2018 Players Championship pairings, tee times: When Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson start Round 2

The groups at TPC Sawgrass this week are absolutely loaded

By Kyle Porter

May 11, 2018 at 10:43 am ET • 1 min read

The unofficial "fifth major" is stacked -- at least in terms of the field and groups being put in the forefront over the first two rounds. This week's pairings at The Players Championship are completely loaded with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler playing together in the top featured group, though the trio of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy is not too shabby either.

After some below average play from those top six on Thursday, Round 2 on Friday should be all the more interesting with a few of them potentially flirting with the cut line after six players shot 6 under in Round 1, including Dustin Johnson.

These two monster groups should get everyone's attention, making it clear that the PGA Tour is obviously not pulling any punches in its premiere event of the golf season.

"I love it," Mickelson said on Sunday. "I love the chance ... we don't get it very often. Rickie's a great complement to the group and we're going to have a lot of fun."

The PGA Tour didn't stop there, though. They put several other past champions and big time players together, including a Bubba Watson-Dustin Johnson-Brooks Koepka group that averages a collective 927 yards off the tee. So that should be enjoyable to watch. Past champs (and major winners) Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Jason Day are all together, too.

Here's a look at the biggest groups along with their tee times. And if you're curious about all 48 groups, you can find those right here.

All times Eastern -- Round 2