Rory McIlroy avoids LIV Golf stars as he begins his bid for major glory at The Open alongside Jon Rahm and Justin Rose at Royal Liverpool on Thursday
- McIlroy is hoping to end his nine-year major drought at Hoylake this weekend
- He arrives on form after claiming the Scottish Open with a brilliant performance
- McIlroy has been partner with Masters Champion Jon Rahm and Justin Rose
Rory McIlroy has avoided being paired with LIV Golf stars, after tee times for the first day of action at The Open were confirmed.
The 34-year-old, who won The Open the last time it was held at Hoylake in 2014, will look to follow on from his Scottish Open success and end his nine-year major drought.
He has been grouped alongside Masters champion Jon Rahm and former World No 1 Justin Rose, for the opening two rounds of the 151st edition of The Open.
Fans will have a wait to see McIlroy in action on Thursday, as he will tee off at 2.59pm – before an earlier 9.58am start on Friday.
Cameron Smith is the defending champion, and he has been placed on the opposite side of the draw alongside US Open winner Wyndham Clarke and Xander Schauffele.
Rory McIlroy has been paired with Justin Rose and Jon Rahm for the start of The Open
McIlroy has been partnered with Justin Rose (left) and Jon Rahm (right) in the opening two rounds
McIlroy will be hoping to repeat his success at Hoylake from the 2014 Open Championship
Among other notable players involved, World No 1 Scottie Scheffler is in the group before that of Smith – alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Adam Scott.
LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka also has a morning tee time alongside World No 4 Patrick Cantlay and Hideki Katsuyama.
Jordan Spieth meanwhile has been put with Matt Fitzpatrick and Jason Day.
Phil Mickelson is out at 3.23pm along with Nick Taylor and Adam Schenk, and Bryson DeChambeau is with Cameron Young and Kim Si-woo at 10.20am.
McIlroy has enjoyed the ideal preparation as he bids to end his long major drought this weekend.
He travelled to Hoylake on Sunday afternoon, after winning the Scottish Open in style – defying strong winds to birdie the final two holes and edge out home favourite Robert MacIntyre by a solitary shot.
‘I could not ask for better preparation,’ he told BBC Sport NI. ‘The way I played the last two holes (in Scotland) was an amazing finish and a perfect way to come into this week.
‘I’ve had a great nine years and won a lot of tournaments but the big four have eluded me. Hopefully this week that’s something I can change.
‘It’s nice to be back here. It’s not like I think about it all that often so it’s nice to come back and re-familiarise myself with the course. It’s nice to come back to a major venue you’ve won on, but it also makes you feel a bit old.’
The action gets underway on Thursday at 6.35am, and the final players are to tee off at 4.16pm.
