10 best first- and second-round groups

OAKMONT, Pa. — One-hundred-fifty-six players have tee times on Thursday and Friday at Oakmont Country Club, site of the 2025 U.S. Open.

But Oakmont, you might have heard, is no pushover. The greens are fast and the rough is thick, and on Sunday we’ll crown a national champion.

Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite yet again, and he’ll go off at 1:25 p.m. ET Thursday alongside Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa. And although he’s won three of his last four starts, Scheffler isn’t over-thinking the odds.

“I don’t pay attention to the favorite stuff or anything like that,” he said Tuesday. “Starting Thursday morning we’re at even par, and it’s up to me to go out there and play against the golf course and see what I can do.”

To get you properly prepared for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open — and to plan around the best times to watch — we (subjectively) ranked the 10 best, most entertaining, must-watch groupings. You can also view the full tee time sheet here. The first round will be broadcast from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on USA Network and from 5-8 p.m. on Peacock.

10 most entertaining U.S. Open tee times for Thursday and Friday

*Subjectively ranked. Start times in ET.

10 — Corey Conners, Jason Day, Patrick Reed

1:36 p.m. Thursday / 7:51 a.m. Friday

Jason Day had the outfit of the day on Tuesday but also finds himself in our 10th-best tee time grouping of the week. He’ll be next to Masters champ Patrick Reed and Canadian Corey Conners, who has been a popular major sleeper pick for the last several years.

9 — Joaquin Niemann, Bud Cauley, Daniel Berger

1:47 p.m. Thursday / 8:02 a.m. Friday

Niemann is coming off his fourth LIV win of the season, and having won 50 percent of LIV’s events in 2025 was enough to boost this group into the top 10.

8 —  Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Gary Woodland

7:40 a.m. Thursday / 1:25 p.m. Friday

Three former U.S. Open champs who, in this ranking, were slightly edged by three Claret Jug winners (see below).

7 — Cameron Smith, Brian Harman, Phil Mickelson

8:02 a.m. Thursday / 1:47 p.m. Friday

A trio of Open Championship winners make up this group, although one, Phil Mickelson, is still a U.S. Open title away from completing the career Grand Slam. He’s also fresh out of exemptions after this season. Will Oakmont be Mickelson’s U.S. Open farewell?

6 — Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama

7:18 a.m. Thursday / 1:03 p.m. Friday

There’s a lot to like in this group, and, no, we aren’t talking about chiseled jawlines. Some of the best swings in the game will be on full display. Take notes.

5 — Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka

1:03 p.m. Thursday / 7:18 a.m. Friday

Min Woo Lee is a talented up-and-coming pro a lot of American fans don’t even know about yet, and he’ll be thrown into a group with two stars who have combined to win seven majors. Thomas is among the top-10 favorites this week, while Koepka, who has missed the cut in both of his major starts this year, is looking to rebound in an event he’s already won twice.

4 — Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy

7:40 a.m. Thursday / 1:25 p.m. Friday

Now, this looks like a comfortable pairing. Three European Ryder Cup teammates headlined by good buddies Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy. The reigning Masters champion — who just so happened to beat Rose in a playoff in April — has struggled in his last two starts. Which version of McIlroy will we get this week?

3 — Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

1:25 p.m. Thursday / 7:40 a.m. Friday

Hovland’s one of the top players in the game and could win a major someday. Morikawa already has two, and Scottie has three going on 30. Scheffler has won three of his last four starts and is the top storyline this week.

2 — Xander Schauffele, Jose Luis Ballester, Bryson DeChambeau

7:29 a.m. Thursday / 1:14 p.m. Friday

How will Bryson DeChambeau tackle brutish Oakmont? We got a glimpse in a YouTube video he published a few days ago, but the scores actually count come Thursday. The defending Open champion is atop the list of favorites this week and has finished top five in both major starts in 2025. And don’t forget about Xander, who has finished top 20 in 12 of his last 13 major starts and won two majors last season. Finally, there’s Ballester, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. Hopefully he, well, just behaves.

1 — Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson

1:14 p.m. Thursday / 7:29 a.m. Friday

Sure, someone from a different group might have a better chance at winning this thing, but this is a TV product, and here you get three players who have won this tournament and a Masters, and it includes the defending champion at this course (DJ). Plus, wouldn’t you love to watch Spieth and Rahm take on this treacherous test in an emotional rollercoaster that is the U.S. Open? Count us in!

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