The Loop

PGA Tour robs us of the Big 3 grouping everyone was expecting at the Memorial

May 31, 2016

As Meat Loaf sings, "Two out of three ain't bad." Still, it's not the Big 3 grouping golf fans were hoping for at the Memorial.

Tee times for the first and second rounds at Muirfield Village were released on Tuesday and the marquee pairing is Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and. . . Justin Thomas. Again, it's a great group. But where's Jason Day?

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Well, while those guys tee off the 10th hole at 8:26 on Thursday, Day won't play until 1:16. The Aussie and World No. 1 will go off the first hole alongside defending champ David Lingmerth and Jim Furyk.

Excitement surrounding a possible Big 3 pairing spiked recently with all three players entering this week off wins in their previous starts. Day won the Players, McIlroy won the Irish Open, and Spieth won at Colonial on Sunday. It seemed like they might all play together this week in the final tuneup for the U.S. Open, but, oh well.

Not that we have much to complain about. In addition to the Big 3 all playing in the same event, there are several other great pairings, including Bubba Watson/Rickie Fowler/Patrick Reed (8:15, 10th hole) and Phil Mickelson/Matt Kuchar/Hideki Matsuyama (1:05, 1st hole). Sit back and enjoy.