Louisville (United States) (AFP) – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will join fellow reigning major champions Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark for the first two rounds of the PGA Championship while second-ranked Rory McIlroy joins Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson.
Pairings were unveiled by the PGA of America on Tuesday for the first and second rounds at Valhalla on Thursday and Friday.
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Scheffler, who became a father for the first time last week, won his second Masters title last month and opens Thursday off the first tee at 2:13 p.m. (1813 GMT) alongside fellow Americans Harman, the 2023 British Open champion, and Clark, last year’s US Open winner.
Scheffler has won four of his past five starts, taking titles at Bay Hill, the Players Championship, the Masters and the Heritage before taking the past three weeks off for the arrival of his new son.
McIlroy goes off the 10th tee at 8:15 a.m. Thursday alongside two-time major winner Dustin Johnson and England’s Rose, the 2013 US Open champion.
Starting in the group ahead of McIlroy’s trio, 11 minutes earlier, will be 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, Australia’s Adam Scott, and American Keegan Bradley.
The group ahead of that features world number three Xander Schauffele, the reigning Olympic champion seeking his fist major victory after a runner-up effort to McIlroy last week at Quail Hollow.
Alongside Schauffele will be hometown favorite Justin Thomas and Sweden’s sixth-ranked Ludvig Aberg, the runner-up to Scheffler at last month’s Masters in his major debut.
Defending champion Brooks Koepka, a five-time major winner, will start two groups after McIlroy at 8:37 alongside ninth-ranked American Max Homa and three-time major winner Jordan Spieth, an American who can complete a career Grand Slam with a victory this week.
Teeing off between McIlroy’s group and Koepka’s group is the trio of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, Norway’s Viktor Hovland, and Australian Cam Smith.
Going off the first tee on Thursday at 2:02 p.m. in the group just ahead of Scheffler, Harman, and Clark will be Americans Rickie Fowler and Cam Young and Spain’s Jon Rahm, a two-time major winner.
Just ahead of that trio will be England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson.
© 2024 AFP
