TROON, Scotland — Like just about everything else with the British Open, there is something singularly distinct regarding tee times at golf’s oldest major. It’s not so much who the R&A pairs with whom that holds people’s curiosities, as is the case with the cheeky-themed threesomes the USGA often puts together at the U.S. Open. Rather, it’s the anticipation of when your name appears on the starter’s sheet and whether that means you’re on the “good” or “bad” side of the draw. And so it will be again this week when the 152nd British Open Championship takes place at Royal Troon.
Indeed, unlike any other men’s major, where you’re placed in order of things at the Open—and how that fits into mother nature’s divine plans—plays an overly large role in a players’ chances of having a successful week, or seeing themselves packing their backs a few days early.
Case in point: 2010, when the R&A visited St. Andrews. The golfers who teed off in the morning during Friday’s second round at the Old Course played in calm conditions, eventual winner Louis Oosthuizen shooting a 67. Those who teed off in the afternoon, however, played in blustery winds and rain squalls. Rory McIlroy, after an opening-round 63, shot a second-round 80 to all but end his hopes of victory just 36 holes into the championship.
“When you feel like you're playing well and you get the wrong side of the draw and you feel like the best you can finish is 10th, it's a bitter pill to swallow,” McIlroy said in 2017. “But you have to realize in a 25- or 30-year career, you're going to get some years that you're on the good side of the draw.”
MORE: Everything you need to know about this year’s British Open
Indeed, the reason this is so central to how things play out at the Open is because of the mechanics of tee times themselves in the major. With sunrise at around 5 a.m. and sunset not until shortly after 10 p.m., the lengthy daylight allows all groups to tee off on the first hole, with tee times spread from 6:35 a.m. to 4:27 p.m. local time. It’s a wider separation than anything on the PGA Tour (which employs split tees at almost all its events).
With that, let's have a look at what the R&A has in store for the first two round at Royal Troon.
More British Open Preview Coverage
British Open 2024: The 5 holes that will decide who wins at Royal Troon
Viewer's Guide
British Open 2024: How to watch, TV times, streaming options, featured coverage from Royal Troon
Media handling
How Brian Harman—aka the 'Butcher of Hoylake'—beat the British tabloids
First Round/Thursday (all times EDT)
1:35 a.m. -- Justin Leonard, Todd Hamilton, Jack McDonald
1:46 a.m. -- Tom McKibbin, Alex Noren, Calum Scott (a)
1:57 a.m. -- Jesper Svensson, Vincent Norrman, Michael Hendry
2:08 a.m. -- Younghan Song, Daniel Hillier, Ryosuke Kinoshita
2:19 a.m. -- Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Abraham Ancer
2:30 a.m. -- Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Scott, Keita Nakajima
2:41 a.m. -- Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Jasper Stubbs (a)
2:52 a.m. -- Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, Matthew Southgate
3:03 a.m. -- Nick Taylor, Matt Wallace, Laurie Canter
3:14 a.m. -- Sebastian Soderberg, Matteo Manassero, Shubhankar Sharma
3:25 a.m. -- Zach Johnson, Austin Eckroat, Thorbjorn Olesen
3:36 a.m. -- John Daly, Santiago de la Fuente (a), Aaron Rai
3:47 a.m. -- Stewart Cink, Chris Kirk, Dominic Clemons (a)
4:03 a.m. -- Stephan Jaeger, Adam Schenk, Joaquin Niemann
4:14 a.m. -- Adam Hadwin, Lucas Glover, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
4:25 a.m. -- Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Matthieu Pavon
4:36 a.m. -- Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre
4:47 a.m. -- Ludvig Åberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim
4:58 a.m. -- Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala
More British Open Preview Coverage
Tiny Terror
British Open 2024: How hard can the 123-yard Postage Stamp really be? Our deep-dive explanation
British Open 2024
The claret jug over 152 years: Triumphs, dents, hijinks and lots of drinking
British Open Preview
The 2016 Open at Royal Troon: Best Duel Ever!
5:09 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton
5:20 a.m. -- Keegan Bradley, Will Zalatoris, Gordon Sargent (a)
5:31 a.m. -- Harris English, Maverick McNealy, Alexander Bjork
5:42 a.m. -- Guido Migliozzi, Sean Crocker, Tommy Morrison (a)
5:53 a.m. -- David Puig, John Catlin, Guntaek Koh
6:04 a.m. -- Thriston Lawrence, Daniel Bradbury, Elvis Smylie
6:15 a.m. -- Nacho Elvira, Minkyu Kim, Darren Fichardt
6:26 a.m. – Mason Andersen, Masahiro Kawamura, Sam Hutsby
6:47 a.m. -- Ewen Ferguson, Marcel Siem
6:58 a.m. -- CT Pan, Romain Langasque, Yuto Katsuragawa
7:09 a.m. -- Rikuya Hoshino, Angel Hidalgo, Richard Mansell
7:20 a.m. -- Corey Conners, Ryan Fox, Jorge Campillo
7:31 a.m. -- Ernie Els, Gary Woodland, Altin van der Merwe (a)
7:42 a.m. -- Henrik Stenson, Rasmus Hojgaard, Jacob Skov Olesen (a)
7:53 a.m. -- Louis Oosthuizen, Billy Horschel, Victor Perez
8:04 a.m. -- Sepp Straka, Brendon Todd, Jordan Smith
8:15 a.m. -- Denny McCarthy, Taylor Moore, Adrian Meronk
8:26 a.m. -- Jason Day, Byeong Hun An, Rickie Fowler
8:37 a.m. -- Alex Cejka, Eric Cole, Kurt Kitayama
8:48 a.m. -- Darren Clarke, JT Poston, Dean Burmester
9:04 a.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Joost Luiten, Dustin Johnson
9:15 a.m. -- Padraig Harrington, Davis Thompson, Matthew Jordan
9:26 a.m. -- Wyndham Clark, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka
9:37 a.m. -- Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay
9:48 a.m. -- Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Si Woo Kim
9:59 a.m. -- Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick
10:10 a.m. -- Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
10:21 a.m. -- Akshay Bhatia, Tom Hoge, Sami Valimaki
10:32 a.m. -- Emiliano Grillo, Ben Griffin, Mackenzie Hughes
10:43 a.m. -- Yannik Paul, Joe Dean, Andy Ogletree
10:54 a.m. -- Ryan van Velzen, Charlie Lindh, Luis Masaveu (a)
11:05 a.m. -- Kazuma Kobori, Jaime Montojo Fernandez (a), Liam Nolan (a)
11:16 a.m. -- Daniel Brown, Denwit David Boriboonsub, Matthew Dodd-Berry (a)
11:27 a.m. -- Jeunghun Wang (Kor), Aguri Iwasaki (Jpn), Sam Horsfield
SECOND ROUND/FRIDAY (all times EDT)
More British Open Preview Coverage
Ranking
British Open picks 2024: The 13 best bets to win at Royal Troon
No Further Questions
Rory McIlroy's media blowoff reignites a debate about obligation in the face of frustration
The best short par 3s in golf
More From Golf Digest
local knowledge
Is golf really Scottish?
Branded Content
The American Airlines AAdvantage® Program Elevates Your Golf Travels
Branded Content
Better Decisions and Signature Stories: Recapping Year One of the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5
1:35 a.m. -- Ewen Ferguson, Marcel Siem
1:46 a.m. -- CT Pan, Romain Langasque, Yuto Katsuragawa
1;57 a.m. -- Rikuya Hoshino, Angel Hidalgo, Richard Mansell
2:08 a.m. -- Corey Conners, Ryan Fox, Jorge Campillo
2:19 a.m. -- Ernie Els, Gary Woodland, Altin van der Merwe (a)
2:30 a.m. -- Henrik Stenson, Rasmus Hojgaard, Jacob Skov Olesen (a)
2:41 a.m. -- Louis Oosthuizen, Billy Horschel, Victor Perez
2:52 a.m. -- Sepp Straka, Brendon Todd, Jordan Smith
3:03 a.m. -- Denny McCarthy, Taylor Moore, Adrian Meronk
3:14 a.m. -- Jason Day, Byeong Hun An, Rickie Fowler
3:25 a.m. -- Alex Cejka, Eric Cole, Kurt Kitayama
3:36 a.m. -- Darren Clarke, JT Poston, Dean Burmester
3:47 a.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Joost Luiten, Dustin Johnson
4:03 a.m. -- Padraig Harrington, Davis Thompson, Matthew Jordan
4:14 a.m. -- Wyndham Clark, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka
4:25 a.m. -- Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay
4:36 a.m. -- Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Si Woo Kim
4:47 a.m. -- Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick
4:58 a.m. -- Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
5:09 a.m. -- Akshay Bhatia, Tom Hoge, Sami Valimaki
5:20 a.m. -- Emiliano Grillo, Ben Griffin, Mackenzie Hughes
5:31 a.m. -- Yannik Paul, Joe Dean, Andy Ogletree
5:42 a.m. -- Ryan van Velzen, Charlie Lindh, Luis Masaveu (a)
5:53 a.m. -- Kazuma Kobori, Jaime Montojo Fernandez (a), Liam Nolan (a)
6:04 a.m. -- Daniel Brown, Denwit David Boriboonsub, Matthew Dodd-Berry (a)
6:15 a.m. -- Jeunghun Wang, Aguri Iwasaki, Sam Horsfield
6:26 a.m. -- Justin Leonard, Todd Hamilton, Jack McDonald
6:47 a.m. -- Tom McKibbin, Alex Noren, Calum Scott (a)
6:58 a.m. -- Jesper Svensson, Vincent Norrman, Michael Hendry
7:09 a.m. -- Younghan Song, Daniel Hillier, Ryosuke Kinoshita
7:20 a.m. -- Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Abraham Ancer
7:31 a.m. -- Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Scott, Keita Nakajima
7:42 a.m. -- Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Jasper Stubbs (a)
7:53 a.m. -- Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, Matthew Southgate
8:04 a.m. -- Nick Taylor, Matt Wallace, Laurie Canter
8:15 a.m. -- Sebastian Soderberg, Matteo Manassero, Shubhankar Sharma
8:26 a.m. -- Zach Johnson, Austin Eckroat, Thorbjorn Olesen
8:37 a.m. -- John Daly, Santiago de la Fuente (a), Aaron Rai
8:48 a.m. -- Stewart Cink, Chris Kirk, Dominic Clemons (a)
9:04 a.m. -- Stephan Jaeger, Adam Schenk, Joaquin Niemann
9:15 a.m. -- Adam Hadwin, Lucas Glover, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
9:26 a.m. -- Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Matthieu Pavon
9:37 a.m. -- Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre
9:48 a.m. -- Ludvig Åberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim
9:59 a.m. -- Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala
10:10 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton
10:21 a.m. -- Keegan Bradley, Will Zalatoris, Gordon Sargent (a)
10:32 a.m. -- Harris English, Maverick McNealy, Alexander Bjork
10:43 a.m. -- Guido Migliozzi, Sean Crocker, Tommy Morrison (a)
10:54 a.m. -- David Puig, John Catlin, Guntaek Koh
11:05 a.m. -- Thriston Lawrence, Daniel Bradbury, Elvis Smylie
11:16 a.m. -- Nacho Elvira, Minkyu Kim, Darren Fichardt
11:27 a.m. – Mason Andersen, Masahiro Kawamura, Sam Hutsby
• • •
Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.