BY AAGD STAFF
July 15, 2019
Striking the first ball on the Dunluce Course at the 2019 British Open will be Darren Clarke, winner of the 2011 tournament and a local favorite in the host city. Tiger Woods is also among the 148th event competitors who will be playing in this oldest championship in golf on Thursday at Royal Portrush.
Woods’ tee time will follow more than eight hours after Clarke kicks off the proceedings. Woods, a Three-time Claret Jug winner was victorious in the Open in 2000, 2005 and 2006. The former world #1 steps up to the tee at 10:10 a.m. ET (3:10 p.m. local time) and will play alongside Patrick Reed and Matthew Wallace. Woods, who played an 18-hole practice round with Reed on Sunday, played another 18 holes Monday with Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
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The real action will start on Thursday when Woods will hit his first shot in competition since finishing in a tie for 21st in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach more than a month ago. Loyal fans will certainly know that this tournament makes only the second time this year in which Woods has competed in a major tournament, following a major tournament, without participating a prep tournament. So, many wonder how this will impact his game.
After winning the Masters (his 15th major) earlier this year, Woods gained his fifth green jacket. After that, he did not play for more than a month. He also missed the cut in the PGA Championship. So, is he doing too much, too soon?
“I do the same thing,” he said to GolfWeek.com. “I start from the green back. I putt, chip, pitch, short irons, mid-irons, long irons, woods. And then eventually play. Nothing has changed. The only difference is that there are certain days I can do a little more than others.”
Clarke’s tee time is at 1:35 a.m. ET.
Defending champion Francesco Molinari tees off at 4:58 a.m. ET alongside Scott and Bryson DeChambeau.
Following that group at 5:09 a.m. ET is Rory McIlroy, who set the course record of 61 when he was 16. McIlroy will be joined by reigning U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and Paul Casey.
At 5:20 a.m. ET, Fowler tees off with Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama.
World No. 1 Brooks Koepka, who has won three of the last six majors and finished second in two others, is out with 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and Shubhankar Sharma at 8:04 a.m. ET.
Johnson, the world No. 2, is playing with Jason Day and Keegan Bradley at 9:59 a.m. ET.
The last group – Gunn Charoenkul, Yosuke Asaji and Ashton Turner – is off at 11:16 a.m. ET, nearly 10 hours after the first group starts.
