The 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tees off Thursday in Akron, Ohio and marks the return of Tiger Woods to the golf course.
With the first round pairings and tee times released, Tiger will be paired up with one of the golfers who's grabbed the headlines while he's been away. Tiger will share time with 2011 British Open champion Darren Clarke as the two tee off at 1:40pm ET.
Woods sent Clarke text messages before the Open that he says helped him win and the two "just get on very well."
"It'll be very interesting the first two rounds. And knowing Tiger like I do, I don't think he would come back to play unless he was ready to come back and play, both physically and mentally, and ready for the challenge again."
Other notable pairings include Retief Goosen & Sergio Garcia at 9:40 a.m., Luke Donald & Charl Schwartzel at 9:20 a.m., Phil Mickelson & Jason Day at 10:00 a.m. and K.J. Choi & Ian Poulter at 1:40 p.m.
See the full tee times and pairings here.
The 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational starts on Thursday, August 4 from Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio and ends on Sunday, August 7.
Stay in the know about the Bridgestone and Tiger Woods over at SB Nation's golf hub as well as its golf blog, Waggle Room.