By Stephanie Wei
The USGA released the US Open pairings on Friday afternoon (way to mess up my plan to start happy hour early). As some of you may know, the USGA enjoys putting together amusing pairings. In the past. Apparently this year they lost their sense of humor — unless I’m totally missing the joke behind some of the groups (which might be the case). Well, there are still the traditional obvious ones, which I’ve highlighted, along with my spin on a few. Don’t got me wrong, though, they’re still fantastic pairings. So, here they are and please feel free to top me or point out other connections. Enjoy!
Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk, Angel Cabrera — Past US Open Champions
Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby — Awesome Aussies
Matt Kuchar, Justin Leonard, Scott Verplank — Past US Amateur Champions
David Duval, Tom Lehman, Ben Curtis — Past British Open Champions
Sergio Garcia, Steve Stricker, Paul Casey — Best Players Never to Win a Major (Yet)
Nick Watney, Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes — Hey Brah, You See That Hot Chick?
Tom Watson, Ryo Ishikawa, Rory McIlroy — Two Kids and a Legend
Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Y.E. Yang — Tiger Nemeses
Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els — Three Damn Good Players
Stewart Cink, Ben An, Lucas Glover — A USGA Tradition Unlike Any Other: British Open, US Amateur and US Open reigning champions
Stuart Appleby, Rory Sabbatini, Stephen Ames — Is This the *** Group?
Ian Poulter, Yuta Ikeda, Henrik Stenson — My Eyes, My Eyes! Can’t Miss ‘Em
Alvaro Quiros, Ryan Moore, Michael Sim — Young Dudes That Don’t Suck
Andrew Putnam (a), Ty Tyron, Hugo Leon — In Need of a Big Break
Vijay Singh, Dustin Johnson, Davis Love III — At One Point the Longest Hitter on Tour (DJ is currently and Love and Singh were in their younger days. By the way, if I’m Davis — who is far too nice — I’d punch Vijay on the first tee for getting a free pass when Davis had to qualify with a similar career resume and didn’t play last year because he failed to qualify. You know, just saying.)
Here’s the tee sheet in full:
Thursday (June 17), hole #1; Friday (June 18), hole #10
7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Deane Pappas, South Africa; Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; Paul Sheehan, Australia
7:11 a.m. - 12:41 p.m. - Steve Marino, Tequesta, Fla.; Gregory Havret, France; Charles Warren, Greenville, S.C.
7:22 a.m. - 12:52 p.m. - Toru Taniguchi, Japan; Soren Hansen, Denmark; Edoardo Molinari, Italy
7:33 a.m. - 1:03 p.m. - Francesco Molinari, Italy; Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan
7:44 a.m. - 1:14 p.m. - Tim Clark, South Africa; K. J. Choi, Korea; Mike Weir, Canada
7:55 a.m. – 1:25 p.m. - Adam Scott, Australia; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Robert Allenby, Australia
8:06 a.m. - 1:36 p.m. - Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Justin Leonard, Dallas, Texas; Scott Verplank, Edmond, Okla.
8:17 a.m. - 1:47 p.m. - Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.; A-Byeong-Hun An, Korea; Lucas Glover, Simpsonville, S.C.
8:28 a.m. - 1:58 p.m. - Ian Poulter, England; Yuta Ikeda, Japan; Henrik Stenson, Sweden
8:39 a.m. - 2:09 p.m. Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Robert Karlsson, Sweden; David Toms, Shreveport, La.
8:50 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. - Jason Gore, Valencia, Calif.; Arjun Atwal, India; Jim Herman, Port St. Lucie, Fla.
9:01 a.m. – 2:31 p.m. - A-Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash.; Ty Tryon, Orlando, Fla.; Hugo Leon, Chile
9:12 a.m. - 2:42 p.m. - Kent Eger, Canada; A-Alex Martin, Liberty Twp., Ohio; Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass.
Thursday (June 17), hole #10; Friday (June 18), hole #1
7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Rafael Cabrera - Bello, Spain; John Mallinger, Long Beach, Calif.; Stephen Allan, Australia
7:11 a.m. - 12:41 p.m. - Mikko Ilonen, Finland; Derek Lamely, Ft. Myers, Fla.; James Morrison, England
7:22 a.m. - 12:52 p.m. - Brian Gay, Windermere, Fla.; Simon Khan, England; Bo Van Pelt, Tulsa, Okla.
7:33 a.m. - 1:03 p.m. - Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Luke Donald, England
7:44 a.m. - 1:14 p.m. - Retief Goosen, South Africa; Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Angel Cabrera, Argentina
7:55 a.m. – 1:25 p.m. - Stuart Appleby, Australia; Rory Sabbatini, South Africa; Stephen Ames, Canada
8:06 a.m. - 1:36p.m. - Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Padraig Harrington, Ireland; Y. E. Yang, Korea
8:17 a.m. - 1:47 p.m. - David Frost, South Africa; Kaname Yokoo, Japan; Eric Axley, Knoxville, Tenn.
8:28 a.m. - 1:58 p.m. - Nick Watney, Las Vegas, Nev.; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas; Ricky Barnes, Phoenix, Ariz.
8:39 a.m. – 2:09 p.m. - Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.; Thongchai Jaidee, Thailand; Ross McGowan, England
8:50 a.m. – 2:20 p.m. - Kevin Na, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; A-Ben Martin, Greenwood, S.C.; Matt Bettencourt, Greenville
9:01 a.m. – 2:31 p.m. - Craig Barlow, Henderson, Nev.; Kent Jones, Albuquerque, N.M.; Bobby Gates, The Woodlands, Texas
9:12 a.m. - 2:42 p.m. - Dan McCarthy, Syracuse, N.Y.; A-Joseph Bramlett, Saratoga, Calif.; Travis Hampshire, Tampa, Fla.
12:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. - Steve Wheatcroft, Jacksonville, Fla.; A-Morgan Hoffmann, Wyckoff, N.J.; Rikard Karlberg, Sweden
12:41 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Marc Leishman, Australia; Rafa Echenique, Argentina; John Rollins, Colleyville, Texas
12:52 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - Tbd, Far Hills, N.J.; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; Shaun Micheel, Collierville, Tenn.
1:03 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - David Duval, Cherry Hills Village, Colo.; Tom Lehman, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Ben Curtis, Stow, Ohio
1:14 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. - Sergio Garcia, Spain; Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Paul Casey, England
1:25 p.m. – 7:55 a.m. - Bob Estes, Abilene, Texas; Brendon De Jonge, Zimbabwe; Brian Davis, England
1:36 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Lee Westwood, England; Ernie Els, South Africa; Tiger Woods, Windermere, Fla.
1:47 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - Ben Crane, Westlake, Texas; Peter Hanson, Sweden; Jerry Kelly, Madison, Wis.
1:58 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Martin Kaymer, Germany; Sean O’Hair, West Chester, Pa.; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa
2:09 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Heath Slocum, Alpharetta, Ga.; Oliver Wilson, England; John Senden, Australia
2:20 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Mathias Gronberg, Sweden; Azuma Yano, Japan; Harrison Frazar, Dallas, Texas
2:31 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - Jason Preeo, Highlands Ranch, Colo.; A-Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla.; Mark Silvers, Savannah, Ga.
2:42 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - Kenny Kim, Korea; A-Bennett Blakeman, Burr Ridge, Ill.; Blaine Peffley, Lebanon, Pa.
Thursday (June 17), hole #10; Friday (June 18), hole #1
12:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. - Terry Pilkadaris, Australia; Rich Barcelo, Reno, Nev.; Gary Boyd, England
12:41 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Jean-Francois Lucquin, France; Chris Stroud, Houston, Texas; Gareth Maybin, Northern Ireland
12:52 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - Simon Dyson, England; J. J. Henry, Fort Worth, Texas; Alex Cejka, Czech Republic
1:03 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - Michael Campbell, New Zealand; Seung Yul Noh, Korea; Paul Goydos, Coto De Caza, Calif.
1:14 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. - Aaron Baddeley, Australia; Pablo Martin, Spain; Rhys Davies, Wales
1:25 p.m. – 7:55 a.m. - Alvaro Quiros, Spain; Ryan Moore, Spanaway, Wash.; Michael Sim, Australia
1:36 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Vijay Singh, Fiji; Dustin Johnson, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.
1:47 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Tom Watson, Stillwell, Kan.
1:58 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Kenny Perry, Franklin, Ky.; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain; Fred Funk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
2:09 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Ross Fisher, England; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa
2:20 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Daniel Summerhays, Farmington, Utah; A-Scott Langley, St. Louis, Mo.; Matthew Richardson, England
2:31 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - Erik Compton, Coral Gables, Fla.; A-Russell Henley, Macon, Ga.; Jason Allred, Scottsdale, Ariz.
2:42 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - Erick Justesen, Sacramento, Calif.; Jerry Smith, Oskaloosa, Iowa; A-Hudson Swafford, Tallahassee, Fla.