Shane Lowry will get the Ireland’s US Open challenge underway when he tees off in the first group at 7am next Thurday.

But Rory McIlroy can lie in for his afternoon tee-time in a marquee, high octane threeball alongside left-hander Phil Mickelson and American talent Dustin Johnson.

 

It’s a mouth-watering prospect that’s sure to draw the biggest gallery of the day although the all European warm up act of Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer - the world’s top 3 - will the fans occupied on the opening morning.

It’s a big draw but it pales alonside the Phil-Rory-Dustin combo in terms of its star power.

Not ony are the trio amongst the most powerful players in the game, they are put on a show in every department.

A win by any of the three would be a wonderful US Open story. Mickelson has five runner up finishes in the US Open while Johnson and McIlroy both blew the 54-hole lead in recent majors, the American at Pebble Beach last year and McIlroy at the Masters in April.

Padraig Harrington has been drawn alongside a couple of fellow major winners in former US Open and Masters champion Angel Cabrera and 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink - aka world No’s 51, 69 and 83.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell goes out with the reigning US Amateur champion Peter Uihlein and Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

As for debutant Lowry, the 24-year old will start on the first with Korea’s Daehyun Kim and Arizona’s Chez Reavie.

2011 U.S. Open Groupings and Starting Times

Congressional Country Club (Blue Course), Bethesda, Md.

Groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open Thursday (June 16) and Friday (June 17) at the par 36-35—71, 7,574-yard, Congressional Country Club Blue Course in Bethesda, Md. (A=amateur)

All Times EDT

Thursday (June 16), hole #1; Friday (June 17), hole #10

7 a.m. - 12:40 p.m. - Daehyun Kim, Korea; Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Shane Lowry, Ireland

7:11 a.m. - 12:51 p.m. - Greg Chalmers, Australia; Kirk Triplett, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Tbd

7:22 a.m. - 1:02 p.m. - Marc Leishman, Australia; Alex Cejka, Czech Republic; Kevin Streelman, Scottsdale, Ariz.

7:33 a.m. - 1:13 p.m. - Fred Funk, Ponte Vedra, Fla.; A-David Chung, Fayetteville, N.C.; Michael Campbell, New Zealand

7:44 a.m. - 1:24 p.m. - Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Paul Casey, England; K.J. Choi, Korea

7:55 a.m. – 1:35 p.m. - Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; A-Peter Uihlein, Orlando, Fla.; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa

8:06 a.m. - 1:46 p.m. - Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Johan Edfors, Sweden; Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden

8:17 a.m. - 1:57 p.m. - Ernie Els, South Africa; Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.; Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

8:28 a.m. - 2:08 p.m. - Justin Rose, England; Tim Clark, South Africa; Jason Day, Australia

8:39 a.m. - 2:19 p.m. - Jeff Overton, Bloomington, Ind.; Ryan Palmer, Amarillo, Texas; Tbd

8:50 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. - Brandt Jobe, Westlake, Texas; Nick O’Hern, Australia; D.A. Points, Windermere, Fla.

9:01 a.m. – 2:41 p.m. - Christo Greyling, South Africa; Adam Hadwin, Canada; Joey Lamielle, Sarasota, Fla.

9:12 a.m. - 2:52 p.m. - Michael Tobiason Jr., Wilmington, Del.; Jesse Hutchins, Cincinnati, Ohio; Michael Smith, Lafayette, La.

Thursday (June 16), hole #10; Friday (June 17), hole #1

7 a.m - 12:40 p.m. - Chad Campbell, Andrews, Texas; Harrison Frazar, Dallas, Texas; Marc Turnesa, Jupiter, Fla.

7:11 a.m. - 12:51 p.m. - Justin Hicks, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.; Marcel Siem, Germany; Sunghoon Kang, Korea

7:22 a.m. - 1:02 p.m. - Thomas Levet, France; Brian Gay, Windemere, Fla.; Gregory Havret, France

7:33 a.m. - 1:13 p.m. - Heath Slocum, Alpharetta, Ga.; A-Russell Henley, Macon, Ga.; Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium

7:44 a.m. - 1:24 p.m. - Padraig Harrington, Ireland; Angel Cabrera, Argentina; Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.

7:55 a.m. – 1:35 p.m. - Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Anthony Kim, Los Angeles, Calif.; Y.E. Yang, Korea

8:06 a.m. - 1:46 p.m. - Luke Donald, England; Lee Westwood, England; Martin Kaymer, Germany

8:17 a.m. - 1:57 p.m. - Jonathan Byrd, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.

8:28 a.m. - 2:08 p.m. - Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla.; Adam Scott, Australia; Robert Karlsson, Sweden

8:39 a.m. – 2:19 p.m. - Sam Saunders, Orlando, Fla.; Tim Petrovic, Austin, Texas; Scott Piercy, Las Vegas, Nev.

8:50 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. - Matthew Edwards, Las Cruces, N.M.; A-Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill.; TBD

9:01 a.m. – 2:41 p.m. - Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla.; Adam Long, St. Louis, Mo.; A-Michael Barbosa, St. Petersburg, Fla.

9:12 a.m. - 2:52 p.m. - Michael Whitehead, Sugar Land, Texas; Will Wilcox, Ashville, Ala.; John Ellis, San Jose, Calif.

Thursday (June 16), hole #1; Friday (June 17), hole #10

12:40 p.m. – 7 a.m. - Ty Tryon, Orlando, Fla.; Maarten Lafeber, Netherlands; Scott Barr, Australia

12:51 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Geoffrey Sisk, Marshfield, Mass.; A-Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei; Matt Richardson, England

1:02 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - Bo Van Pelt, Jenks, Okla.; Kyung-Tae Kim, Korea; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.

1:13 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - Mark Wilson, Elmhurst, Ill.; Martin Laird, Scotland; Peter Hanson, Sweden

1:24 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. - Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Alvaro Quiros, Spain

1:35 p.m. – 7:55 a.m. - Francesco Molinari, Italy; Matteo Manassero, Italy; Edoardo Molinari, Italy

1:46 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan; Todd Hamilton, Westlake, Texas; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.

1:57 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Ian Poulter, England; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas

2:08 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Aaron Baddeley, Australia; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.

2:19 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Kevin Chappell, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Dohoon Kim, Korea; Robert Rock, England

2:30 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Jon Mills, Canada; Andreas Harto, Denmark; A-Scott Pinckney, Scottsdale, Ariz.

2:41 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - A-Steven Irwin, Arvada, Colo.; Ryan Nelson, Dickinson, Texas; Elliot Gealy, Salisbury, N.C.

2:52 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - Christopher Deforest, Cottekill, N.Y.; A-Chris Williams, Moscow, Idaho; Wes Heffernan, Canada

Thursday (June 16), hole #10; Friday (June 17), hole #1

12:40 p.m. – 7 a.m. - Alexandre Rocha, Windermere, Fla.; Andres Gonzales, Olympia, Wash.; Bubba Dickerson, Hilliard, Fla.

12:51 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Michael Putnam, Lakewood, Wash.; A-Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.; Robert Dinwiddie, England

1:02 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - John Senden, Australia; Robert Garrigus, Charleston, S.C.; Scott Hend, Australia

1:13 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.; Stephen Gallacher, Scotland; Seung Yul Noh, Korea

1:24 p.m. - 7:44 a.m.- Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Retief Goosen, South Africa; David Toms, Shreveport, La.

1:35 p.m. – 7:55 a.m.- Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.; Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

1:46 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

1:57 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - Nick Watney, Henderson, Nev.; Lucas Glover, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia

2:08 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Ryan Moore, Tacoma, Wash.; Robert Allenby, Australia; Rory Sabbatini, South Africa

2:19 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - David Howell, England; Kenichi Kuboya, Japan; Briny Baird, Palm City, Fla.

2:30 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Charley Hoffman, Las Vegas, Nev.; Alexander Noren, Sweden; Sangmoon Bae, Korea

2:41 p.m. – 9:01 a.m. - A-Brett Patterson, McMinnville, Tenn.; Bennett Blakeman, Burr Ridge, Ill.; Brian Locke, Los Angeles, Calif.

2:52 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - Chris Wilson, Dublin, Ohio; David May, Auburn, N.Y.; A-Beau Hossler, Rncho Snta Margarita, Calif.