US Open: Ryan Fox paired with Joe Highsmith and Byeong Hun An for opening rounds at Oakmont

Ryan Fox has been paired with Joe Highsmith and Byeong Hun An for opening rounds at Oakmont. Photo / Getty Images

Ryan Fox will have an early start to his second round of the US Open at Oakmont after the tee times were announced today.

The Kiwi earned his spot in the third major of the year with his playoff win at the Canadian Open on Monday.

He’s been paired with Byeong Hun An of South Korea and American Joe Highsmith for rounds one and two. They tee off at 4.41am NZT on Friday with a quick turnaround for the second round, starting at 10.56pm NZT.

They will be the first group off the 10th tee on Friday local time, at 6.56am.

Like Fox, Highsmith also earned his maiden win on the PGA Tour earlier this year with victory at the Cognizant Classic in March.

Fox has made the cut at the last nine major championships, the third-longest streak of all players. Only world No.1 Scottie Scheffler (12) and two-time major Xander Schauffele (13) have longer streaks.

Top-ranked Scheffler will make an afternoon start with Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa, while second-ranked Rory McIlroy joins Justin Rose and Shane Lowry early to start the 125th US Open.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau will be in a traditional US Open pairing.

DeChambeau starts off the first tee at 11.29pm tomorrow alongside fellow American Xander Schauffele, the reigning British Open champion, and Spain’s Jose Luis Ballester, the 2024 US Amateur champion.

One group behind them at 11.40pm off the first tee will be three US Open winners - Americans Wyndham Clark and Gary Woodland and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.

Five-time major winner McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Masters in April, starts off the 10th tee at 11.40pm alongside 2013 US Open winner Rose of England and pal Lowry, the 2019 British Open winner from Ireland.

Three other Claret jug winners tee off together at 12.02am Friday off the 10th tee - Americans Phil Mickelson and Brian Harman and Australian Cam Smith.

Six-time major winner and six-time US Open runner-up Mickelson, who turns 55 on Monday, needs a win to complete a career Grand Slam.

Scheffler, who won his third major title at last month’s PGA Championship, starts off the first tee at 5.25am on Friday alongside fellow American Morikawa, a two-time major winner, and Norway’s Hovland.

Two groups ahead of them at 5.03am will be five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, fellow American Justin Thomas, a two-time PGA Championship winner, and Australia’s Min Woo Lee.

Going off the 10th tee at 5.14am are three past major winners - Spaniard Jon Rahm and Americans Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson.

One group behind them at 5.25am off the 10th tee will be England’s Tyrrell Hatton, South Korea’s Im Sung-jae and Austrian Sepp Straka.

US amateur Matt Vogt, a 34-year-old dentist from Indianapolis who got through as a qualifier, will hit the opening tee shot at 10.45pm on Thursday.