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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – At the end of May, shortly after the Players' Championship, Rory McIlroy decided to rule out the creation of "supergroup" pairs at the start of golf tournaments. The Northern Irishman said that he understood the fans' interest in seeing a trio of high-level players compete Thursday and Friday – at the Players, there were McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, eight major titles between them. "I prefer to see Rickie and Phil and Tiger play on a Sunday rather than Thursday and two of them coming home," noted the quadruple winner, who was not as coincidental as the one who Returned to the Players.
Apparently, the R & A heard McIlroy's plea. When announced his trios for Thursday and Friday at the Open Championship there was no repeat of the open American pairs of Dustin Johnson / Thomas Tiger / Thomas and Phil Mickelson / McIlroy / Spieth. Instead, most of the world's top players were spread throughout the draw.
Namely: Only one band at Carnoustie won major titles: Darren Clarke, Bernhard Langer and Retief Goosen at 9:36 am local time on Thursday. And with this one, well, no one has won a major since 2011, so the "marquee" value is minimal.
In the meantime, only seven couples have two members with majors under their belt: 6:35, Sandy Lyle and Martin Kaymer; 9:58, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose; 10:20, Louis Oosthuizen and Patrick Reed; 12:31 pm Henrik Stenson and Jimmy Walker; 1:15 pm, Zach Johnson and Adam Scott; 2:48 pm, Padraig Harrington and Bubba Watson; and 3:32 pm Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley
LINK: Full starting times for Thursdays and Fridays at Carnoustie
In a handful of cases at Carnoustie there are two notable players, but in this case, the third member of the group is less well known. Best example: the couple of 10:09 Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler and Chris Wood. And in other cases, there is a big name playing in a certain darkness, like Phil Mickelson 's 8h03 group with Satoshi Kodaira and Rafa Cabrera Bello and the 13h37 band. Pairing Jason Day, Shota Akiyoshi and Li Haotong
That said, there are still some interesting bands to watch. Here are the seven that we are most intrigued by:
10:09: Jon Rahm, Ricky Fowler, Chris Wood
After his second place at the Masters in April, Fowler discussed how he finally felt that he was ready to win a major. He followed with a T-20 at the US Open and got in his ties now tuning with a T-6 last week at the Scottish Open. The Fowler game is in great shape, and as long as Rahm's temperament is not a distraction, he has a pair that can prepare him for a weekend at Carnoustie.
12:53 pm: Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman, Thorbjorn Olesen
McIlroy arrives at Carnoustie much quieter than at the Masters and US Open. Which could be a good thing. "Rory is clearly always dangerous," noted Justin Rose. "Probably even more dangerous at the minute because it's been a little quiet, I find that Rory is still silent for a moment, and then he'll get into gear." In addition, McIlroy had his wish in a duet that will not force him to feel compelled to make a show and thwart his partners Thursday and Friday. If he's fighting this week, it's on him
13:04: Dustin Johnson, Alex Noren, Charley Hoffman
Hoffman has been known to go down to solid starts at majors, and Noren plays well and wants to avenge himself for his poor performance in the big four. But all eyes will really be on Johnson. How can DJ bounce back after a disappointing end of the day at Shinnecock? And how is he trying to play on a golf course where he can potentially hit more than 400 yards on a handful of holes.
13h37: Jason Day, Shota Akiyoshi, Li Haotong
Here is an example of R & A perhaps extending the players a bit too thin (all due respect to Akiyoshi and Li). Does Day take his pairing as an insult, or does he use it as motivation?
3:10 pm: Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Shubhankar Sharma
Garcia's The story of Carnoustie brings its own intrigue. But one of the ultimate sensation players paired with one of DeChambeau's ultimate thinkers could create his own melodrama. And as a bonus, there is Sharma, who has her own cult after.
3:21 pm: Tiger Woods, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Knox Woods is returning to the Open for the first time since 2015 so no matter who was paired with it would be of interest. He and Matsuyama have played together at several events over the years, but it's interesting that this will be the first time Woods will be paired with Knox in a PGA tournament.
15h54: Jazz Janewattananond, Fabrizio Zanotti, Jordan Smith Yes, it is an honest trio that will play at the Open. Janewattananond ( above ) is a 22-year-old Thai who became pro at the age of 14 in 2010. He qualified for Carnoustie by his acting at SMBC Singapore . Zanotti, a 35-year-old Paraguayan, and Smith, a 25-year-old Englishman, were both in the top 30 of the European Tour race in Dubai in 2017. Is any of the three has a chance to win the week? Unlikely, but we had to find a way to work Janewattananond in a story at some point this week.
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