Rory McIlroy in marquee group if he plays in PGA Championship

All indications are that Rory McIlroy will play in the PGA Championship next week at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wis., and if he does then golf fans will see a star-studded threesome that includes Americans Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson.

McIlroy, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, is trying to recover from surgery after tearing ligaments in his left ankle while playing soccer with friends earlier this year.

The two-time and defending PGA champion from Northern Ireland sent a few tweets announcing his intentions the last two days, including this one: “Great 18 holes this morning with haza136 @Whistling Straits Golf Club.”

The tweet included a photo with him and friend Harry Diamond, whose Twitter handle is haza136, at Whistling Straits’ 18th tee.

McIlroy, Spieth and Johnson have combined to win eight Grand Slam tournament titles, including the last five. Johnson won the British Open in July while Spieth opened the year with victories at the Masters and U.S. Open. McIlroy also won the British Open in 2014 as well as the PGA title.

If Spieth wins this weekend at the Bridgestone Invitational, he’ll supplant McIlroy at No. 1 in the world rankings. Spieth is trying to become the third man to hold three major titles in a calendar year. Only Ben Hogan (1953) and Tiger Woods (2000) have done so.

Theirs will not be the only star-studded group with major victories. Tiger Woods, with 14 Grand Slam wins, will play alongside former PGA champions Martin Kaymer, who won in 2010 at Whistling Straits, and Keegan Bradley (2011).

They will be playing on the heels of Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson, a trio of young golfers who have all finished second at least once in a major but have yet to win one.

Here are the tee times for each group (Thursday-Friday, 1st hole-10th hole, times EDT):

7:45 a.m.-1 p.m. — Ryan Helminen, United States; Rory Sabbatini, South Africa; Chesson Hadley, United States.

7:55 a.m.-1:10 p.m. — David Howell, England; Grant Sturgeon, United States; Boo Weekley, United States.

8:05 a.m.-1:20 p .m. — Charles Howell III, United States; Austin Peters, United States; Thomas Bjorn, Denmark.

8:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m. — Byeong Hun An, South Korea; Russell Henley, United States; Robert Streb, United States.

8:25 a.m.-1:40 p.m. — James Morrison, England; Ryan Palmer, United States; Charley Hoffman, United States.

8:35 a.m.-1:50 p.m. — Stephen Gallacher, Scotland; Ryan Moore, United States; Thongchai Jaidee, Thailand.

8:45 a.m.-2 p.m. — Vijay Singh, Fiji; David Toms, United States; Mark Brooks, United States.

8:55 a.m.-2:10 p.m. — James Hahn, United States; Jamie Donaldson, Wales; Harris English, United States.

9:05 a.m.-2:20 p.m. — Ross Fisher, England; J.B. Holmes, United States; Mikko Ilonen, Finland.

9:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m. — Tony Finau, United States; Branden Grace, South Africa; Danny Lee, New Zealand.

9:25 a.m.-2:40 p.m. — Steve Young, United States; Morgan Hoffmann, United States; Anirban Lahiri, India.

9:35 a.m.-2:50 p.m. — Brian Cairns, United States; Matt Every, United States; Matt Jones, Australia.

9:45 a.m.-3 p.m. — Adam Rainaud, United States; Brian Harman, United States; Barracuda Championship winner

10 a.m.-4 p.m. — Michael Putnam, United States; Marcus Fraser, Australia; Steve Marino, United States.

1 p.m.-7:45 a.m. — Bob Sowards, United States; Koumei Oda, Japan; Alex Cejka, Germany.

1:10 p.m.-7:55 a.m. — Ryan Kennedy, United States; Kevin Chappell, United States; Brendon de Jonge, Zimbabwe.

1:20 p.m.-8:05 a.m. — Davis Love III, United States; Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland; Steve Stricker, United States.

1:30 p.m.-8:15 a.m. — Jimmy Walker, United States; Tommy Fleetwood, England; Justin Thomas, United States.

1:40 p.m.-8:25 a.m. — Webb Simpson, United States; Bernd Wiesberger, Austria; Shane Lowry, Ireland.

1:50 p.m.-8:35 a.m. — Nick Watney, United States; Ian Poulter, England; Joost Luiten, The Netherlands.

2 p.m.-8:45 a.m. — Luke Donald, England; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; Patrick Reed, United States.

2:10 p.m.-8:55 a.m. — Adam Scott, Australia; Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Brooks Koepka, United States.

2:20 p.m.-9:05 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Jordan Spieth, United States; Zach Johnson, United States.

2:30 p.m.-9:15 a.m. — Jason Dufner, United States; Phil Mickelson, United States; Padraig Harrington, Ireland.

2:40 p.m.-9:25 a.m. — Cameron Tringale, United States; Danny Willett, England; John Senden, Australia.

2:50 p.m.-9:35 a.m. — Jason Bohn, United States; Marcel Siem, Germany; Omar Uresti, United States.

3 p.m.-9:45 a.m. — Richie Ramsay, Scotland; Dan Venezio, United States; Nick Taylor, Canada.

(Thursday-Friday 10th hole-1st hole)

7:45 a.m.-1 p.m. — Pat Perez, United States; Brian Gaffney, United States; David Hearn, Canada.

7:55 a.m.-1:10 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Johan Kok, United States; Brendan Steele, United States.

8:05 a.m.-1:20 p .m. — Matt Dobyns, United States; Colin Montgomerie, Scotland; John Daly, United States.

8:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m. — Victor Dubuisson, France; Matt Kuchar, United States; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa.

8:25 a.m.-1:40 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Spain; Bill Haas, United States; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa.

8:35 a.m.-1:50 p.m. — Justin Rose, England; Brandt Snedeker, United States; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia.

8:45 a.m.-2 p.m. — Bubba Watson, United States; Paul Casey, England; Jim Furyk, United States.

8:55 a.m.-2:10 p.m. — Hunter Mahan, United States; Lee Westwood, England; Ernie Els, South Africa.

9:05 a.m.-2:20 p.m. — Jason Day, Australia; Dustin Johnson, United States; Rickie Fowler, United States.

9:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m. — Tiger Woods, United States; Martin Kaymer, Germany; Keegan Bradley, United States.

9:25 a.m.-2:40 p.m. — Gary Woodland, United States; Francesco Molinari, Italy; Marc Warren, Scotland.

9:35 a.m.-2:50 p.m. — Brent Snyder, United States; Tyrrell Hatton, England; Brendon Todd, United States.

9:45 a.m.-3 p.m. — Jeff Olson, United States; Fabian Gomez, Argentina; Bridgestone Invitational winner.

1 p.m.-7:45 a.m. — George McNeill, United States; Charles Frost, United States; Emiliano Grillo, Argentina.

1:10 p.m.-7:55 a.m. — Chris Wood, England; Brett Jones, United States; Graham DeLaet, Canada.

1:20 p.m.-8:05 a.m. — George Coetzee, South Africa; Ben Martin, United States; Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark.

1:30 p.m.-8:15 a.m. — Rich Beem, United States; Shaun Micheel, United States; Y.E. Yang, South Korea.

1:40 p.m.-8:25 a.m. — Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Spain; Steve Bowditch, Australia; Daniel Berger, United States.

1:50 p.m.-8:35 a.m. — Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Kiradech Alphibarnrat, Thailand; Pablo Larrazabal, Spain.

2 p.m.-8:45 a.m. — Cameron Smith, Australia; Shawn Stefani, United States; Hiroshi Iwata, Japan.

2:10 p.m.-8:55 a.m. — Kevin Streelman, United States; Sang-Moon Bae, South Korea; David Lingmerth, Sweden.

2:20 p.m.-9:05 a.m. — Troy Merritt, United States; Alexander Levy, France; Russell Knox, Scotland.

2:30 p.m.-9:15 a.m. — Tim Clark, South Africa; Billy Horschel, United States; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain.

2:40 p.m.-9:25 a.m. — Eddie Pepperell, England; Sean Dougherty, United States; Kevin Na, United States.

2:50 p.m.-9:35 a.m. — Marc Leishman, Australia; Ben Polland, United States; Kevin Kisner, United States.

3 p.m.-9:45 a.m. — Scott Piercy, United States; Alan Morin, United States; Andy Sullivan, England.