll be joined by Fowler, who tied for 10th last year at Merion and tied for fifth earlier this year at Augusta National, and Matsuyama, who just notched his first career PGA Tour win at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday.
Spieth, Fowler and Fitzpatrick will get things underway at 8:13 a.m. Thursday off the 10th tee.
Other notable first-round groups include (all times ET):
7:18 a.m. (No. 1): Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker: Three of the best players still without a major. Day is making just his third start since February after battling a thumb injury, while Garcia is teeing it up for the first time since a knee injury forced him out of the BMW PGA Championship.
7:29 a.m. (No. 1): Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar, Lee Westwood: Another trio of marquee players that have yet to win a major. Stenson is one of only two players that will be able to supplant Adam Scott as world No. 1 should he win at Pinehurst.
7:40 a.m. (No. 1): Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell: This group consists of the winners of this event from 2010-2012. McIlroy remains in the spotlight after his highly-publicized breakup, but he’ll get to play the first two rounds alongside fellow Ulsterman McDowell.
8:02 a.m. (No. 10): Chris Kirk, Russell Henley, Brendon Todd: University of Georgia alums have had a banner season on the PGA Tour in 2013-14, and this group includes three Bulldogs that have already won. Kirk took the McGladrey Classic in November, while Henley won the Honda Classic and Todd claimed the HP Byron Nelson Championship last month.
1:03 p.m. (No. 1): Dustin Johnson, Jimmy Walker, Victor Dubuisson: Walker is the only player with three wins this season on the PGA Tour, and he’ll play alongside Johnson, who won in China in October. They’ll be joined by the Frenchman Dubuisson, whose short-game heroics nearly won him the WGC Match Play title in February.
1:03 p.m. (No. 10): Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas: Not exactly the most electric group out there. It’s been 11 years since Furyk claimed his U.S. Open title at Olympia Fields, while Stricker saw a good chance slip away last year at Merion. They’ll be joined Haas, who took home the FedEx Cup in 2011.
1:25 p.m. (No. 1): Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel: Along with Stenson, Watson is the only other player that can take the No. 1 ranking from Scott at Pinehurst, and they’ll get plenty of time together during the first two rounds. The group is rounded out by Schwartzel, the Masters champ from 2011.
1:47 p.m. (No. 1): Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer: This group brings together three of the last four PGA Championship winners, including good friends Dufner and Bradley. Kaymer returned to relevance last month when he won at TPC Sawgrass.
from Caddysview.com News http://ift.tt/Sgl4lP
