Golf:Rory McIlroy will not have to wait long to begin his bid to become the youngest British Open champion since 1893 at Sandwich this week. The US Open champion - the youngest winner of that event since Bobby Jones in 1923 - will tee off in Thursday's first round at 9.09am, alongside 2002 winner Ernie Els and American Rickie Fowler.
McIlroy will start favourite at Royal St George's and the 22-year-old will be looking for a similar start to last year at St Andrews, where he opened with a record-equalling 63 and went on to finish third, despite crashing to an 80 in bad weather in the second round.
The Holywood player has not played a competitive round since his stunning US Open triumph at Congressional last month, but practised on the course last week and will give his pre-tournament press conference tomorrow.
American Jerry Kelly will hit the first shot at 6.30am but may not exactly be relishing the prospect after taking 11 on the opening hole when the Open was last staged here in 2003.
Tiger Woods also fell victim to that hole in bad weather, running up a triple-bogey seven and eventually finishing two shots behind shock winner Ben Curtis, but the former world number one is absent this time due to injury.
Other notable pairings see world number one Luke Donald - fresh from his victory in the rain-shortened Scottish Open yesterday - out in the group immediately after McIlroy, the Englishman alongside Japan's Ryo Ishikawa and Sergio Garcia.
World number two Lee Westwood, third and second in the Open in the last two years, is alongside US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and American Steve Stricker at 1410, with defending champion Louis Oosthuizen in the group behind alongside world number three Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson.
British amateur Tom Lewis, from the same Welwyn Garden City club which launched the career of three-time winner Nick Faldo, is out at 2.32pm with five-time champion Tom Watson and Sweden's Henrik Stenson.
Darren Clarke has a 12.59pm time, Pádraig Harrington will tee off at 1.21pm and Graeme McDowell at 1.43pm.
The last man to tee off will be Singapore's Lam Chih-bing, who has to wait until 4.11pm to begin his Open campaign.
First reserve Thomas Bjorn has been given his place on the same course on which he blew a three-shot lead with four holes to play in 2003. He had spoken earlier on Monday about facing a long wait beside the first tee on Thursday, but was handed a place in the field when Vijay Singh was forced to withdraw through injury.
"I'm just delighted," Bjorn said. "You don't want to see players pull out, but since Sandwich I have missed some Opens and it makes you realise how much you want to play in them.
"The year after what happened here was difficult, but these are the events you want to be playing in. When I think back I just count myself lucky that I got myself in a position where I had a chance to win. Loads of people don't get that chance."
Singh followed Tiger Woods, Thomas Levet, Tim Clark and David Toms in pulling out of the event and Bjorn gets his opportunity because Australian Brendan Jones turned down the chance to step in because his wife is expecting.
Bjorn, the world number 80 is best remembered for taking three in a greenside bunker at the short 16th when victory was within sight. He will play it again for the first time in practice tomorrow and said: "When I get there I won't be thinking 'this is a horror hole' - it's a good hole.
"I just tried to erase it from my memory, but it might just creep into my mind on Sunday if I am playing well. You've really got a problem if you live eight years in the past. It was difficult for me when I played at Troon in 2004 - I really didn't want to be there - but these are the events you want to play in and I'm delighted.
"At the same time, though, there's some big names who have pulled out and you don't want to see that. I count myself lucky that I got myself in a position where I had a chance to win. Loads of people don't get the chance, but I was good enough to get there and I just didn't finish it off.
"When I get out there in practice it's a golf course. I won't relive what happened - I'll just play what's in front of me."
He will tee off at 7.25am on Thursday with England's Simon Dyson - he was another of the reserves called in - and American Gary Woodland.
Bjorn was in a play-off for the Irish Open a week after his Royal St George's nightmare, but then admitted to "fighting demons" as his game fell apart for a while. He was won four times since, though, most recently the Qatar Masters in February.
Three months later his father died after a long illness and the chairman of the European Tour players' committee, also one of Colin Montgomerie's assistants in last year's Ryder Cup, said it has put a lot of things - Sandwich included - into perspective.
"People made a lot of what happened. But people thought Rory (McIlroy) would never get over what happened at The Masters this year and just look what he did," Bjorn said. "I've been asked if I would go back to Sandwich if I got in. But it's The Open and you know how I feel about European golf and the majors. You want to play. And I'll tell you what, to be totally honest with you, when I got here yesterday and looked at the clubhouse I couldn't remember being here."
