Colin Montgomerie, the World Golf Hall of Famer whose father was the long-time secretary at Royal Troon, will hit the first shot at the 145th Open Championship on Thursday.
Montgomerie, an eight-time Order of Merit champion who now plays the PGA TOUR Champions, earned his spot in the Open when he survived the final qualifying series. This will be the 53-year-old's first appearance at the Open since 2010.
Montgomerie will play with England's Luke Donald and Marc Leishman of Australia in the 1:35 a.m. ET pairing on Thursday. The final draw leaves the first tee at 11:16 a.m. ET, and in between there are quite a few other compelling groups to watch.
Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry
Spieth came tantilizingly close to picking up the third leg of the calendar year Grand Slam last year when he finished a shot out of the playoff at St. Andrews. He returns to Scotland this year ranked No. 4 in the FedExCup and No. 3 in the world. Rose, who won the 2013 U.S. Open, tied for sixth at St. Andrews while Lowry finished second at this year's U.S. Open after holding the 54-hole lead.
Tee times: 4:25 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Danny Willett, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler
Willett won the Masters earlier this year, beating Spieth and Lee Westwood by three strokes. Day, who counts THE PLAYERS among his three 2016 TOUR wins, ranks second in the FedExCup and first in the world. Fowler, last year's PLAYERS champ, won in Abu Dhabi earlier this eyar and has seven top-10s on TOUR this year.
Tee time: 4:25 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Bubba Watson
McIlroy was injured and unable to defend his Open title a year ago at St. Andrews. He comes to Troon with nine top-10s worldwide this year, including a win in Ireland. Matsuyama won the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year and tied for seventh at the Masters and THE PLAYERS Championship. Watson has four top-10s worldwide this year, among those a win at the Northern Trust Open.
Tee time: 4:36 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Russell Knox
Johnson will try to make it three-in-a-row after his breakthrough major victory at the U.S. Open and a win in his next start at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He leads the FedExCup and has risen to No. 2 in the world. Kaymer has four top-10s this year, most recently a tie for fifth at the 100th Open de France. Knox, who made last fall's World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions his his TOUR win, also has two runner-up finishes this season.
Tee time: 9:04 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Zach Johnson, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson
Johnson had to go extra holes a year ago at St. Andrews to pick up his second major championship. As he returns to Scotland for his title defense, Johnson has momentum thanks to top-10 finishes in his last two starts. Scott, who is ranked No. 8 in the world, started 2016 strong with two wins and a tie for second in his first four starts. In 13 appearances worldwide in 2016, Stenson has six top-10s, including a win at the rcent BMW International Open.
Tee time: 9:15 a.m. ET on Thursday.