Matchups released for next week’s U.S. Open at Merion

The United States Golf Assn. on Friday released the groupings for next week’s U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania and missed a Golden Bear opportunity to titillate the Twitter and pajama blogger crowd by not pairing Tiger Woods with Sergio Garcia.

Aw, shoot (under par, fellas, if you can).

The USGA has a history of having fun with quirky matchups that are sometimes inside jokes. Last year the USGA played off variations of “Charles” with the grouping of Charl Schwartzel, Carl Pettersen and Charles Howell III.”

The USGA made up for not pairing Woods with Garcia—a relationship that may still be a little bit too raw and sensitive—by putting Woods in an all-star threesome with Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott.

This terrific, of course, because it reunites Tiger with longtime caddy (1999-2011) Stevie Williams, who is now on Scott’s bag.

Woods fired Williams because Williams, reportedly, once went to work part-time for Scott without Tiger’s permission.

The interplay should be interesting, although it would have been better to have Tiger play with Scott and Jim Furyk, who uses the first caddiy Woods canned (Mike “Fluff” Cowan).

The WoodsMcIlroyAdams power grouping does have a theme in that these are the top three ranked golfers in the world.

They’ll tee off at 10:14 (PDT) on Thursday and 4:44 a.m. (PDT) June 14.

Garcia ended up with Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington.

Phil Mickelson, still in quixotic chase of his first U.S. Open, will play the first two days with Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley.

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