Featured Groups: World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship

MEXICO CITY — The PGA TOUR released today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at this week’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Starting times and day (Thursday/Friday) for the featured groupings will be announced when the official groupings and starting times for the entire field are released on Tuesday.

To watch the featured groupings on Thursday-Friday, fans in the United States can tune into the Golf Channel telecast (2-7 p.m. EST) and stream PGA TOUR LIVE via subscription on NBC Sports Gold and Amazon Prime Video Channels.

Here’s a look at the Featured Groups on Thursday and Friday (all times Eastern; current FedExCup ranking in parentheses):

THURSDAY

Rory McIlroy (36) — McIlroy, who has two World Golf Championships, comes into the week with top-fives in all three starts of 2019, most recently a T4 at the Genesis Open.

Bubba Watson (71) — Watson, owner of two World Golf Championships titles, finished in the top 10 last year in Mexico City. He will defend the title at the third WGC of the season, the Dell Technologies Match Play in March.

Brooks Koepka (14) — The reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year, Koepka is in search of his first World Golf Championships crown and second PGA TOUR win of the season (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES).

Tee time: 12:39 p.m. Eastern off No. 10.

Phil Mickelson (7) — Playing in his 600th official PGA TOUR event this week in defense of his WGC-Mexico Championship title, Mickelson won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two weeks ago for his 44th career TOUR title.

Justin Thomas (6) — Thomas, who finished second in a playoff to Mickelson at the Mexico Championship last year, has two third-place finishes and a runner-up in his last three TOUR starts. The nine-time TOUR winner holds the course record at Club de Golf Chapultepec (62).

Dustin Johnson (57) — Winner of all four World Golf Championships, including two WGC-Mexico titles (2017, 2015), Johnson has won at least one TOUR event in 11 consecutive seasons.

Tee time: 12:51 p.m. off No. 10.

FRIDAY

Rickie Fowler (11) — Fowler makes his first start since winning his fifth PGA TOUR title at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Jon Rahm (26) — Rahm has top-10s in all five PGA TOUR starts in the calendar year, including a T9 at the Genesis Open.

Patrick Reed (51) — Reed became the youngest winner of a WGC event when he won this tournament in 2014 when it was staged in Miami.

Tee time: 12:39 p.m. Eastern off No. 10.

Tiger Woods (139) — Woods, scheduled to play in his first-ever competitive event in Mexico, has won a record 18 World Golf Championships in nine different locations worldwide.

Bryson DeChambeau (10) — DeChambeau has won four of his last 10 worldwide starts including two FedExCup Playoffs events.

Abraham Ancer (42) — As Mexico’s top-ranked player, Ancer will compete at the Mexico Championship for the second consecutive year. The Presidents Cup hopeful captured the Emirates Australian Open last December and is currently No. 6 in the International Team standings.

Tee time: 12:51 p.m. Eastern off No. 10.