British Open 2023: Best groupings and tee times for The Open

Just a couple more sleeps until The Open.

First- and second-round groupings and starting times were released Tuesday morning, meaning those watching the action, whether from home or at Royal Liverpool, can plan accordingly.

What groupings stand out? Here is a list of the 10 best, ranked:

10. Sahith Theegala, Emiliano Grillo, Dustin Johnson – 8:37 a.m. ET
Theegala isn’t in top form, but his style of play is so fun to watch on links. Grillo has flashed in this major before, owning a pair of T-12s. Johnson is stuck in the middle of the tee sheet, but don’t be surprised to see him get off to a hot start as he’s top-10’d in two straight Opens.

9. Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, Justin Thomas – 9:48 a.m. ET
Hovland put himself in position to win the claret jug last year at St. Andrews before faltering on Sunday. Finau’s Open record is strong as he’s never finished worse than T-28 in six starts. The same can’t be said of Thomas, who also is struggling mightily at the moment.

8. Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott – 4:47 a.m. ET
There’s nobody on the planet who has played better than Scheffler this year. Fleetwood will have the home crowd behind him. Scott will be trying to bounce back from his missed cut at LACC.

7. Cameron Young, Si Woo Kim, Bryson DeChambeau – 5:20 a.m. ET
Will be entertaining to watch Young and DeChambeau bomb it around if they are firing. Kim’s ball-striking can hang, too.

6. Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton – 10:10 a.m. ET
Two Cal Bears and a grizzly. We kid, of course. Even Morikawa said Tuesday that Hatton is one of his favorite players to play with. All three have a chance to win this week.

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5. Shane Lowry, Rickie Fowler, Robert MacIntyre – 5:09 a.m. ET
How fun was watching Big Shot Bob on Sunday at the Scottish? Plenty of Scots and Irish following this group, and you can bet they’ll all also be rooting for Fowler, whose resurgence has been so good for the sport.

4. Jordan Spieth, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jason Day – 4:03 a.m. ET
Regardless of which Spieth shows up, he’s must-see TV. Fitzpatrick and Day have struggled of late, but both have intriguing skillsets when it comes to The Open.

3. Cameron Smith, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark – 4:58 a.m. ET
The reigning champ is a favorite of many this week while Schauffele is probably still kicking himself for the way he backed up his opening 62 at LACC. Clark had a magical U.S. Open, and now he gets to showcase his all-around game on one of the oldest seaside courses in the world.

2. Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama – 4:36 a.m. ET
It’s not J.B. Holmes, but Koepka can’t be happy with the expected pace of play here.

1. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose – 9:59 a.m. ET
McIlroy is letting his clubs do the talking and boy did they talk at the Scottish. More of those flighted 2-irons please! Also interested to see if Rahm can regain the form he had at the start of the year, and Rose should bounce back from a disastrous U.S. Open.