Rory McIlroy will begin his latest bid for a second US Open title on Thursday at 12:52 BST, with Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Aberg alongside him for the first two rounds at Shinnecock Hills in New York. The six-time major winner is back at the course where the championship last staged in 2018.
The tee time gives McIlroy an early place in a schedule that is packed with major names. Scottie Scheffler goes out at 13:14 with defending champion JJ Spaun, and if Scheffler wins this week he will become only the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam, the full set of the four majors that define the sport’s biggest prizes.
McIlroy won the US Open in 2011, and his return to this championship comes with the field arranged around several marquee pairings. Brooks Koepka, Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup are out at 12:30, Daniel Berger joins Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler at 12:41, and Patrick Reed, Andrew Novak and Kurt Kitayama follow McIlroy at 12:52.
That opening stretch shows how much weight sits on the first day at Shinnecock Hills. Aaron Rai is grouped with Collin Morikawa and Jason Day at 18:14, Matt Fitzpatrick shares 18:25 with Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland, and Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm tee off at 19:09. Robert MacIntyre is also set for 18:58, while Harris English, Adam Scott and Nick Taylor go at 13:03.
For McIlroy, the next step is simple enough: get through the first two rounds in the company of Fleetwood and Aberg and stay close enough to matter over the weekend. The question hanging over the first morning is whether the former champion can turn a familiar title chase into the start he needs, with Scheffler and the rest of the contenders already waiting in the same frame.
