Jon Rahm will play in one of the feature groups of the first two rounds at Royal Birkdale alongside local hero Tommy Fleetwood and Jordan Spieth, the champion of The Open at this very course in 2017. Josele Ballester, Ángel Ayora, David Puig, Álex de Castro and Eugenio Chacarra complete the Spanish representation with high-profile groups
Tee times are already set for the start of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where the competition will begin on Thursday 16 July and conclude on Sunday 19. It will be the eleventh time that the links at Southport host the British
The Spanish story has one name above the rest: Jon Rahm. As is often the case. The man from Barrika will tee off in one of the strongest groups of the first two rounds alongside Tommy Fleetwood, born in Southport and therefore one of the main local attractions of the week, and Jordan Spieth, winner of the last Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017. On Thursday they will play at 11:09 and on Friday at 16:15, always in Spanish mainland time
All Thursday and Friday groups, as is tradition at The Open, will tee off from the 1st tee and in threes. The times have been converted to Spanish mainland time, that is, one hour ahead
Spanish players’ tee times at The Open
| Player | Thursday | Friday | Playing partners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josele Ballester | 09:14 | 14:20 | Hennie du Plessis and Dan Bradbury |
| Ángel Ayora | 09:25 | 14:31 | Victor Perez and Mateo Pulcini |
| Jon Rahm | 11:09 | 16:15 | Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood |
| David Puig | 11:31 | 16:37 | Ryan Gerard and Maverick McNealy |
| Álex de Castro | 12:15 | 17:21 | Jeongwoo Ham and Ryutaro Nagano |
| Eugenio Chacarra | 12:52 | 07:46 | Matt Wallace and Max Greyserman |
The first Spanish day will be concentrated in the morning. Josele Ballester will be the first of our players to tee off, at 09:14, just eleven minutes before Ángel Ayora, who will play with Victor Perez and amateur Mateo Pulcini. After that will come Rahm’s big match, followed by two very close tee times with David Puig, at 11:31, and Álex de Castro, at 12:15. The Spanish Thursday slot will close with Eugenio Chacarra, at 12:52. Chacarra and Puig also have high-profile groups with prominent PGA Tour players
Friday will change the pattern. Chacarra will be the early starter, teeing off at 07:46, while the rest of the Spanish players will feature in the afternoon. Josele will tee off at 14:20, Ayora at 14:31, Rahm at 16:15, Puig at 16:37 and De Castro at 17:21. In other words, a long second day to follow all the Spaniards, from first thing until the evening
Rahm’s group has all the ingredients. Fleetwood will have an obvious emotional connection with Royal Birkdale and Spieth returns to the scene where he lifted the Claret Jug in 2017 after one of the most memorable final rounds in the recent history of The Open. For Rahm, there will be no half-minute of anonymity: two days in an important group, large crowds and a big test on the links. Nothing that will frighten the man from Barrika or that he is not used to
There are also other heavyweight groups in the first two rounds. Scottie Scheffler will play with Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau, while Rory McIlroy will share a group with Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick
