McIlroy, Rahm, Rose headline pairings at this week’s Open Championship in England | CBC Sports

Rory McIlroy has been paired with Masters champion John Rahm and former world No. 1 golfer Justin Rose in the first two rounds of the 151st Open Championship in Hoylake, England.

McIlroy, who comes to Royal Liverpool Golf Club off a scintillating win at the Scottish Open, is bidding to win his second Claret Jug.

The 34-year-old from Northern Ireland will join Rahm and Rose in teeing off at 9:59 a.m. ET Thursday and 4:58 a.m. in Friday’s second round.

Defending Open Championship winner Cameron Smith is linked with U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele in a pairing. That group tees off at 4:58 a.m. ET Thursday and 9:59 a.m. Friday.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shares the tee with Tommy Fleetwood of England and Adam Scott of Australia at 4:47 a.m. ET Thursday and 9:48 a.m. Friday.

Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick of England and Jason Day of Australia are paired at 4:03 a.m. ET Thursday and 9:04 a.m. Friday, while Patrick Cantlay, PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan will tee off at 4:36 a.m. ET Thursday/9:37 a.m. Friday.

Notable tee times (in ET) for first 2 rounds:

• 3:36/8:37 a.m. — Ernie Els, Kurt Kitayama, Takumi Kanaya
• 5:09/10:10 a.m. — Shane Lowry, Rickie Fowler, Robert MacIntyre
• 5:20/10:21 a.m. — Cameron Young, Si Woo Kim, Bryson DeChambeau
• 7:53/2:52 a.m. — *Corey Conners, Billy Horschel, Alex Noren
• 8:26/3:25 a.m. — Sahith Theegala, Emiliano Grillo, Dustin Johnson
• 9:04/4:03 a.m. — John Daly, Taylor Moore, Danny Willett
• 10:21/5:20 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, *Nick Taylor, Adam Schenk

— * denotes Canadian players

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Nick Taylor makes 72-foot eagle putt to win RBC Canadian Open

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Quiet McIlroy tries to end major drought

For the second straight major, McIlroy removed himself from the lineup of pre-tournament news conferences, instead offering a few vague quotes through the R&A and random interviews.

The attention on him is greater than ever, on and off the golf course.

He is coming off a win at the Scottish Open – returning to No. 2 in the world – and now returns to Royal Liverpool, where he won wire-to-wire the last time the Open was here in 2014.

He said he would have arrived at Hoylake with confidence even without winning based on his consistent play the last few months – six consecutive finishes in the top 10, including his runner-up finish in the U.S. Open last month that ran his drought to 33 majors without winning.

The question now is whether McIlroy is like other multiple major champions who collected all their trophies in a short period of time, or whether this nine-year drought is a long aberration.

WATCH | McIlroy says he feels like ‘sacrificial lamb’ day after LIV deal:

Rory McIlroy left feeling ‘somewhat like a sacrificial lamb’ in wake of PGA Tour merger

Professional golfer Rory McIlroy says he still has confidence in Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, adding that he thinks the future of the PGA ‘as a whole’ is looking brighter in the wake of the newly announced deal. But he says there are still questions about how things will work, and what the change means for professional golfers.

Harrington was one of those players, collecting his three titles in a span of six majors. Jordan Spieth won three legs of Grand Slam over three years. Nick Price won three out of nine majors at the height of his game and never got another.

McIlroy won his four majors from the 2011 U.S. Open through the 2014 PGA Championship, and he looked to just be getting started. He is 34, considered the prime years for a golfer, though he also is in his 16th full year as a pro.

“Patience — it’s a horrible thing for Rory,” Harrington said. “Oftentimes, you win your first, maybe there’s two or three in there pretty quickly. From 10 years ago, there’s more players around. It’s not as free and easy, is it? It’s not a foregone conclusion.

McIlroy has won 19 times around the world since his last major. Of the players who went nine years or more between majors, only Gene Sarazen (1923 PGA to 1932 U.S. Open) won more often with 25. Back then, there were only three majors.

Rahm doesn’t expect reward for loyalty

Jon Rahm will take the PGA Tour money for staying loyal if they give it to him. He doesn’t really think he deserves it, though.

Rahm said Tuesday the players who stuck with the tour don’t have to be compensated financially for not joining LIV Golf, saying they were not forced to stay.

Rahm won the first major of the year at the Masters and is looking to capture the last one as well to become the first Spaniard to win the Open since Seve Ballesteros more than three decades ago.

WATCH l Rahm wins 1st Masters title:

Jon Rahm captures Masters title for his 2nd career major

Improved weather allowed the final round to be played at the Masters Sunday and Spain’s Jon Rahm claimed his first green jacket, shooting a final round 69 finishing the tournament at 12-under.

The possibility of compensation by the tour for those who stayed loyal and declined the huge amounts of money offered by LIV Golf gained traction after the recent announcement of the proposal of a partnership between the PGA Tour and the Saudis who created the breakaway competition.

“I understand the PGA Tour wanting to do something for those players who helped and stayed on the PGA Tour, but at the same time — and I’ll be the first one to say — I wasn’t forced into anything,” Rahm said at a news conference. “It was my choice to stay. I just stayed because I think it’s the best choice for myself and for the golf I want to play. Now, with that said, if they want to do it, I’m not going to say no.”

Rahm has been one of the most vocal defenders of the tour since the battle with LIV Golf started and continued to defend it after the surprise announcement of the deal with the Saudis.

“We all had the chance to go to LIV and take the money and we chose to stay at the PGA Tour for whatever reason we chose,” he said. “I already make an amazing living doing what I do. I’m extremely thankful, and that all happened because of the platform the PGA Tour provided me.

They’ve done enough for me, and their focus should be on improving the PGA Tour and the game of golf for the future generations.”