Should Tiger Woods' back limber up before the start of the WGC-Cadillac Championship Thursday, he will play the first round alongside the two players closest to him in the world ranking.
Woods is slated to begin his first round at 12:39 p.m. ET Thursday, alongside world No. 2 Adam Scott and reigning FedEx Cup champ Henrik Stenson, currently third in the world.
Woods enters this week as the event's defending champion, but was forced to withdraw from the Honda Classic after 13 holes Sunday because of back spasms.
This event will mark the first time in months that Woods' top spot in the rankings will be up for grabs. Based on unofficial projections, Scott can become the top-ranked player in the world with a win this week at Trump Doral, assuming Woods finishes somewhere outside the top 5-7.
Each of the top 24 players in the world will be grouped Thursday in order based on their world ranking. As a result, world No. 4 Jason Day will make his first start since winning the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship alongside Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, who will look to bounce back from Sunday's disappointing playoff loss at PGA National. The trio will tee off at 11:44 a.m. Thursday.
The other threesome consisting entirely of players ranked inside the top 10 will begin play at 12:28 p.m. Thursday and includes Justin Rose, Zach Johnson and Sergio Garcia. Rose has missed three scheduled starts this year while battling tendinitis in his right shoulder, while Johnson and Garcia both already have a win under their belts in 2014.
Here is a full list of first- and second-round tee times this week at the newly-renovated Blue Monster (all times ET):
Thursday 11 a.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 12:06 p.m. (No. 10 tee): Kevin Streelman, Scott Hend, Darren Fichardt
Thursday 11 a.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 12:06 p.m. (No. 1 tee): Harris English, Jonas Blixt, Brendon de Jonge
Thursday 11:11 a.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 12:17 p.m. (No. 10 tee): Hyung-Sung Kim, Boo Weekley, D.A. Points
Thursday 11:11 a.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 12:17 p.m. (No. 1 tee): Hideki Matsuyama, Victor Dubuisson, Luke Donald
Thursday 11:22 a.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 12:28 p.m. (No. 10 tee): Russell Henley, Richard Sterne, Miguel Angel Jimenez
Thursday 11:22 a.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 12:28 p.m. (No. 1 tee): Charl Schwartzel, Jason Dufner, Ian Poulter
Thursday 11:33 a.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 12:39 p.m. (No. 10 tee): Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Gary Woodland, George Coetzee
Thursday 11:33 a.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 12:39 p.m. (No. 1 tee): Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar
Thursday 11:44 a.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 12:50 p.m. (No. 10 tee): Jamie Donaldson, Hunter Mahan, Peter Uihlein
Thursday 11:44 a.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 12:50 p.m. (No. 1 tee): Jason Day, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy
Thursday 11:55 a.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 11 a.m. (No. 10 tee): Bill Haas, Ernie Els, Francesco Molinari
Thursday 11:55 a.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 1:01 p.m. (No. 1 tee): Louis Oosthuizen, Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer
Thursday 12:06 p.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 11:11 a.m. (No. 10 tee): Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk, Webb Simpson
Thursday 12:06 p.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 11 a.m. (No. 1 tee): Brett Rumford, Chris Kirk, Dawie van der Walt
Thursday 12:17 p.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 11:22 a.m. (No. 10 tee): Steve Stricker, Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell
Thursday 12:17 p.m. (No. 10 tee). Friday 11:11 a.m. (No. 1 tee): Thongchai Jaidee, Ryan Moore, Kevin Stadler
Thursday 12:28 p.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 11:33 a.m. (No. 10 tee): Justin Rose, Zach Johnson, Sergio Garcia
Thursday 12:28 p.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 11:22 a.m. (No. 1 tee): Patrick Reed, Jin Jeong, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
Thursday 12:39 p.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 11:44 a.m. (No. 10 tee): Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson
Thursday 12:39 p.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 11:33 a.m. (No. 1 tee): Nick Watney, Roberto Castro, Stephen Gallacher
Thursday 12:50 p.m. (No. 1 tee), Friday 11:55 a.m. (No. 10 tee): Jimmy Walker, Lee Westwood, Matteo Manassero
Thursday 12:50 p.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 11:44 a.m. (No. 1 tee): Rickie Fowler, Graham DeLaet, Joost Luiten
Thursday 1:01 p.m. (No. 10 tee), Friday 11:55 a.m. (No. 1 tee): Branden Grace, Billy Horschel, Thomas Bjorn
