The USGA announced on Friday the pairings in the upcoming U.S. Open. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott are paired for the start of the June 13 tournament, USA Today reports. Woods avoids Sergio Garcia, at least for the first two rounds.
Woods, McIlroy and Scott tee off on Thursday, June 13 at 1:14 p.m. ET and on Friday, June 14 at 7:44 a.m. ET. The U.S. Open takes place at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
It's an impressive trio. They have 17 major title wins between them. Scott won this year's Masters, while McIlroy won the U.S. Open in 2011 and Woods won in 2000, 2002 and 2008. This will be the first time Woods and McIlroy have played together in a major.
Woods and Garcia were kept apart for rounds one and two. The two inundated headlines over the past month after getting into a spat during The Players Championship. The feud started over the weekend after Woods and Garcia were paired together. Garcia blamed Woods for interfering with his shot, and the quarrel launched from there.
It reached its ugliest when Garcia made a racist "fried chicken" remark about Woods. Garcia immediately apologized and Woods asked everybody to move on and focus on golf. Both golfers have kept their distance since then, seemingly not wanting to make headlines for another squabble.
Whether the feud reignites during the U.S. Open will be closely watched. It shouldn't overshadow the fact that Woods is four PGA Tour victories away from tying the all-time wins record (82) held by Sam Snead. Aside from a poor performance last week at the Memorial Tournament, Woods has played terrific golf lately - he's already won four tournaments this year.