Golf

Rory McIlroy drawn with Phil Mickelson for opening two rounds of Masters

World No 1 also joined by Ryan Moore while debutant Shane Lowry plays with Mark O’Meara and Chris Kirk

The main Masters leaderboard at Augusta National Golf Club. Photograph by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Tue Apr 07 2015 - 18:25

Rory McIlroy’s bid for the grand slam at the Masters will get underway alongside three-time champion Phil Mickelson and Ryan Moore.

The world number one's group will tee off at 3:41pm Irish time on the Thursday and the three-ball is the penultimate group on the Friday at 6:48pm.

Masters debutant Shane Lowry will also play with a former winner after he was drawn with Mark O'Meara and Chris Kirk for the first two rounds.

The Offaly golfer is off at 5:31pm on Thursday and at 2:02pm on the Friday.

Pádraig Harrington is joined by Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and American Ryan Palmer, teeing it up just after Lowry at 5:42pm on Thursday and 2:13pm on Friday.

Graeme McDowell has admitted his game is not where he would like going into the Masters. The Portrush man is joined by two big-hitting Americans in Matt Kuchar and Brooks Koepka, who cut his teeth on the European Tour.

McDowell's three-ball is off at 6:04pm on the Thursday and at 2:35pm on Friday.

European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke has been paired with former champion Vijay Singh and America's Russell Henly. They will tee off at 1:29pm on Thursday and 4:36pm on Friday.

Tiger Woods faces a lengthy wait before he can begin his bid for a fifth Masters title  after he was  drawn in the penultimate group for the opening round alongside fellow American Jimmy Walker and Welshman Jamie Donaldson, teeing off at 1:48pm local time, 6:48pm Irish time.

With 98 players in the field, Charley Hoffman and Brian Harman make up the first group out in the tournament proper at 7:45am (12:45pm Irish time), with Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer again acting as honorary starters five minutes earlier, the legendary trio hitting tee shots on the par-four first before retiring to the clubhouse.

TEE-TIMES
(US unless stated; Irish in bold; (am) denotes amateur)

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THURSDAY
12:45 Charley Hoffman, Brian Harman
12:56 Larry Mize, Byron Meth (am) , Danny Willett (Eng)
1:07 Tom Watson, Camilo Villegas (Col), Gary Woodland
1:18 Mike Weir (Can), Ben Crane, Corey Conners (Can) (am)
1:29 Vijay Singh (Fiji), Darren Clarke, Russell Henley
1:40 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Esp), Brendon Todd, Kevin Na
1:51 Jonas Blixt (Swe), Kevin Streelman, Stephen Gallacher (Sco)
2:02 Patrick Reed, Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter (Eng)
2:13 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp), Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Lee Westwood (Eng
2:24 Bubba Watson, Justin Rose (Eng), Gunn Yang (Kor) (am)
2:35 Adam Scott (Aus), Dustin Johnson, Antonio Murdaca (Aus) (am)
2:57 Morgan Hoffmann, Steve Stricker, Matt Every
3:08 Ben Crenshaw, Bill Haas, Jason Dufner
3:19 Webb Simpson, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Paul Casey (Eng)
3:30 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Joost Luiten (Ned), Sang-moon Bae (S Kor)
3:41 Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Ryan Moore
3:52 JB Holmes, Martin Kaymer (Ger), Brandt Snedeker
4:03 Ian Woosnam (Wal), Erik Compton, Marc Leishman (Aus)
4:14 Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Kevin Stadler, Scott Harvey (am)
4:25 Ben Martin, Robert Streb, Cameron Tringale
4:36 Sandy Lyle (Sco), Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Bradley Neil (Sco) (am)
4:47 Bernhard Langer (Ger), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)
5:09 Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els (Rsa)
5:20 Angel Cabrera (Arg), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Matias Dominguez (Chi) (am)
5:31 Chris Kirk, Mark O'Meara, Shane Lowry
5:42 Pádraig Harrington, Ryan Palmer, Thomas Bjorn (Den)
5:53 James Hahn, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Hunter Mahan
6:04 Matt Kuchar, Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell
6:15 Henrik Stenson (Swe), Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel
6:26 Fred Couples, Branden Grace (Rsa), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)
6:37 Victor Dubuisson (Fra), Luke Donald (Eng), John Senden (Aus)
6:48 Jamie Donaldson (Wal), Tiger Woods, Jimmy Walker
6:59 Jason Day (Aus), Sergio Garcia (Esp), Rickie Fowler

FRIDAY
12:45 Ian Woosnam (Wal), Erik Compton, Marc Leishman (Aus)
12:56 Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Kevin Stadler, Scott Harvey (am)
1:07 Ben Martin, Robert Streb, Cameron Tringale
1:18 Sandy Lyle (Sco), Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Bradley Neil (Sco) (am)
1:29 Bernhard Langer (Ger), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)
1:40 Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els (Rsa)
1:51 Angel Cabrera (Arg), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Matias Dominguez (Chi) (am)
2:02 Chris Kirk, Mark O'Meara, Shane Lowry
2:13 Pádraig Harrington, Ryan Palmer, Thomas Bjorn (Den)
2:24 James Hahn, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Hunter Mahan
2:35 Matt Kuchar, Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell
2:57 Henrik Stenson (Swe), Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel
3:08 Fred Couples, Branden Grace (Rsa), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)
3:19 Victor Dubuisson (Fra), Luke Donald (Eng), John Senden (Aus)
3:30 Jamie Donaldson (Wal), Tiger Woods, Jimmy Walker
3:41 Jason Day (Aus), Sergio Garcia (Esp), Rickie Fowler
3:52 Charley Hoffman, Brian Harman
4:03 Larry Mize, Danny Willett (Eng), Byron Meth (am)
4:14 Tom Watson, Gary Woodland, Camilo Villegas (Col)
4:25 Mike Weir (Can), Ben Crane, Corey Conners (Can) (am)
4:36 Vijay Singh (Fij), Russell Henley, Darren Clarke
4:47 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Esp), Brendon Todd, Kevin Na (Kor)
5:09 Jonas Blixt (Swe), Kevin Streelman, Stephen Gallacher (Sco)
5:20 Patrick Reed, Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter (Eng)
5:31 Lee Westwood (Eng), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp), Anirban Lahiri (Ind)
5:42 Bubba Watson, Justin Rose (Eng), Gunn Yang (Kor) (am)
5:53 Adam Scott (Aus), Dustin Johnson, Antonio Murdaca (Aus) (am)
6:04 Morgan Hoffmann, Steve Stricker, Matt Every
6:15 Bill Haas, Ben Crenshaw, Jason Dufner
6:26 Webb Simpson, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Paul Casey (Eng)
6:37 Joost Luiten (Ned), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Sang-moon Bae (Kor)
6:48 Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Ryan Moore
6:59 JB Holmes, Martin Kaymer (Ger), Brandt Snedeker