Rory McIlroy avoids LIV Golf stars as he begins his bid for major glory at The Open Thursday at Royal Liverpool alongside Jon Rahm and Justin Rose
- McIlroy hopes to end his nine-year long drought in Hoylake this weekend
- He arrives in form after winning the Scottish Open with a brilliant performance
- McIlroy has partnered Masters Champion Jon Rahm and Justin Rose
Rory McIlroy has avoided being linked to 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 continue his Scottish Open success and end his nine-year major drought.
He is 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 to wait to see McIlroy in action on Thursday, as he will tee off at 2:59pm – before starting at 9:58am 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 is paired with Justin Rose and Jon Rahm for the start of The Open
McIlroy teamed up with Justin Rose (left) and Jon Rahm (right) in the first two rounds.
McIlroy hopes to repeat his success over Hoylake of the 2014 Open Championship
Among other notable players involved, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is in the group ahead of Smith’s – 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 has now been placed with Matt Fitzpatrick and Jason Day.
Phil Mickelson is out at 3:23 p.m., along with Nick Taylor and Adam Schenk, and Bryson DeChambeau is out at 10:20 a.m. with Cameron Young and Kim Si-woo.
McIlroy has enjoyed ideal preparation as he looks to end his long major drought this weekend.
He traveled to Hoylake on Sunday afternoon, having won the Scottish Open in style – braving high winds to make a birdie on the last two holes and beat home favorite Robert MacIntyre with a lone shot.
“I couldn’t wish for better preparation,” he told BBC Sport NI. “The way I played the last two holes (in Scotland) was a great finish and a perfect way to start the week.
“I had nine great years and won a lot of tournaments, but the big four eluded me. Hopefully I can change that this week.
‘It’s nice to be here again. It’s not like I think about it that much, so it’s nice to come back and re-familiarize myself with the course. It’s nice to come back to a big venue where you won, but you also feel a bit old.’
The action starts on Thursday at 6.35am and the last players tee off at 4.16pm.