GolfTalkCentral

Woods, McIlroy grouped together in BMW

By Jason Sobel
Sep 4, 2012 1:11 PM ET

Just two weeks after Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods were paired for the first time in a PGA Tour event, they’ll be back at it once again.

The only players with three PGA Tour victories this year, they will compete together during the first two rounds of this week’s BMW Championship based on their current FedEx Cup standing. With players in threesomes off two tees for the opening 36 holes, McIlroy (No. 1 on the points list) and Woods (No. 3) will be joined by Nick Watney (No. 2) at Crooked Stick at 11:48 a.m. ET off the 10th tee.

With a victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Sunday, McIlroy further extended his lead in the Official World Golf Ranking, while Woods remained in third after a solo third-place finish.

Full tee times for Round 1 of the BMW Championship

They previously played together at The Barclays, with Woods posting scores of 68-69 to McIlroy’s 69-73. Those rounds were preceded by each player speaking in glowing terms about his fellow competitor.

“He's a great kid and it's great to be around him,” Woods said. “What an amazing talent he really is. I just hope that everyone just lets him grow and develop as a player, because it's going to be fun to see over the next 20 years how this kid's career is going to pan out.”

“I feel every time I've played with Tiger, he's sort of brought the best out of me,” McIlroy countered. “I really enjoy his company.”

Other Thursday and Friday groupings include: Brandt Snedeker, Louis Oosthuizen and Dustin Johnson; Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson; Bubba Watson, Carl Pettersson and Keegan Bradley; Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan and Sergio Garcia; and Steve Stricker, Luke Donald and Ernie Els.