The R&A has confirmed the tee times and pairings for the opening two rounds of the 153rd Open Championship, which starts on Thursday, 17 July, at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. Local favourite and 2025 Masters champion Rory McIlroy will begin his bid for a second Claret Jug at 15:10 BST alongside England’s Tommy Fleetwood and the United States’ Justin Thomas, before the trio return at 10:09 on Friday. Defending champion Xander Schauffele has been grouped with U.S. Open winner JJ Spaun and Spain’s Jon Rahm, teeing off at 09:58. The 2019 Portrush winner Shane Lowry joins world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and 2021 champion Collin Morikawa at 10:09. Two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington will have the honour of the first shot of the championship at 06:35. In total, 156 players will contest the season’s final men’s major over the Dunluce Links. This year marks only the third time the Open has visited Portrush and the first since 2019. The championship runs through Sunday, 20 July, with a record £12.7 million purse and £2.3 million to the winner. Live coverage will be carried exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK, while NBC, USA Network and Peacock will share U.S. broadcast duties.