US Open 2022: Preview, first-round tee times and more

The U.S. Open is the third major on the golf calendar this year, and it could not have come at a more interesting time for the sport.

Several golfers are coming into the tournament with something to prove.

Rory McIlroy put together a big win at the RBC Canadian Open, and after a second-place finish at the Masters and an eighth-place finish at the PGA Championship, he is more poised than ever to win the U.S. Open for the first time since 2011. He’s been major-less since 2014 overall.

Justin Thomas is coming off a victory at the PGA Championship. He has never won a major outside that tournament. His best finish at the U.S. Open came in 2020 when he tied for eighth place. He finished behind McIlroy in third place at the RBC.

Scottie Scheffler became the No. 1 golfer in the world thanks to his win at the Masters. However, he did not make the cut at the PGA Championship and lost in a playoff at Colonial late last month.

With a win, Jon Rahm could move into the No. 1 spot. Rahm is the defending U.S. Open champion. He recently finished tied for 10th at Memorial, tied for 48th at the PGA Championship and won the Mexico Open. Last year’s Open was the only major he’s won as well.

Arguably overshadowing the tournament are those golfers competing who played in last weekend’s first LIV Golf event. Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson are competing in this year’s Open, even while committing to LIV Golf.

RORY MCILROY UNLEASHES ON LIV GOLF, THOSE WHO SPURNED PGA TOUR: ‘ONCE YOU MAKE YOUR BED, YOU LIE IN IT’

Mickelson has never won the U.S. Open – the only major tournament missing in his trophy case. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open in 2020, Johnson won it in 2016 and Reed’s best finish in the Open was fourth place.

The United States Golf Association (USGA), which organizes the event, said last week it would allow players to play in this tournament.

“We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world, and the players who have earned the right to compete in this year’s championship, both via exemption and qualifying, will have the opportunity to do so. Our field criteria were set prior to entries opening earlier this year, and it’s not appropriate, nor fair to competitors, to change criteria once established,” the USGA said.

“Regarding players who may choose to play in London this week, we simply asked ourselves this question – should a player who had earned his way into the 2022 U.S. Open, via our published field criteria, be pulled out of the field as a result of his decision to play in another event? And we ultimately decided that they should not.”

The USGA said their statement wasn’t a message of support for players participating in the PGA Tour’s rival league.

“Our decision regarding our field for the 2022 U.S. Open should not be construed as the USGA supporting an alternative organizing entity, nor supporting of any individual player actions or comments. Rather, it is simply a response to whether or not the USGA views playing in an alternative event, without the consent of their home tour, an offense that should disqualify them for the U.S. Open.”

USGA CEO Mike Wahn said Wednesday the requirements for LIV Golfers to play in the tournament in the future might be tougher.

But now the golf will start.

The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts will host the tournament. The first group will tee off at 6:45 a.m. ET.

PHIL MICKELSON RESPONDS TO CRITICISM OVER PLAYING IN SAUDI-BACKED LIV GOLF

First-round tee times (all times ET)

From Hole No. 1

• 6:45 am: Michael Thorbjornsen (a), Erik Barnes, Matt McCarty
• 6:56 am: Matthew NeSmith, Patrick Rodgers, Travis Vick (a)
• 7:07 am: Troy Merritt, William Mouw (a), Andrew Putnam
• 7:18 am: Collin Morikawa, James Piot, Jon Rahm
• 7:29 am: Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Max Homa
• 7:40 am: Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger
• 7:51 am: Harold Varner III, Sebastián Muñoz, Alex Noren
• 8:02 am: Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Young, Will Zalatoris
• 8:13 am:Adam Schenk, Stewart Hagestad (a), Grayson Murray
• 8:24 am: Guido Migliozzi, Branden Grace, Mackenzie Hughes
• 8:35 am: Beau Hossler, Kalle Samooja, Satoshi Kodaira
• 8:46 am: Richard Mansell, Tomoyasu Sugiyama, Roger Sloan
• 8:57 am: Caleb Manuel (a), Keith Greene, Ben Silverman
• 12:30 pm: Kevin Chappell, Chase Seiffert, Andrew Novak
• 12:41 pm: Thorbjorn Olesen, Brian Stuard, Nick Hardy
• 12:52 pm: Sam Horsfield, Cameron Tringale, Shaun Norris
• 1:03 pm: Sungjae Im, Mito Pereira, Erik van Rooyen
• 1:14 pm: Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau
• 1:25 pm: Joohyung Kim, Seamus Power, Min Woo Lee
• 1:36 pm: Matt Fitzpatrick, Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson
• 1:47 pm: Phil Mickelson, Shane Lowry, Louis Oosthuizen
• 1:58 pm: Danny Lee, Keita Nakajima (a), Nick Taylor
• 2:09 pm: Jim Furyk, Nick Dunlap (a), Adam Hadwin
• 2:20 pm: Richard Bland, Rikuya Hoshino, Ryan Fox
• 2:31 pm: Jonas Blixt, Bo Hoag, Todd Sinnott
• 2:42 pm: Isaiah Salinda, Sean Jacklin, Charles Reiter (a)

From Hole No. 10

• 6:45 am: Fran Quinn, Callum Tarren, Hayden Buckley
• 6:56 am: Kurt Kitayama, Denny McCarthy, Sam Bennett (a)
• 7:07 am: Wyndham Clark, Brandon Matthews, Wil Besseling
• 7:18 am: David Lingmerth, Sepp Straka, Si Woo Kim
• 7:29 am: Scott Stallings, Davis Riley, Victor Perez
• 7:40 am: Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Schauffele
• 7:51 am: Kevin Kisner, Russell Henley, Brian Harman
• 8:02 am: Keegan Bradley, Marc Leishman, Aaron Wise
• 8:13 am: Francesco Molinari, Laird Shepherd (a), Stewart Cink
• 8:24 am: Marcel Schneider, Chan Kim, Joseph Bramlett
• 8:35 am: Lanto Griffin, Joel Dahmen, Jinichiro Kozuma
• 8:46 am: Chris Gotterup, Fred Biondi (a), Harry Hall
• 8:57 am: Chris Naegel, Andrew Beckler, Luke Gannon
• 12:30 pm: Jed Morgan, Taylor Montgomery, Sean Crocker
• 12:41 pm: Maxwell Moldovan (a), Yannik Paul, MJ Daffue
• 12:52 pm: Talor Gooch, Adri Arnaus, Tom Hoge
• 1:03 pm: Kevin Na, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton
• 1:14 pm: Sam Burns, Abraham Ancer, Thomas Pieters
• 1:25 pm: Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Scottie Scheffler
• 1:36 pm: Luke List, Austin Greaser (a), Corey Conners
• 1:47 pm: Gary Woodland, Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau
• 1:58 pm: K.H. Lee, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed
• 2:09 pm: Jason Kokrak, Harris English, Lucas Herbert
• 2:20 pm: Sam Stevens, Ben Lorenz (a), Davis Shore
• 2:31 pm: Daijiro Izumida, Adrien Dumont de Chassart (a), Sebastian Soderberg
• 2:42 pm: Ryan Gerard, Brady Calkins, Jesse Mueller

How to watch

Golf fans can turn to the USA Network at 9:30 a.m. to watch the U.S. Open until 2 p.m. and then again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., the first round will be broadcast on NBC.

Friday, USA will carry the second round from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and NBC will have coverage from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, NBC will also have the coverage all day going from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For the final round on Sunday, USA will start with coverage from 10 a.m. to noon and then NBC will go from noon to 7 p.m.

Peacock and USOpen.com will have streams on their websites.

All times Eastern.