by Tee times for the first two rounds of the 2023 U.S. Open came out on Monday afternoon. There are more than a few great groups, which makes sense as it’s, you know, the U.S. Open. Here are a few to keep a particularly close eye on.
All times PT (Thursday/Friday)
*10th tee start
7:40 a.m. / 1:10 p.m.* – Shane Lowry/Justin Thomas/Tommy Fleetwood – Since his come-from-behind victory at the 2022 PGA Championship, Justin Thomas has four straight finishes of T-37 or worse in majors. He hasn’t done much better in regular Tour events, and sits 78th on the FedEx Cup list heading into LACC. Hopefully getting out of the spotlight a little bit with two chummy lads in Lowry and Fleetwood will get some mojo going for the two-time major winner.
7:40 a.m.* / 1:10 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau/Francesco Molinari/Tyrrell Hatton – God bless Francesco. Bryson+Tyrrell is a very combustible pairing, especially at the U.S. Open.
8:13 a.m. / 1:43 p.m.* – Collin Morikawa/Max Homa/Scottie Scheffler – Homa is getting a lot of shine early in the week as an L.A. boy gunning for his first major title. It would be a storybook week to be sure, and he’s getting the Hollywood treatment with Morikawa and Scheffler. Scottie has a top-10 floor right now and Collin is being slept on (did you know he’s also from the L.A. area?) Max has the most to prove in the group, but don’t be surprised if all three wind up in the top 15 this week.
8:24 a.m. / 1:54 p.m.* – Denny McCarthy/Joel Dahmen/Adam Hadwin – Perhaps the three nicest players on the PGA Tour? This can’t be a coincidence. Dahmen is coming off a whirlwind week at Brookline last summer, McCarthy nearly won the Memorial, and Hadwin has had more press in the last 48 hours than he’s ever had in his life. Give them a follow if you’re out on the grounds this week.
What happens when you chirp @jessicahadwin on Twitter…
(Sorry @ahadwingolf) pic.twitter.com/1Vs6YqM70Q
— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) June 12, 2023
8:24 a.m.* / 1:54 p.m. – Xander Schauffele/Viktor Hovland/Jon Rahm – 10/10. No notes.
12:48 p.m. / – Luke List/Wilco Nienaber/Alejandro Del Rey – I’m not familiar with Mr. Del Rey’s game, but hopefully he can bomb it. Otherwise he’ll have a lot of alone time as List and Nienaber walk on by.
12:59 p.m.* / 7:29 a.m. – Phil Mickelson/Padraig Harrington/Keegan Bradley – I’m not saying Phil is going to play well, but if there were ever a grouping and a course that would allow him to feel comfortable enough to have one last run at a U.S. Open, it’s this threesome at LACC.
1:21 p.m.* / 8:02 a.m. – Cameron Smith/Sam Bennett/Matt Fitzpatrick – LACC lines up well for a lot of players, including both Smith and defending champion Fitzpatrick. Even more interesting is the off-course storyline: Fitzy has been very anti-LIV, while Cam jumped at the money last summer.
1:43 p.m.* / 8:13 a.m. – Tony Finau/Jordan Spieth/Patrick Cantlay – Three golfers with very different styles of play, but all of them figure to have a chance this week. LACC is a prime place for Spieth to make something out of nothing via miraculous recovery shots. If he survives whatever shaky nine hole stretch he’ll inevitably run into, we could see him land his fourth major title on Sunday.
1:54 p.m. / 8:24 a.m.* – Brooks Koepka/Hideki Matsuyama/Rory McIlroy – Brooksy has reemerged as the major championship alpha. If you don’t think he and Rory will get a little extra juice from being in the same group you’re out of your gourd.
1:54 p.m.* / 8:24 a.m. – Davis Thompson/Min Woo Lee/Justin Suh – Great group for the golf sickos out there. Suh is the eldest of the trio at the ripe old age of 26. Thompson and Lee are brilliant to watch off the tee, while Suh is a wizard around the greens.
