ORLANDO, Fla. — The tee times have been released for the first two rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Tiger Woods, a six-time winner of this event, will be grouped with two of the PGA TOUR’s biggest hitters, Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland.
Woodland, of course, won his first TOUR event last week at the Transitions Championship. He ranks eighth on TOUR in driving distance at 299.5 yards, and has ranked in the top 10 in that category the previous two years. Johnson, a four-time winner on TOUR, is second in driving distance this year at 311.8 yards and has been in the top five in that category each year since playing full-time on TOUR in 2008.
They represent the New Breed while Woods, who currently ranks 13th in driving distance at 297.9 yards, represents the TOUR’s Establishment.
The Woods-Johnson-Woodland group tees off at 12:56 p.m. ET on Thursday off the first tee. (PGATOUR.COM will have more preview coverage of this Featured Group on Wednesday.)
In another featured group, reigning FedExCup champion Jim Furyk will play with reigning U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell and Bubba Watson, who won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. Watson ranks first in driving distance this year. That threesome will tee off at 8:38 a.m. ET on Thursday off the 10th tee
Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan and Bill Haas will be in the group directly ahead, teeing off at 8:26 a.m. off the 10th tee in the first round.
Defending Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Ernie Els will be joined by TOUR rookie Jhonattan Vegas and England’s Ian Poulter in another key threesome starting at 1:08 p.m. ET off the first tee Thursday.
Other groups of note in the first two rounds:
Mark Wilson, Justin Rose, Zach Johnson – Wilson is the current FedExCup points leader and Rose was the 54-hole leader last week at Transitions.
Robert Garrigus, Martin Laird, Vijay Singh – Garrigus is another big hitter and lost in a playoff at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Laird comes in with two consecutive top-10 finishes. Singh, the 2008 FedExCup champion, has made 17 consecutive cuts in this event but did not play last year due to a back injury.
Click here for the first-round tee times
TEE TIMES FOR FEATURED GROUPS
| Group | Round 1 tee time | Round 2 tee time |
| Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland, Dustin Johnson | 12:56 p.m. ET (1st) | 8:26 a.m. ET (10th) |
| Jhonattan Vegas, Ernie Els, Ian Poulter | 1:08 p.m. ET (1st) | 8:38 a.m. ET (10th) |
| Bill Haas, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson | 8:26 a.m. ET (10th) | 12:56 p.m. ET (1st) |
| Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell | 8:38 a.m. ET (10th) | 1:08 p.m. ET (1st) |
ORLANDO, Fla. — The tee times have been released for the first two rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Tiger Woods, a six-time winner of this event, will be grouped with two of the PGA TOUR’s biggest hitters, Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland. Woodland, of course, won his first TOUR event last …
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Tour Report: Woods, Woodland, DJ in same group (PGATOUR.com)