Back to world No. 1 and fresh off another major victory, Brooks Koepka heads north to headline the field at this week’s RBC Canadian Open. Here’s a look at some of the marquee, early-round groupings at Hamilton Golf & Country Club as several big names look to play their way into the U.S. Open (all times ET):
7:30 a.m Thursday, 12:30 p.m. Friday: Adam Hadwin, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald
At No. 69 in the latest rankings, Hadwin is the highest-ranked Canadian in the world and headlines a group of native sons looking to become the first Canadian to win their national Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Joining him for the first two rounds will be Garcia, who tied for fourth at Quail Hollow but missed the cut at Bethpage, and Donald, a former world No. 1 who qualified for Pebble Beach Monday in Columbus.
7:40 a.m. Thursday, 12:40 p.m. Friday: Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson
McIlroy added this event to shake up his schedule, having missed the U.S. Open cut each of the last three years. He’ll make his tournament debut alongside Kuchar, who has five top-10 finishes in this event since 2010 and already has two wins and two runner-up finishes this season, and Simpson, who hasn’t played in Canada since 2010 and enters off four straight top-30 finishes.
7:50 a.m. Thursday, 12:50 p.m. Friday: Dustin Johnson, Corey Conners, Jim Furyk
Johnson returns as the defending champ, having ended Jhonattan Vegas’ run last year at Glen Abbey and having finished second to Koepka in his most recent start. Conners is the lone Canadian to have won this season on the PGA Tour, as he went from Monday qualifier to the winner’s circle at the Valero Texas Open, while Furyk’s two wins in this event include a victory at Hamilton back in 2006.
12:40 p.m. Thursday, 7:40 a.m.: Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell, Scott Piercy
Watson is making his ninth career start in Canada, with a runner-up in 2015 at Glen Abbey and a T-14 finish at Hamilton in 2006. Joining him will be McDowell, who won for the first time in more than three years when he captured the title in the Dominican Republic in March, while Piercy was victorious the last time this tournament was played at Hamilton in 2012 and finished T-2 at the AT&T Byron Nelson last month.
12:50 p.m. Thursday, 7:50 a.m. Friday: Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Brandt Snedeker
Koepka said at the PGA that he prefers to play the week before a major, and he’s holding true to that formula by teeing it up this week in Ontario before going for a rare three-peat next week at the U.S. Open. Thomas missed the cut last week at the Memorial in his first start in six weeks following a wrist injury, while Snedeker has five top-10 finishes in this event including a victory at Glen Abbey in 2015.