Tiger Woods will begin his quest for a 15th major championship and first in a decade alongside world No. 1 Justin Thomas and No. 2 Dustin Johnson when the 118th U.S. Open begins Thursday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Tuckahoe, N.Y. The three are scheduled to tee off at 1:47 p.m. ET. Thomas, who won his first major at the 2017 PGA Championship and has two victories this year, played last week as the No. 1 player in the world for the first time. Johnson, who was ranked No. 1 for more than a year, won the 2016 U.S. Open. In other marquee groupings announced Thursday by the U.S. Golf Association, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, who has finished runner-up a record six times in the U.S. Open, are playing together. Defending champion Brooks Koepka is out with Jason Day and Bubba Watson. Woods hasn’t won a major since his epic playoff victory against Rocco Mediate in the 2008 U.S. Open on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego. It was his third U.S. Open title, the first coming in 2000 at Pebble Beach in California, the second in 2002 at Bethpage Black in New York. In 2004, the last time the national championship was held at Shinnecock, Woods finished in a tie for 17th. He also withdrew with a wrist injury in 1995 when it was held there. More:Daniel Berger has right recipe for St. Jude Classic, seeks three-peat More:U.S. Open: A look at Shinnecock hole by hole Ahead of last week’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio, Woods played two rounds at Shinnecock. The course was soft and the greens were slow. “It will be long, it will be very long,” Woods said, adding that he will need to hit the driver 6-8 times each round and maybe up to 10 times. “They have taken out over 500 trees since last time I played it and added about 500 yards to it, so it's a very different golf course. It's very open, wind blows a little bit more. If it's hard, then it becomes quite a test.” Another big difference are the shaved down areas around the greens. Players will have more options on how to play shots instead of wondering how to hack out of thick rough by the greens. “I understand they're trying to give us an opportunity to run the ball up (onto greens),” Woods said. “There will be a lot of pitch-and-runs and 4-irons and spinners and all different shots around the greens.” This year’s U.S. Open will be the 40th major since Woods won his last. He has played in 25 during that stretch, with nine top-10s, but missed 14 due to injury. After undergoing spinal fusion surgery in April 2017, Woods has moved up from No. 656 in the world rankings to No. 80. In nine starts, he’s missed one cut. He’s been in contention on Sunday to win five times, with his best finishes being a tie for second in the Valspar Championship and a tie for fifth in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In last week’s Memorial, Woods was tied for the lead in the third round before putting woes ignited his fall down the leaderboard into a tie for 23rd. Here are the tee times for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open: Thursday (June 14), hole #1 / Friday (June 15), hole #10 6:45 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. – Harold Varner, Gastonia, N.C.; Scott Piercy; Matthieu Pavon, France 6:56 a.m. / 12:41 p.m. – Michael Putnam, University Place, Wash.; Scott Gregory, England; Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas 7:07 a.m. / 12:52 p.m. – Brendan Steele, Idyllwild, Calif.; Chesson Hadley, Raleigh, N.C.; (a) Harry Ellis, England 7:18 a.m. / 1:03 p.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela; Dylan Frittelli, South Africa; (a) Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. 7:29 a.m. / 1:14 p.m. – Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Jimmy Walker, Boerne, Texas; Justin Rose, England 7:40 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla.; Jason Day, Australia; Brooks Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla. 7:51 a.m. / 1:36 p.m. – Tyrrell Hatton, England; Danny Willett, England; Ian Poulter, England 8:02 a.m. / 1:47 p.m. – Kevin Chappell, Fresno, Calif.; Andrew Johnston, England; Daniel Berger, Jupiter, Fla. 8:13 a.m. / 1:58 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif.; Matthew Fitzpatrick, England; Matt Kuchar, Sea Island, Ga. 8:24 a.m. / 2:09 p.m. – Thorbjorn Olesen, Denmark; Shubhankar Sharma, India; Patrick Rodgers, Avon, Ind. 8:35 a.m. / 2:20 p.m. – Lanto Griffin, Blacksburg, Va.; Tom Lewis, England; (a) Jacob Bergeron, Slidell, La. 8:46 a.m. / 2:31 p.m. – (a) Kristoffer Reitan, Norway; (a) Luis Gagne, Costa Rica; Cole Miller, New Tripoli, Pa. 8:57 a.m. / 2:42 p.m. – Mickey DeMorat, Merritt Island, Fla.; (a) Tyler Strafaci, Davie, Fla.; Calum Hill, Scotland Thursday (June 14), hole #10 / Friday (June 15), hole #1 6:45 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. – Scott Stallings, Knoxville, Tenn.; Sebastian Munoz, Colombia; Matthew Southgate, England 6:56 a.m. / 12:41 p.m. – Trey Mullinax, Gardendale, Ala.; (a) Matt Parziale, Brockton, Mass. ; Jason Scrivener, Australia 7:07 a.m. / 12:52 p.m. – David Bransdon, Australia; Eric Axley, Knoxville, Tenn.; Tyler Duncan, Columbus, Ind. 7:18 a.m. / 1:03 p.m. – (a) Garrett Rank, Canada; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada; Aaron Baddeley, Australia 7:29 a.m. / 1:14 p.m. – Alexander Levy, France; Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga.; Patrick Cantlay, Long Beach, Calif. 7:40 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Paul Casey, England; Satoshi Kodaira, Japan; Branden Grace, South Africa 7:51 a.m. / 1:36 p.m. – Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Patrick Reed, Houston, Texas 8:02 a.m. / 1:47 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas; Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. 8:13 a.m. / 1:58 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Marc Leishman, Australia; Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif. 8:24 a.m. / 2:09 p.m. – Charles Howell, Orlando, Fla.; Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Charley Hoffman, San Diego, Calif. 8:35 a.m. / 2:20 p.m. – Sungjae Im, Republic of Korea; Russell Knox, Scotland; Matthew Wallace, England<doc-sep>The USGA announced its first and second round pairings for the 118th U.S. Open Championship on Thursday, highlighted by the supergroup of Woods, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson. Tiger will be seeking his fourth U.S. Open title, his last coming in 2008 at Torrey Pines, and 15th major overall, although he has not posted a top-10 at the tournament since 2010. Johnson missed the cut in last year's title defense at Erin Hills, while Thomas tied a U.S. Open record with a Saturday 63 at the Wisconsin venue. The trio goes off on Thursday at 1:47 p.m. ET and Friday at 8:02 a.m.<doc-sep>This year should be one of its best broadcasts yet, as the U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills, one of the iconic venues in the championship's history. FOX plans to air 45 hours of live coverage, starting in the morning and running to the late afternoon for all four rounds. The USGA will also provide live streaming options on its digital platforms. Here's your complete television schedule and live-streaming guide for the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.<doc-sep>Winning will never be as easy as Tiger Woods once made it look, especially at major championships. Five years is a long time since his last victory anywhere, and it has been just as long since he was a true factor in a major championship. Those facts, plus his age of 42 and history of injury, provide plenty of fodder for those who believe Woods' winning ways are in the past. And yet there are those four top-12 finishes in nine starts this year, including a tie for second where he missed a playoff by a shot at the Valspar Championship in March. A surprising showing of length off the tee. Beautiful iron shots. A short game that has been far better than expected. Tiger Woods is searching for a win. More, he's searching for another major. Is the U.S. Open no longer the right fit? Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports All of that leads many to believe that victory is just a matter of time. "I believe he is going to win a tournament again, and I think he'll win a major again,'' said Hank Haney, one of Woods' former coaches who worked with the golfer from 2004 to 2010, a period that included six major championships and 31 PGA Tour victories. But Haney also feels that the U.S. Open will be the hardest of the four major championships for Woods to win, not just this year but over time. The penal setup, Woods' struggles off the tee, the inability to make much happen from the fairway rough ... all of it leads to doubt, especially this week at Shinnecock Hills, site of the 118th U.S. Open. "There's no doubt about it, the U.S. Open is tough for him,'' Haney said. "You only have two par-5s, so it's harder to make birdies. When that's the case, it's more about how many bogeys and double bogeys you make. You don't win the U.S. Open because you make a ton of birdies. You can't make double bogeys and you limit your bogeys. "After a double bogey, you can't just say, "I'll make two birdies to make up for it.' How many birdies are you going to make at a U.S. Open? At Augusta [for the Masters], if you 3-putt, you can eagle No. 8. You can eagle No. 13. You have chances to make up for a hiccup. He hits it one time in that hay and has to come out sideways and then misses a green or 3-putts and you have a double bogey. So his odds have dropped dramatically.'' "I believe he is going to win a tournament again, and I think he'll win a major again. ... There's no doubt about it, the U.S. Open is tough for him." Hank Haney, Woods' former swing coach Woods' last major victory, at the 2008 U.S. Open, was remarkable because he played with a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his tibia. And he overcame what Haney and others believe is almost statistically impossible -- four double bogeys, including at least one in each round. Throw in 10 bogeys for the week and Woods played 14 of the 72 holes in 18 over par. But he managed to make three eagles and 13 birdies, playing 16 holes in 19 under to get into a playoff he won over Rocco Mediate. At his best, however, it didn't matter the venue or the major. Woods was good in them all, posting those 14 titles in a 12-year span. He once held all four at the same time. And he had a similar number of top-five finishes in all the majors, posting a total of 30, with 10 coming at the Masters, seven at the U.S. Open, six at The Open and seven at the PGA Championship. But this week Woods faces a Shinnecock Hills test that he admits is a brute. The course has been lengthened by some 500 yards since it was last played here in 2004, to more than 7,400 yards. Can he hit it in play off the tee enough to be a factor? Woods ranks 120th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee, giving up nearly half a shot to the field. He is barely hitting 50 percent of his fairways. Woods makes up for his poor driving by being so good at getting the ballt o the green -- he is fifth in strokes gained tee to green, and fourth in strokes gained approach to the green. But the difficulty of that becomes pronounced with narrower fairways and deep rough, expected traits at Shinnecock. David Duval, a No. 1 player in the world for a time, sees it differently. "At this point, with what we've seen with his most recent reincarnation and comeback, I would actually go the opposite way because typically if you think of a U.S. Open or an Open -- think back to when he won with not hitting driver at an Open [2006, Royal Liverpool], he has not driven the ball particularly well,'' said Duval, an analyst with Golf Channel. "He's certainly got a lot of speed and distance, but accuracy has not been there. "His iron play has been up and down a little bit, but I think that's where the strength has been. And so potentially taking the driver out of his hands might actually give him a better opportunity.'' Shinnecock Hills won't be the same course Tiger Woods saw last time he played a U.S. Open here. But the challenges and demands will be the same. Is he ready for that? AP Photo/Charles Krupa It is true that at venues such as PGA National for the Honda Classic (12th) and Innisbrook for the Valspar Championship (T-2), Woods had to play more strategically off the tee, hitting more 3-woods and 2-irons. But those clubs are not automatic for him, either. For example, Woods found the water off the 18th tee during the first round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass hitting a 2-iron.<doc-sep>
Shortly after winning the 2017 PGA Championship, Justin Thomas got some work in with Rickie Fowler at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open: Shinnecock Golf Club. The result? Well, it wasn't hard according to the now-No. 1 player in the world. "It was soft and slow," Thomas said at the time. "Rickie and I played it and we both shot the easiest 65s ever. I'm almost like upset that I did that because I know it's going to be so impossible next year." U.S. Open setups are notoriously difficult, and this year might be more so than most after the USGA narrowed the fairways in response to a 2017 U.S. Open in which the winner was 16 under (and Thomas tied the single round score of 63). I should note that the fairways were narrowed only after they were greatly widened. They're still wider than the last time the U.S. Open was here in 2004. Thomas played them pre-narrowing, which happened in September. He talked about just how much different the course is going to be on Monday on CBS Sports HQ. "I hate to use the word pointless, but it may have actually been a pointless practice round," Thomas said of his 65 last August. "It was so soft, the greens were a lot slower, the fairways were twice as big in some areas. It was totally different. I don't expect to shoot a 65 in the U.S. Open this year. If I do, it would be awesome." Thomas contended for last year's title at Erin Hills but came up short on Sunday after that thrilling 63 on Saturday. He shot a 3-over 75 in the final round to finish T9. He's coming off a T8 at the Memorial Tournament next week, though, and taking a week off to get ready for Shinnecock. "I think (my game) will be in a good spot," Thomas told CBS Sports. "This week I'm going to take some time off and get rested and get my body feeling well. The main thing is it's totally different grass than we've been playing for a while. Probably going to go up there early and get used to the climate, get used to the weather, get used to the greens, the grasses and the bunkers. To make sure that once Thursday I tee it up I'll be prepared." The best player on the planet has finished in the top 20 in three of his last four majors, including that win at Quail Hollow last August. His rise over the last few years has been a mega-bright spot for American golf, and he's going to be a stalwart on future U.S. teams. One of those teams he's going to be on is this year's Ryder Cup squad where, presumably, Tiger Woods will join him for the matches in Paris. Thomas and Woods have become tight over the last few years, and Thomas said he doesn't take that for granted. "I've been very fortunate that he has been as willing to talk and hang out and play as he has, Thomas said. "We're all very, very busy but him especially ... it's been cool to hang out with him and pick his brain and ask him certain questions. I'm very happy that he's back and not only playing but that he's playing healthy and that he's not in any pain. That's what's most important." Both players will be in New York for what should be a pretty awesome 118th United States Open. And wouldn't it be awesome to get a Thomas-Woods showdown for their national championship? Sixty-fives sold separately.