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Woods grouped with Els, Lee

Los Angeles - Tiger Woods will play the first and second rounds of next week's US Open at Pebble Beach with world number three Lee Westwood of England and South African Ernie Els.

The US Golf Association released the first- and second-round tee-times and groupings on Friday.

Woods won the US Open the last time it was held at Pebble Beach, in 2000, humbling the field as he posted a record 15-shot victory. Els, a two-time US Open winner, was runner-up in 2000 and played in the final group with Woods as the American marched to victory after taking a 10-shot lead into the final round.

As next Thursday's first round approaches, however, Woods is something of an unknown quantity. Revelations of extra-marital affairs prompted a five-month absence from golf and since his return he has struggled with his game and with a sore neck that forced him out of the final round of the Players Championship.

Westwood will be seeking his first major title, hoping again to improve on a runner-up finish at the Masters in April. Westwood has finished in the top three in his last three major campaigns.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who has Woods' world number one ranking in his sights, is paired with South Korea's PGA champion Yang Yong-eun - the first Asian to win a major title - and Ireland's three-time major champion Padraig Harrington.

Rising young stars Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Ryo Ishikawa of Japan are paired with US veteran Tom Watson, winner of the US Open at Pebble beach in 1982.

Pairings and tee times for Thursday's first round of the US Open at the par-71, 7 040-yard Pebble Beach Golf Links (a-denotes amateur):

Hole 1

16:00: Deane Pappas (RSA), Gary Woodland (USA), Paul Sheehan (AUS)
16:11: Steve Marino (USA), Gregory Havret (FRA) Charles Warren (USA)
16:22: Toru Taniguchi (JPN), Soren Hansen (DEN), Edoardo Molinari (ITA)
16:33: Francesco Molinari (ITA), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN)
16:44: Tim Clark (RSA), KJ Choi (KOR), Mike Weir (CAN)
16:55: Adam Scott (AUS), Geoff Ogilvy (AUS), Robert Allenby (AUS)
17:06: Matt Kuchar (USA), Justin Leonard (USA), Scott Verplank (USA)
17:17: Stewart Cink (USA), a-An Byeong-Hun (KOR), Lucas Glover (USA)
17:28: Ian Poulter (ENG), Yuta Ikeda (JPN), Henrik Stenson (SWE)
17:39: Trevor Immelman (RSA), Robert Karlsson (SWE), David Toms (USA)
17:50: Jason Gore (USA), Arjun Atwal (IND), Jim Herman (USA)
18:01: a-Andrew Putnam (USA), Ty Tryon (USA), Hugo Leon (CHI)
18:12: Kent Eger (CAN), a-Alex Martin (USA), Jon Curran (USA)
21:30: Steve Wheatcroft (USA), a-Morgan Hoffmann (USA), Rikard Karlberg (SWE)
21:41: Marc Leishman (AUS), Rafa Echenique (ARG), John Rollins (USA)
21:52: Rocco Mediate, Graeme McDowell (NIR), Shaun Micheel (USA)
22:03: David Duval (USA), Tom Lehman (USA), Ben Curtis (USA)
22:14: Sergio Garcia (ESP), Steve Stricker (USA), Paul Casey (ENG)
22:25: Bob Estes (USA), Brendon de Jonge (ZIM), Brian Davis (ENG)
22:36: Lee Westwood (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA), Tiger Woods (USA)
22:47: Ben Crane (USA), Peter Hanson (SWE), Jerry Kelly (USA)
22:58: Martin Kaymer (GER), Sean O'Hair (USA), Charl Schwartzel (RSA)
23:09: Heath Slocum (USA), Oliver Wilson (ENG), John Senden (AUS)
23:20: Mathias Gronberg (SWE), Azuma Yano (JPN), Harrison Frazar (USA)
23:31: Jason Preeo (USA), a-Kevin Phelan (USA), Mark Silvers (USA)
23:42: Kenny Kim (KOR), a-Bennett Blakeman (USA), Blaine Peffley (USA)

Hole 10

16:00: Rafael Cabrera (ESP), John Mallinger (USA), Stephen Allan (AUS)
16:11: Mikko Ilonen (FIN), Derek Lamely (USA), James Morrison (ENG)
16:22: Brian Gay (USA), Simon Khan (ENG), Bo Van Pelt (USA)
16:33: Camilo Villegas (COL), Zach Johnson (USA), Luke Donald (ENG)
16:44: Retief Goosen (RSA), Jim Furyk (USA), Angel Cabrera (ARG)
16:55: Stuart Appleby (AUS), Rory Sabbatini (RSA), Stephen Ames (CAN)
17:06: Phil Mickelson (USA), Padraig Harrington (IRL), Yang Yong-eun (KOR)
17:17: David Frost (RSA), Kaname Yokoo (JPN), Eric Axley (USA)
17:28: Nick Watney (USA), Hunter Mahan (USA), Ricky Barnes (USA)
17:39: Jason Dufner (USA), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Ross McGowan (ENG)
17:50: Kevin Na (USA), a-Ben Martin (USA), Matt Bettencourt (USA)
18:01: Craig Barlow (USA), Kent Jones (USA), Bobby Gates (USA)
18:12: Dan McCarthy (USA), a-Joseph Bramlett (USA), Travis Hampshire (USA)
21:30: Terry Pilkadaris (AUS), Rich Barcelo (USA), Gary Boyd (ENG)
21:41: Jean-Francois Lucquin (FRA), Chris Stroud (USA), Gareth Maybin (NIR)
21:52: Simon Dyson (ENG), JJ Henry (USA), Alex Cejka (GER)
22:03: Michael Campbell (NZL), Noh Seung-yul (KOR), Paul Goydos (USA)
22:14: Aaron Baddeley (AUS), Pablo Martin (ESP), Rhys Davies (WAL)
22:25: Alvaro Quiros (ESP), Ryan Moore (USA), Michael Sim (AUS)
22:36: Vijay Singh (FIJ), Dustin Johnson (USA), Davis Love (USA)
22:47: Ryo Ishikawa (JPN), Rory McIlroy (NIR), Tom Watson (USA)
22:58: Kenny Perry (USA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP), Fred Funk (USA)
23:09: Ross Fisher (ENG), Brandt Snedeker (USA), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)
23:20: Daniel Summerhays (USA), a-Scott Langley (USA), Matthew Richardson (ENG)
23:31: Erik Compton (USA), a-Russell Henley (USA), Jason Allred (USA)
23:42: Erick Justesen (USA), Jerry Smith (USA), a-Hudson Swafford (USA)

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