THE PLAYERS Championship 2017: 5 groups to watch in Rounds 1 & 2

1. Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas

Round 1: 1st tee, 1:52 p.m. ET

Round 2: 10th tee, 8:27 a.m. ET

It’s quite obvious what’s so special about this grouping, isn’t it? The top two players in the world, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, are the overwhelming favorites to walk away with the title this week but their playing partner certainly won’t let them run away that easy.

Justin Thomas comes into THE PLAYERS ranked 10th in the world and already has a couple of wins under his belt in 2017 and did it in back-to-back style with victories at the SBS Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open. Yes, he’s cooled off a bit since then, missing the cut in three of his last seven official events, but he’s still a force to be reckoned with. After finishing 23rd in his first appearance at Sawgrass in 2015, Thomas finished in a tie for third last year and could easily finish better than that this time around.

Newly-married Rory McIlroy, fresh off his marriage and new equipment deal, seems ready to go. He’s finished in the top 10 in six of his last seven tournaments, including a tie for seventh at Augusta. The Irishman struggled early in his career at the Stadium Course, missing the cut the first three times he competed at THE PLAYERS, but seems to have figured something out. He finished eighth in 2013, sixth in 2014, eighth again in 2015 and 12th in 2016. If he gets going early, the rest of the field might have a long week. One has to wonder, however, if playing with new equipment will have an effect on his play.

And then, of course, there’s world No. 1 Dustin Johnson. DJ has been on absolute fire as of late (minus that unfortunate spill at The Masters, that is) and hasn’t finished outside the top three of the last five tournaments he’s played. Oh yeah, he won three of those and they all came right in a row (take that, Justin Thomas) as he emerged victorious at the Genesis, the WGC-Match Play and the WGC-Mexico. Playing his first tournament since withdrawing from The Masters, Johnson showed that the injury really isn’t an issue moving forward as he finished tied for second at the Wells Fargo. The only problem this week is that he’s never had any real success at THE PLAYERS. He’s participated in the event eight times and his best finish came last year when he finished in a tie for 28th. But hey, he’s the hottest golfer in the world right now and the best golfer in the world right now and that has to count for something.

Besides, if Phil Mickelson can win here anybody can, am I right?

Next: THE PLAYERS Championship: Round 1 & 2 tee times

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