Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka paired at U.S. Open

Rory McIlroy spent much of the past year defending the PGA Tour against the upstart LIV Golf tour. At the same time, Brooks Koepka served as one of the faces of the controversial rival circuit.

And just as the two golf leagues announced last week they will ally under one umbrella, McIlroy and Koepka will be paired together for the opening two rounds of the 123rd U.S. Open, which opens Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club.

World No. 3 McIlroy and Koepka, who won last month's PGA Championship, will tee off 4:54 p.m. ET and be joined in the pairing by Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, the 2021 Masters tournament winner.

But that won't be the only group to watch at the U.S. Open, which features a handful of tempting trios.

Next among them is the group of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 Masters winner, Collin Morikawa and Los Angeles-area native Max Homa, now World No. 7. The latter is searching for his first major title, while Morikawa has two -- the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship. They will tee off at 11:13 a.m. ET on Thursday.

Current Masters champion Jon Rahm is paired in a high-profile group with Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland. The three players, all ranked in the top six in the world, will tee off at 11:24 a.m. in the opening round.

Phil Mickelson, who also jumped to the LIV circuit, is making another attempt to capture the U.S. Open -- the only major title that has eluded him. He is set to tee off at 3:59 p.m. with Padraig Harrington and Keegan Bradley.

Defending U.S. Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick is paired with Cameron Smith, the reigning winner of the Open Championship. Joining them in the 4:32 p.m. group is Sam Bennett, holder of the U.S. Amateur title who turned pro two weeks ago following his season at Texas A&M.

And in another notable group, three-time major winner Jordan Spieth is joined by two players seeking their first major titles -- Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. They tee off at 4:43 p.m.

The U.S. Open is returning to Los Angeles for the first time since 1948, when Ben Hogan won at Riviera Country Club.