Rory and JT Got the Memorial's First Headline Slot, but Scottie and Aaron Rai Are Right Behind Them

Image: Birdie Report

The Memorial Tournament is done with the vague “big week ahead” stuff and now has actual pairings attached to it.

According to the PGA TOUR’s June 2 featured-groups release, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas will take the Thursday marquee slot at 10:25 a.m. ET, while Scottie Scheffler and Aaron Rai get the Friday marquee window at 10:25 a.m. ET after opening together at 1:35 p.m. Thursday.

That is a pretty decent way to start a week at Muirfield Village.

This piece is based on official PGA TOUR and R&A materials checked on June 3, 2026, including the Tour’s June 2 featured-groups post and the Open qualifying pages for Royal Birkdale. No pretending I had a leaked tee sheet from Jack’s office.

Rory and JT Got the First Clean Spotlight

The Tour made the simplest TV choice first.

McIlroy and Thomas are the official Thursday marquee group, and it makes sense even before a ball is in the air. McIlroy is back at the Memorial for the first time since 2024, and Thomas is still looking for his first win at Muirfield Village. The PGA TOUR notes that Thomas also enters off a solid May run of T13-T4-T13, which is enough to make him relevant without needing to invent momentum out of thin air.

If you want the bigger week setup before the pairings dropped, we already laid that out in our Memorial first-look piece.

Scheffler and Rai Might Be the More Interesting Golf Pairing

The more quietly spicy group is Scheffler-Rai.

The Tour framed it the obvious way: the last two names on the PGA Championship trophy are now together for the first two rounds. Scheffler is chasing a Memorial three-peat, while Rai is arriving off the biggest win of his career after taking the PGA Championship at Aronimink.

That pairing has a cleaner competitive edge than a lot of bigger-name duos. Scheffler knows the place cold. Rai has fresh major-champion confidence and far less expectation noise than the louder stars. If you are looking for the pairing that could actually shape the week instead of just decorate the coverage grid, this is probably it.

The Other Notable Groups Are Not Filler Either

The Tour also flagged two more first-two-round pairings worth caring about:

• Cameron Young and Tommy Fleetwood
• Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg

Young enters as No. 2 in the FedExCup, while Fleetwood is trying to steady the putter on one of the nastier green complexes on Tour. Schauffele and Aberg are the more obvious star pairing, mainly because both still feel one sharp week away from reminding everybody how dangerous they are.

Those are real groups, not background content.

The Memorial Also Has an Open Spot Riding on It

The useful extra wrinkle comes from the R&A.

Its official Open Qualifying Series page says the Memorial Tournament offers one place into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale for the leading player not already exempt who makes the cut.

That matters because it gives a few middle-band contenders something more interesting to chase than a paycheck and a nice week in Ohio. The Memorial was already a serious stop because of Scheffler, Rory, and the 50th-anniversary frame. Add a direct Open Championship route and the week gets a little less polite.

We made a similar point yesterday in our Scottie three-peat column: the Tour product works better when a strong course and a meaningful consequence are doing the talking.

How to Watch the Main Stuff

Per the PGA TOUR’s June 2 post, the basic viewing setup is:

• Thursday-Friday TV: 2-6 p.m. ET on Golf Channel
• Saturday-Sunday TV: 12:30-2:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, then 2:30-6 p.m. ET on CBS
• PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+: starts 7:45 a.m. ET Thursday and Friday

Thursday’s official featured groups on the Tour’s streaming setup include:

• Jason Day and Jordan Spieth at 8:05 a.m. ET
• Cameron Young and Tommy Fleetwood at 10:10 a.m. ET
• Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas as the 10:25 a.m. ET marquee group

Friday’s headliners include:

• Russell Henley and Matt Fitzpatrick at 10 a.m. ET
• Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg at 10:10 a.m. ET
• Aaron Rai and Scottie Scheffler as the 10:25 a.m. ET marquee group

Bottom Line

The PGA TOUR’s June 2 featured-groups release gave the 2026 Memorial a pretty tidy opening script:

• Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas get Thursday’s first headline window
• Scottie Scheffler and Aaron Rai sit in the best sneaky pairing of the week
• one Open Championship berth adds a little extra pressure underneath all of it

That is enough to make the first two days worth your attention before the leaderboard does any work at all.