Laurence Donegon
Unable to contain itself, the USGA has announced the pairings for the opening two days of US Open a week in advance. For reasons unknown, it has abandoned the idea of putting the top three ranked players in the world out together - a pity, because that would have meant Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey playing against each other on Thursday and Friday.
Instead, Woods will play with Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera; Mickelson with Ernie Els and Retief Goosen; and Casey with his pal Geoff Ogilvy and Jim Furyk.
Vijay Singh will be in the same group with Jeev Milkha Singh. Players often say they're in jail when they find themselves in trouble on the golf course, so this will at least sound like it.
U.S. Senior Open champion Eduardo Romero will be playing with Andres Romero, both from Argentina, not related. The USGA was able to mix-and-match with the grouping of Soren Kjeldsen, Soren Hansen and Peter Hanson.
The pairings in full:
Pairings for Rounds 1 and 2 of the U.S. Open, to be played June 18-21 at Bethpage State Park (Black) in Farmingdale, N.Y.:
Thursday: No. 1; Friday: No. 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, South Korea.
7:55 a.m.-1:25 p.m. – Ian Poulter, England; Justin Leonard, Dallas; 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.
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; 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.; DJ Trahan, Mount Pleasant, S.C.
1:14 p.m.-7:44 a.m. – J B Holmes, Campbellsville, Ky.; Alvaro Quiros, Spain; Nick Watney, Las Vegas.
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; 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; Ricky Barnes, Phoenix.
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: No. 10; Friday: No. 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, South Korea; Michael Sim, Australia.
7:22 a.m.-12:52 p.m. – Heath Slocum, Alpharetta, Ga.; Charlie Wi, South 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; Robert Karlsson, Sweden; 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.-1:36 p.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.
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; 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; To be determined.
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.
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