Portugal Colonial - Tiger, Spieth and McIlroy will play together at PGA Championship

Creating a star-studded pairing that figures to draw a huge crowd of spectators, the epic comeback story of Woods will play out alongside Spieth's bid for a career Grand Slam and McIlroy's quest for a fifth major title.

The trio will start Thursday's opening round from the 10th tee at 8:10 a.m. (1310 GMT) and Friday's second round from the first tee at 1:36 p.m. (1836 GMT).

Woods, a 15-time major winner, returned from severe leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash at last month's Masters and struggled to walk 72 holes at Augusta National but finished level 47th despite playing the weekend in pain.

Spieth, a three-time major champion, will try to complete the career Slam by capturing the Wanamaker Trophy after a PGA Heritage victory last month and a runner-up effort last week.

McIlroy, chasing a third PGA title, has not won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship.

Going off the 10th tee Thursday three groups ahead of Woods and company at 7:38 a.m. will be Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele, fellow American Tony Finau and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.

The 8 a.m. 10th tee Thursday group just ahead of Woods will include world number four Cameron Smith of Australia, American Will Zalatoris and sixth-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway.

Just behind the Woods pairing will be Masters champions Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson and US Open winner Justin Rose.

Thursday afternoon will feature four-time major winner Brooks Koepka of the United States alongside Australian Adam Scott and Ireland's Shane Lowry at 1:03 p.m. with the next group including Americans Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay.

Top-ranked Masters champion Scottie Scheffler of the United States goes off the first tee at 1:36 p.m. alongside reigning US Open champion Jon Rahm of Spain and reigning British Open champion Collin Morikawa of the United States.

Spain's Sergio Garcia, South African Charl Schwartzel and England's Matthew Fitzpatrick will start on the front nine Thursday at 2:09 p.m.

John Daly, the 1991 PGA Championship winner, is set to hit the opening tee shot of the tournament at 7 a.m. Thursday with fellow former winners Shaun Micheel and South Korean Yang Yong-Eun, the first Asian man to win a major from his 2009 triumph at Hazeltine.

P.Mira--PC