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British Open 2019: Featured pairings for the first two rounds at Royal Portrush

By Brandon Raper

PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 17: General view of the 16th hole during a practice round prior to the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 17, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 17: General view of the 16th hole during a practice round prior to the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 17, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) /
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Tiger Woods British Open 2019 Royal Portrush featured groups
PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND – JULY 16: Tiger Woods of the United States looks on during a practice round prior to the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 16, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

9: Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed, Matt Wallace (10:10AM/3:10PM)

“Next on the tee…from Jupiter, Florida…the 2000, 2005, and 2006 Champion Golfer of the Year…Tiger Woods.”

While I’m certain that the mass of humanity surrounding the first tee Thursday will observe due manners at all times, this never gets old. And it can’t be any easier on the likes of Patrick Reed or Matt Wallace, who have the blessing and the curse of playing alongside the 2019 Masters champion for the first two days at Royal Portrush.

Let’s get to the Englishman first. Ranked No. 22 in the world, Wallace has arguably been playing the best golf of this trio recently. He’s certainly been playing more of it than Tiger has, but then, that’s the luxury of being one of the greatest of all time. Wallace is making his second British Open start, and if he can stand up to the circus that is sure to follow him for two days, he’ll be able to handle whatever may come his way down the road.

Patrick Reed has been coming around a bit of late, and he’s an interesting case if only because he still carries the “Captain America” vibe with him even a year after the American side got kicked in the teeth at Le Golf National in the 2018 Ryder Cup. The idea of him taking home the Claret Jug is enough to make you want to see it no matter what you think of him or his game. He’s also just streaky enough to make you wonder if he can get on a roll early and make things interesting.

Of course, the main event of the day, the week, and possibly the entire year is still Tiger Woods, who is looking for his fourth Open title and 16th major championship this week. He acknowledged the other day that his run at the Masters took a lot more out of him than he expected, and frankly, it’s shown in his performance.

I have to be honest, as much as I would love to see Tiger win this week, I don’t know exactly what shape his links game is in right now. His run last year that saw him lead for a while on Sunday allows me to hold the faith, but yet another month-long break has me concerned that he won’t be able to just pick it right back up.

But hey, let’s not kid ourselves. This is Tiger Woods we’re talking about. He could shoot 100 tomorrow and we’ll all still watch, because Tiger Woods and majors go together like just about nothing else in sports. Enjoy the show while you can, and if magic happens, you’ll get to say “I remember when…” down the road.

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