Rory McIlroy to begin US Open alongside Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy on the first tee of his final round at the Memorial Tournament yesterday around Muirfield. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The world’s top three players will tee off at 13:14 local time (18:14 BST) on Thursday in the year’s third major championship at Pinehurst.

Scheffler won his second Masters title in three years at Augusta National in April and claimed his fifth victory of the season in the Memorial Tournament on Sunday, while Schauffele won his maiden major in the US PGA last month.

McIlroy’s last major victory came in the 2014 US PGA, which was then staged in August.

Fellow Northern Irishman McKibbin, who is playing in his first major tournament, starts at 06:45 local time (11:45 BST) alongside Hoey from the Philippines and Italy’s Manassero.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the title at Brookline in 2022, has been drawn with 15-time major winner Tiger Woods and American Will Zalatoris, with the trio getting under way at 07:29 local time (12:29 BST) on Thursday.

Woods made a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters in April but then carded rounds of 82 and 77 to finish last. The 48-year-old also missed the cut in the US PGA in his only other competitive start in 2024.

Wyndham Clark will get the defence of his title under way at 13:25 local time (18:25 BST) alongside Open champion Brian Harman and Nick Dunlap, while Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre has the late/early split he was hoping for in order to be able to watch Scotland’s Euro 2024 clash with Germany on Friday.

MacIntyre, who won the RBC Canadian Open at the start of the month, will have Canadian duo Nick Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes for company at 13:03 local time (18:03 BST) on Thursday and 07:18 (12:18) on Friday.