2025 Open Championship Thursday Morning Coffee Golf Gameplan

While early morning viewing of the Open Championship is among the best times to be a golf fan, there is no doubt that it comes with complications. The rush to turn off the alarm before it wakes up your spouse. Creeping slowly downstairs to avoid making noise. The presetting of the coffee pot so you aren’t fumbling around in the dark. All to have a hot cup of joe as the glow of the television pierces through your raw retinas at 3 a.m. Glorious.

There is a lot of golf to be watched in the wee hours of the morning in the United States over the next couple of days. Some tee times are worth getting up early for. Others, not so much. Here are some tee times for the 2025 Open Championship and the number (and type) of coffees you’ll need in order to make sure you’re awake for them on Thursday morning. The opening stretch at Royal Portrush is incredible, and you won’t want to miss a single shot. All times ET.

Thursday

1:35 a.m. – Padraig Harrington / Nicolai Hojgaard / Tom McKibbin

2 Red Bulls and 2 Miller Lites

Perhaps the only Open Championship tee times where it pays to live on the West Coast of the United States are the first couple of starting times on Thursday. For those who live on the East Coast, you’ll want to fire up the caffeine early in the evening but temper it down with a couple of light beers to make sure you can still fall asleep after Paddy hits the opening tee shot. There is a window where you can get to sleep for a couple of hours.

2:08 a.m. – Jason Day / Taylor Pendrith / Jacob Skov Olesen

Decaf Irish Coffee and Nitro Cold Brew

If you want to go to bed first, grab yourself a little decaf Irish coffee around 8 p.m. and hit the hay. You’ll get in a few hours of rest and then rip right into the anxiety-inducing liquid nitro when your eyes open back up. There aren’t a ton of tee times worth waking up for at this time, but a few feature interesting prospects like Jacob Skov Olesen and veterans like Jason Day.

3:14 a.m. – Thomas Detry / Chris Gotterup / Lee Westwood

Triple Espresso, water, and drip coffee to sip on

Your first real chance to wake up and be excited about the players on your screen. Westy is playing his first major championship since 2022, Gotterup is riding high after his win at the Scottish, and Detry is in a battle for a captain’s pick at the Ryder Cup. You’ll need quick shots of espresso to get you going and then get some water in your stomach before sipping on some drip coffee for the next couple of hours.

MORE OPEN CONTENT: Check out our hub for all things Royal Portrush

3:25 a.m. – Patrick Cantlay / Cameron Young / Mackenzie Hughes

‍Triple Espresso

Essentially the same time as the group prior, but with the frustration that will be felt by Cam Young’s play, you won’t need a steady stream of caffeine to keep you going.

4:47 a.m. – Sam Burns / Aldrich Potgeiter / Brooks Koepka

Red eye

The first of three tee times that will get the juices flowing, and the young South African might be the headliner. A guy whose ball speed cruises over 190 mph trying to figure out Royal Portrush? Yes please. Also, could Koepka make a run at the Ryder Cup with a good performance? Me thinks not but who knows?

4:58 a.m. – Xander Schauffele / J.J. Spaun / Jon Rahm

Full pot of drip coffee

The defending champion, the defending major champion, and the guy who has three top-seven finishes in his last four Open starts and figures to be a favorite this week. This is where the tee sheet really gets going, so have the full pot ready.

5:09 a.m. – Shane Lowry / Collin Morikawa / Scottie Scheffler

Second cup from the previous pot

Lowry’s win at Royal Portrush in 2019 was a special moment for Irish golf. You have to figure he’s raring to get back in the mix. But without a doubt this group is most intriguing because of Scottie. The undisputed best player in the world over the last three years has been largely befuddled by links courses to this point in his career. We’ll see if his existential approach to this week helps at all. Keep drinking the joe, you’ll be fine at this point.

9:48 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre / Bryson DeChambeau / Justin Rose

Early risers - coffee pot #2, no coffee for late risers

If you weren’t up with the early crew, you don’t get coffee at this point. Just go about your day and think about the time you missed watching golf because you chose to sleep in. For those who were up and ready to go, it’s time to get that second pot fired up.

‍9:59 a.m. – Jordan Spieth / Ludvig Aberg / Viktor Hovland

Early risers - take a break from coffee. Still no coffee for late risers

With a now three-time dad in Jordan Spieth, there is no telling what this group will be capable of. Hold off on the caffeine for at least a little while and let's see how the three of them get started. You may be able to dip back in, but time will tell.

10:10 a.m. – Rory McIlroy / Justin Thomas / Tommy Fleetwood

Decaf

The good stuff. Nothing needed for a late afternoon tee time featuring McIlroy, JT, and Fleetwood. The end of their round will be in the evening at Portrush, and if the weather cooperates, the views will be all you need to hold you over.

Enjoy the Open.