The final major on the golfing calendar, The Open Championship, is upon us, as the world’s best golfers look to fight it out for the Claret Jug.
Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland awaits them. As does a raucous home crowd for 2025 Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who hopes to right the wrongs of his 2019 disaster in his home country.
There are some mouth-watering groupings for the first round of the championships, involving some of the biggest stars in golf. Here, we look at the top five groups to watch during the first two rounds of The Open Championship.
Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun, Jon Rahm
Round One Tee Time: 09:58
Round Two Tee Time: 14:59
The reigning Open champion, Xander Schauffele, has an early start in Northern Ireland and a tough opening group. These three players have five majors between them.
Schauffele had an immense 2024, winning the PGA Championship and The Open Championship, but hasn’t reached the same heights in 2025. He’ll want to put that right with a strong showing here.
JJ Spaun’s incredible US Open victory at Oakmont is fresh in the memory, as the American became a major winner for the first time. Can he ride that momentum at another challenging course?
Meanwhile, LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm is always a factor. He has two top-10 finishes at major championships in 2025 and a solid record at The Open Championship. The Spaniard will hope to go one better than his second-place finish in 2023.
Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa
Round One Tee time: 10:04
Round Two Tee Time: 15:10
The world number one, Scottie Scheffler, and reigning champion at Royal Portrush, Shane Lowry, go head-to-head at 10 am, joined by 2020 Open champion Collin Morikawa.
PGA Championship winner Scheffler will be keen to end 2025 with his fourth major title, and his first outside of the United States. Scheffler gave a thoughtful reflection on his career before the championship, but will be locked in come Thursday.
The last time The Open Championship came to Royal Portrush in 2019, Lowry won his only major. The Irishman looks to ride the crowd’s support and replicate that success in 2025.
Collin Morikawa, who won his first major at The Open Championship five years ago, hopes his first win of 2025 will come at Royal Portrush as he looks to claim the third major of his career.
Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Robert MacIntyre
Round One Tee Time: 14:48
Round Two Tee Time: 09:47
LIV Golf and YouTube star Bryson DeChambeau gets underway in the early afternoon, going for the third major of his career and his first outside of the US Open. Two golfers from the UK join the big-hitter.
Justin Rose hopes to do one better than his 2025 Masters finish, where he was beaten in a dramatic playoff hole by Rory McIlroy to finish second.
Robert MacIntyre arrives at Royal Portrush high on confidence after his last major performance. The Scot was in contention on the final day of the US Open, and will attempt to challenge again here.
Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland
Round One Tee time: 14:59
Round Two Tee Time: 09:58
Former world number one Jordan Spieth hopes to roll back the clock this weekend to claim his fourth major championship. He has been a consistent performer for much of the year with four top‑10 finishes, but is yet to challenge at a major.
Is it time that Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg proves that he is ready to take the final leap into stardom? He has impressed early in his young career, especially at the Masters where he has been in contention the last two years, but questions remain whether he can get the job done on the final day.
Viktor Hovland joins Spieth and Åberg. He has impressed in 2025, winning the Valspar Championship for his seventh PGA Tour title and finishing third at the US Open. Will he cap off a stellar year with a win in Northern Ireland?
Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas
Round One Tee Time: 15:10
Round Two Tee Time: 10:09
Get ready for the hometown roar on the first tee box in the mid-afternoon, as Rory McIlroy gets underway. The career grand slam winner is going for his second Open Championship here.
McIlroy missed the cut in 2019 at Royal Portrush, making a quadruple bogey on the opening hole. He says he’s mentally prepared for the fan pressure this weekend, however. Expect pandemonium in the stands if he gets off to a hot start.
Tommy Fleetwood still eyes his first PGA Tour win after his heartbreak at the Travellers Championship, hopes to go one better than 2019 when he came in second place behind Lowry. He brings good form into a course that suits his accurate driving off the tee.
Joining McIlroy and Fleetwood is two-time major winner Justin Thomas. Thomas won the RBC Heritage in April for his first win since 2022. He now has the opportunity for a second win of the year for his first Open Championship win.