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 151st Open takes place at Royal Liverpool.
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.”
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 4:40 a.m. and sunset not until just shy of 10 p.m., the lengthy daylight allows all groups to tee off on the first hole, with tee times spread from as early as 6:30 a.m. to as late as 4:15 p.m. local time. It’s a wider separation than anything on the PGA Tour (which employs split tees at almost all its events).
Players will be competing in threesomes on Thursday and Friday at the Old Course. Official tee times have not been announced. Check back here closer to the start of the championship and we’ll have the tee times posted as soon as they go live.
An, Byeong Hun – OQS Scotland
Ancer, Abraham – Exemption Category 4
Ballester, Jose Luis – 23
Barker, Kyle – Final Qualifying West Lancashire
Barron, Haydn – OQS Australia
Bezuidenhout, Christiaan – OQS South Africa
Bradbury, Dan – OQS South Africa
Canizares, Alejandro – OQS Australia
Canter, Laurie – Final Qualifying Royal Porthcawl
Cantlay, Patrick – 3, 4, 12
Christensen, Tiger (a) – Final Qualifying West Lancashire
DeChambeau, Bryson – 3, 8
Detry, Thomas – Final Qualifying Royal Cinque Ports
Elvira, Nacho – OQS Denmark
Farr, Oliver – Final Qualifying Royal Porthcawl
Fernandez De Oliveira, Mateo (a) – 26
Fitzpatrick, Alex – Final Qualifying West Lancashire
Fitzpatrick, Matt – 4, 5, 8, 12
Fleetwood, Tommy – 3, 4, 5
Grace, Branden – Final Qualifying Royal Cinque Ports
Griffin, Ben – OQS Arnold Palmer
Hatton, Tyrrell – 4, 5, 6
Hillier, Daniel – OQS England
Hirata, Kensei – OQS Japan
Hodges, Lee – OQS Memorial
Hojgaard, Nicolai – OQS Scotland
Horschel, Billy – 4, 6, 12
Hovland, Viktor – 3, 4, 5, 12
Janewattananond, Jazz – Final Qualifying Royal Porthcawl
Jordan, Matthew – Final Qualifying West Lancashire
Kanaya, Takumi – OQS Japan
Kang, Kyungnam – OQS Korea
Kho, Taichi – OQS Hong Kong
Kim, Michael – OQS Wells Fargo
Koepka, Brooks – 4, 8, 10
Lee, Min Woo – OQS Australia
Lingmerth, David – OQS Scotland
Lowry, Shane – 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
Matsuyama, Hideki – 4, 9, 12
McCarthy, Denny – OQS Wells Fargo
McIlroy, Rory – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12
McKinney, Connor – Final Qualifying Dundonald Links
Mickelson, Phil – 1, 2, 10
Molinari, Francesco – 1, 2
Morikawa, Collin – 1, 2, 4, 10, 12
Mullinax, Trey – OQS Arnold Palmer
Nakajima, Keita – OQS Japan
Penge, Marco – Final Qualifying Dundonald Links
Putnam, Andrew – OQS Memorial
Rahm, Jon – 4, 5, 8, 9, 12
Riley, Davis – OQS Arnold Palmer
Robertson, Graeme – Final Qualifying Dundonald Links
Robinson Thompson, Brandon – Final Qualifying Royal Porthcawl
Rohwer, Martin – Final Qualifying Royal Cinque Ports
Rozner, Antoine – Final Qualifying Royal Cinque Ports
Samooja, Kalle – OQS Denmark
Schauffele, Xander – 4, 12
Scheffler, Scottie – 4, 9, 11, 12
Schenk, Adam – OQS Memorial
Schwartzel, Charl – Final Qualifying Royal Cinque Ports
Smith, Cameron – 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12
Smyth, Travis – OQS Hong Kong
Southgate, Matthew – Final Qualifying Royal Porthcawl
Spieth, Jordan – 1, 2, 3, 4, 12
Stewart, Michael – Final Qualifying Dundonald Links
Thomas, Justin – 4, 10, 11, 12
Todd, Brendon – OQS Wells Fargo
Valimaki, Sami – OQS South Africa
Wallace, Matt – Final Qualifying West Lancashire
Warren, Marc – OQS Denmark
Wiebe, Gunner – OQS England
Wilson, Oliver – OQS England
Yasumori, Kazuki – OQS Japan
Young, Cameron – 3, 4, 12
The following players are exempt but have not entered the Championship and will not participate at Royal Liverpool:
Hendry, Michael – OQS Hong Kong
Zalatoris, Will – 4, 5, 12
— Sam Bennett was initially exempt as the 2022 US Amateur Champion, but is no longer exempt after turning professional.
1: The Open Champions aged 60 or under on 23 July 2023
2: The Open Champions for 2012-2022
3: First 10 and anyone tying for 10th place in The 150th Open at St Andrews
4: The first 50 players on the OWGR for Week 21, 2023
5: First 30 in the Final Race to Dubai Rankings for 2022
6: BMW PGA Championship winners for 2019-2022
7: First 5 DP World Tour members and any DP World Tour members tying for 5th place, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai Rankings on completion of the 2023 BMW International Open
8: U.S. Open winners for 2018-2023
9: Masters winners for 2018-2023
10: PGA Championship winners for 2017-2023
11: Players Championship winners for 2021-2023
12: Top 30 players from the Final 2022 FedExCup Points List
13: First 5 PGA Tour members and any PGA Tour members tying for 5th place, not exempt in the top 20 of the PGA TOUR FedExCup Points List for 2023 on completion of the 2023 Travelers Championship
14: The 116th VISA Open de Argentina 2022 Champion
15: First and anyone tying for 1st place on the Final Order of Merit of the PGA Tour of Australasia for 2022-23
16: First and anyone tying for 1st place on the Final Order of Merit of the Sunshine Tour for 2022-23
17: Japan Open Champion for 2022
18: First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, on the Final Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2022
19: First and anyone tying for 1st place, not exempt in a cumulative money list taken from all official 2023 Japan Golf Tour events up to and including the 2023 Japan Tour Championship. Blank entries will be made on behalf of competitors qualifying in this category
20: Senior Open winner for 2022
21: British Amateur winner for 2023
22: U.S. Amateur winner for 2022
23: European Amateur winner for 2023
24: The Mark H McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Ranking) winner for 2022
25: The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner for 2022
26: Latin America Amateur Championship winner for 2023
27: Open Amateur Series winner 2023 (A new exemption added for elite amateur golfers, in which the player who accumulates the most points awarded by the World Amateur Golf Ranking in the St Andrews Links Trophy, The Amateur Championship and European Amateur Championship will earn a place in The Open).
OQS South Africa – Joburg Open
OQS Australia – Australian Open
OQS USA – Arnold Palmer Invitational
OQS Hong Kong – The World City Championship presented by the Hong Kong Golf Club
OQS USA – Wells Fargo Championship
OQS Japan – Mizuno Open
OQS USA – the Memorial Tournament
OQS Korea – KOLON Korea Open
OQS England – Betfred British Masters
OQS Denmark – Made in HimmerLand
OQS Scotland – Genesis Scottish Open
Final Qualifying – Dundonald Links
Final Qualifying – Royal Cinque Ports
Final Qualifying – Royal Porthcawl
Final Qualifying – West Lancashire
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.