The 2012 FedEx Cup begins bright and early on Thursday morning with the first round of The Barclays teeing off at Bethpage Black. The top 125 finishers in the FedEx Cup standings are in attendance, which means there are superstars in nearly every group. But one threesome that will dominate the headlines is the group of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Zach Johnson. They'll play in the morning wave on Thursday, going off No. 10 at 8:16 a.m. ET. After capturing his second major at an age younger than when Woods won his second, the inevitable comparisons of Rory as the "next Tiger" will be prevalent in the coverage of the first two rounds. The Northern Irishman is in form and has one of the best swings in golf, but even with Woods' air of invincibility long gone, playing with Tiger (especially in front of a raucous NYC gallery) is always a different challenge.
Golf Channel will carry the broadcast for the first round on Thursday, extending their typical three-hour coverage to four hours. They will come on the air at 2 p.m. ET and broadcast until 6 p.m. ET. While Tiger and Rory will be finished by the time Golf Channel comes on the air, there are still plenty of marquee groups to follow Thursday afternoon. Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, and Brandt Snedeker will tee off at 12:44 p.m. ET with potential Ryder Cup captain's picks at stake. Following them 11 minutes later will be a group featuring two of this year's major winners in a threesome comprised of Ernie Els, Webb Simpson, and Justin Rose. Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan, two more likely Ryder Cup participants, then follow that group off No. 1 at 1:06 p.m. ET. Expect the Golf Channel cameras to be focused on that cluster of three straight tee times. A complete list of pairings and tee times for Thursday below:
Morning wave off No. 1:
| 7:10 am | Owen, Greg | Flores, Martin | Stallings, Scott |
| 7:21 am | O'Hair, Sean | Moore, Ryan | Baddeley, Aaron |
| 7:32 am | Matteson, Troy | Potter, Jr., Ted | Harrington, Padraig |
| 7:43 am | Palmer, Ryan | Rollins, John | Byrd, Jonathan |
| 7:54 am | Scott, Adam | Garcia, Sergio | Oosthuizen, Louis |
| 8:05 am | Johnson, Dustin | McDowell, Graeme | Leishman, Marc |
| 8:16 am | Wagner, Johnson | Haas, Bill | Stanley, Kyle |
| 8:27 am | English, Harris | Mallinger, John | Claxton, Will |
| 8:38 am | Hearn, David | Streelman, Kevin | Gay, Brian |
| 8:49 am | Christian, Gary | Allenby, Robert | Day, Jason |
Morning wave off No. 10:
| 7:10 am | Adams, Blake | McNeill, George | Choi, K.J. |
| 7:21 am | Perez, Pat | Sabbatini, Rory | McGirt, William |
| 7:32 am | Westwood, Lee | Henry, J.J. | Every, Matt |
| 7:43 am | Davis, Brian | Watney, Nick | Points, D.A. |
| 7:54 am | Mickelson, Phil | Piercy, Scott | Donald, Luke |
| 8:05 am | Bradley, Keegan | Kuchar, Matt | Stricker, Steve |
| 8:16 am | Woods, Tiger | McIlroy, Rory | Johnson, Zach |
| 8:27 am | Molder, Bryce | Harman, Brian | Barnes, Ricky |
| 8:38 am | Stroud, Chris | Castro, Roberto | Blixt, Jonas |
| 8:49 am | Knost, Colt | Frazar, Harrison | Kelly, Jerry |
Afternoon wave off No. 1:
| 12:00 pm | Chalmers, Greg | Pride, Dicky | Kirk, Chris |
| 12:11 pm | Toms, David | Stadler, Kevin | Bae, Sang-Moon |
| 12:22 pm | Clark, Tim | Poulter, Ian | Tringale, Cameron |
| 12:33 pm | de Jonge, Brendon | Duke, Ken | Walker, Jimmy |
| 12:44 pm | Furyk, Jim | Fowler, Rickie | Snedeker, Brandt |
| 12:55 pm | Els, Ernie | Rose, Justin | Simpson, Webb |
| 1:06 pm | Watson, Bubba | Mahan, Hunter | Pettersson, Carl |
| 1:17 pm | Romero, Andres | Teater, Josh | Jacobson, Fredrik |
| 1:28 pm | Gainey, Tommy | Estes, Bob | Chappell, Kevin |
| 1:39 pm | Stenson, Henrik | Kelly, Troy | Mayfair, Billy |
| 1:50 pm | Weekley, Boo | Slocum, Heath | Bohn, Jason |
Afternoon wave off No. 10:
| 12:00 pm | Merrick, John | Holmes, J.B. | Summerhays, Daniel |
| 12:11 pm | Thompson, Michael | Hoffman, Charley | Ogilvy, Geoff |
| 12:22 pm | Singh, Vijay | Overton, Jeff | Howell III, Charles |
| 12:33 pm | Na, Kevin | Crane, Ben | Noh, Seung-Yul |
| 12:44 pm | Cauley, Bud | Wi, Charlie | Senden, John |
| 12:55 pm | Curtis, Ben | Wilson, Mark | Laird, Martin |
| 1:06 pm | Van Pelt, Bo | Garrigus, Robert | Huh, John |
| 1:17 pm | Schwartzel, Charl | Campbell, Chad | Gillis, Tom |
| 1:28 pm | Love III, Davis | DeLaet, Graham | Maggert, Jeff |
| 1:39 pm | Immelman, Trevor | Driscoll, James | Pampling, Rod |
For live Barclays leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
Stay with this StoryStream for news and updates throughout the week at Bethpage. For all your golf news during the 2012 FedEx Cup, visit SB Nation's golf hub.