European Tour Members Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera will have World Number One and defending champion Tiger Woods for company when the 2009 US Open Championship tees off at Bethpage State Park in New York State next week.
The current holders of all four Major Championship trophies form the undoubted marquee grouping of the first two rounds, the stellar three ball starting their first round at 8.06am local time on Thursday June 18 and following that at 1.36pm for round two the following day.
On the other side of the draw at 1.36pm on Thursday and 8.06am on Friday, all American eyes will be on World Number Two Phil Mickelson who begins his quest for his first US Open title in the company of two South Africans who know precisely what it takes to get their hands on the gleaming trophy; 1994 and 1997 champion Ernie Els alongside the 2001 and 2004 winner Retief Goosen.
Woods triumphed last year after an 18 hole play-off with fellow countryman Rocco Mediate, both men finishing a shot ahead of Lee Westwood who produced his best showing in a US Open in nine attempts.
The 36 year old Englishman is back to try his luck once again and begins his quest for his first Major Championship shortly after Cabrera, Harrington and Woods on Thursday morning at 8.28am, in the company of former Masters Tournament winner Zach Johnson and Japan’s Shingo Katayama.
Elsewhere, other groupings to catch the eye are the 7.55am slot on Thursday featuring the current leader of The Race to Dubai, England’s Paul Casey, who starts out alongside the man in second place, Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy and Jim Furyk of America; while Sergio Garcia starts at 1.25pm in a group that will more than likely have a large female following featuring, as it does alongside the Spaniard, fellow pin-ups Camilo Villegas of Colombia and Australia’s Adam Scott.
Finally, language will not be a barrier in the 8.17am group which sees the Spanish speaking trio of Andres Romero, Eduardo Romero and Miguel Angel Jiménez play together, while there will certainly be a Gallic flair on offer at 2.09pm when the French trio of Thomas Levet, Jean-François Lucquin and Raphaël Jacquelin tee off.
Full draw
Thursday (June 18), hole 1; Friday (June 19), hole 10
7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - A-Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.; Bo Van Pelt, Tulsa, Okla.
7:11 a.m. - 12:41 p.m. - A-Drew Weaver, High Point, N.C.; Angelo Que, Philippines; Simon Khan, England
7:22 a.m. - 12:52 p.m. - David Horsey, England; John Mallinger, Long Beach, Calif.; Jose Manuel Lara, Spain
7:33 a.m. - 1:03 p.m. - Rory Sabbatini, South Africa; Martin Kaymer, Germany; Ryuji Imada, Japan
7:44 a.m. - 1:14 p.m. - Vijay Singh, Fiji; Jeev Milkha Singh, India; K.J. Choi, Korea
7:55 a.m. – 1:25 p.m. - Ian Poulter, England; Justin Leonard, Dallas, Texas; Robert Allenby, Australia
8:06 a.m. - 1:36 p.m. - Padraig Harrington, Ireland; Angel Cabrera, Argentina; Tiger Woods, Windermere, Fla.
8:17 a.m. - 1:47 p.m. - Ryan Moore, Spanaway, Wash.; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.; Eric Axley, Knoxville, Tenn.
8:28 a.m. - 1:58 p.m. - Lee Westwood, England; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Shingo Katayama, Japan
8:39 a.m. - 2:09 p.m. Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla.; Johan Edfors, Sweden; John Merrick, Modesto, Calif.
8:50 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. - Francesco Molinari, Italy; George McNeill, Fort Myers, Fla.; Simon Dyson, England
9:01 a.m. – 2:31 p.m. - A-Cameron Tringale, Laguna Niguel, Calif.; Sean Farren, Locust Valley, N.Y.; Andrew Parr, Canada
9:12 a.m. - 2:42 p.m. - A-Vaughn Snyder, Massillon, Ohio; Ryan Spears, Del City, Okla.; Michael Miles, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Thursday (June 18), hole 10; Friday (June 19), hole 1
7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. – J.P. Hayes, El Paso, Texas; Greg Kraft, Belleair, Fla.; Jeff Brehaut, Los Altos, Calif.
7:11 a.m. - 12:41 p.m. - A-Drew Kittleson, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Sangmoon Bae, Korea; Michael Sim, Australia
7:22 a.m. - 12:52 p.m. - Heath Slocum, Alpharetta, Ga.; Charlie Wi, Korea; Richard Bland, England
7:33 a.m. - 1:03 p.m. - Ben Curtis, Stow, Ohio; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; Chad Campbell, Andrews, Texas
7:44 a.m. - 1:14 p.m. - Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Andrew Svoboda, Larchmont, N.Y.; Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.
7:55 a.m. – 1:25 p.m. - Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Paul Casey, England
8:06 a.m. - 1:36p.m. - Luke Donald, England; Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Tim Clark, South Africa
8:17 a.m. - 1:47 p.m. - Andres Romero, Argentina; Eduardo Romero, Argentina; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain
8:28 a.m. - 1:58 p.m. - Michael Campbell, New Zealand; Boo Weekley, Jay, Fla.; Rod Pampling, Australia
8:39 a.m. – 2:09 p.m. Kevin Sutherland, Sacramento, Calif.; Dudley Hart, Buffalo, N.Y.; Ken Duke, Palm City, Fla.
8:50 a.m. – 2:20 p.m. - A-Bronson Burgoon, The Woodlands, Texas; Craig Bowden, Bloomington, Ind.; Chris Kirk, Sea Island, Ga.
9:01 a.m. – 2:31 p.m. - A-Ben Martin, Greenwood, S.C.; Josh McCumber, Tampa, Fla.; Kevin Silva, New Bedford, Mass.
9:12 a.m. - 2:42 p.m. - A-Josh Brock, Wilmington, N.C.; Trevor Murphy, St Johnsbury, Vt.; Nathan Tyler, Tucson, Ariz.
Thursday (June 18), hole 1; Friday (June 19), hole 10
12:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. - James Nitties, Australia; Peter Tomasulo, Long Beach, Calif.; Martin Laird, Scotland
12:41 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - David Smail, New Zealand; Cameron Beckman, San Antonio, Texas; Steve Allan, Australia
12:52 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. – J.J. Henry, Fort Worth, Texas; Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Spain; Briny Baird, Palm City, Fla.
1:03 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - A-Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash.; Lucas Glover, Greenville, S.C.; D J. Trahan, Mt Pleasant, S.C.
1:14 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. – J.B. Holmes, Campbellsville, Ky.; Alvaro Quiros, Spain; Nick Watney, Las Vegas, Nev.
1:25 p.m. – 7:55 a.m. - Sergio Garcia, Spain; Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Adam Scott, Australia
1:36 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Justin Rose, England; Sean O'Hair, West Chester, Pa.; Ross Fisher, England
1:47 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. Rocco Mediate, Los Angeles, Calif.; Kenny Perry, Franklin, Ky.; Tom Lehman, Scottsdale, Ariz.
1:58 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Hunter Mahan, Plano, Texas; Oliver Wilson, England; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.
2:09 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Billy Mayfair, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Matt Kuchar, Atlanta, Ga.; Ricky Barnes, Phoenix, Ariz.
2:20 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Darron Stiles, Pinehurst, N.C.; Shintaro Kai, Japan; Matthew Jones, Australia
2:31 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - A-Tyson Alexander, Gainesville, Fla.; Charlie Beljan, Mesa, Ariz.; Ryan Blaum, Coral Gables, Fla.
2:42 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - A-Matt Nagy, Buena Vista, Ga.; Shawn Stefani, Baytown, Texas; Douglas Batty, New Zealand
Thursday (June 18), hole 10; Friday (June 19), hole 1
12:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. - Matt Bettencourt, Greenville, S.C.; James Kamte, South Africa; Kaname Yokoo, Japan
12:41 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - A-Nick Taylor, Canada; Scott Gutschewski, Omaha, Neb.; Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.
12:52 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Azuma Yano, Japan; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa
1:03 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - David Duval, Cherry Hills Village, Colo.; David Toms, Shreveport, La.; Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland
1:14 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. - Anthony Kim, Los Angeles, Calif.; Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Dustin Johnson, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
1:25 p.m. – 7:55 a.m. - Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Soren Hansen, Denmark; Peter Hanson, Sweden
1:36 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Retief Goosen, South Africa; Ernie Els, South Africa; Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
1:47 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. Stuart Appleby, Australia; Fred Funk, Ponte Vedra, Fla.; Todd Hamilton, Westlake, Texas
1:58 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Mike Weir, Canada; Stephen Ames, Canada; Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.
2:09 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Thomas Levet, France; Jean-Francois Lucquin, France; Raphael Jacquelin, France
2:20 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Andrew McLardy, South Africa; Chris Stroud, Houston, Texas; TBD, Far Hills, N.J.
2:31 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - A-Clark Klaasen, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Colby Beckstrom, Muskegon, Mich.; Cameron Yancey, Blackstone, Va.
2:42 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - A-Kyle Peterman, Springfield, Ill.; Michael Welch, Quincy, Mass.; Cortland Lowe, Augusta, Ga.
