The organizers of the Open Championship, the fourth and final major of the season, which kicks off this Thursday at Royal Portrush, announced the groups and tee times for the first two rounds of the prestigious tournament at noon today. The schedule pits Spain’s Jon Rahm, one of the favorites to lift the Claret Jug, against two major winners in what promises to be a thrilling match.
The player from Barrika will share the first two rounds with Xander Schauffele, winner of last year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship, who is defending his title, and J.J. Spaun, the surprising and brilliant champion of last month’s US Open. His first round of the competition will start at 10:58 a.m. in the morning session, one of the most closely watched timeslots.
Right after Jon’s group, at 11:09 a.m. (Spanish peninsular time), the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, will play alongside Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy, another of the big contenders for the title, will be in the afternoon session at 4:10 p.m. alongside Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, just after the big matches featuring Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, and Justin Rose (3:48 p.m.) and Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, and Viktor Hovland (3:59 p.m.).
The other two Spaniards in this Open Championship will also play in the afternoon. Sergio García will tee off at 1:20 p.m. alongside Laurie Canter and Elvis Smylie, while Ángel Hidalgo will tee off at 2:15 p.m. alongside Matt McCarty and Shaun Norris. It’s an exciting schedule as players seek to be crowned with the Claret Jug and close out the 2025 major championship season.
