May 12 (Reuters) - World number one Scottie Scheffler will launch his PGA Championship title defense alongside Englishmen Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick on Thursday in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
Four-times major winner Scheffler, world number four Fitzpatrick and number seven Rose will head out at 2:05 p.m. ET (1805 GMT) in the day's third-to-last group from the par-four first hole at Aronimink Golf Club.
Reigning British Open winner Scheffler, who prevailed by five shots in last year's PGA Championship
at Quail Hollow, has runner-up finishes in his last three starts on the PGA Tour, including at the Masters where the American fell just short of pulling off an unprecedented comeback from 12 strokes down after 36 holes.
World number two Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who successfully defended his Masters title last month at Augusta National with a one-shot win over Scheffler, will start his day at 8:40 a.m. from the par-four 10th hole in the company of American Jordan Spieth and Spaniard Jon Rahm, one of 11 LIV Golf players competing in the year's second major.
Playing one group ahead will be a high-profile trio consisting of 2024 PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele, fellow American and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton of LIV Golf. This marks Koepka's second major since leaving LIV last December. He finished in a share of 12th at the Masters.
Reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun will set off from the first tee at 12:59 p.m. with American compatriot Max Homa, who replaced Phil Mickelson in the 156-player field after the six-times major winner withdrew, and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama.
Cameron Young, who enters his fifth PGA Championship riding the wave of his best PGA Tour season to date having already won twice, will be playing in an all-American threesome with former U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and twice champion Justin Thomas one group ahead of Scheffler's threesome.
The first shot of the tournament will be struck at 6:45 a.m. by Braden Shattuck, a Philadelphia native playing in a group with England's Alex Fitzpatrick and American Ben Griffin.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
