BRITISH OPEN FACTS

* Dates: Today through Sunday.

* Site: Royal Birkdale Golf Club, 7,018 yards, par 70 (34-36).

* Playoff, if necessary: Stroke play over four holes.

* Purse: Estimated $2.9 million.

* Winner’s share: $498,000.

* Defending champion: Justin Leonard.

* Television (PDT): Today-Friday, 6-11 a.m., ESPN. Saturday, 7-11 a.m., ABC. Sunday, 6:30-10:30 a.m., ABC.

TEE TIMES

Tee times and pairings for the first two rounds of the British Open today and Friday at Royal Birkdale (a-amateur). All times Pacific.

Thur., Fri.

11:15, 3:45 -- Jean-Louis Guepy, Fredrik Jacobson, Gary Evans

11:25, 3:55 -- Miguel Angel Jimenez, Scott Dunlap, Katsuyoshi Tomori

11:35, 4:15 -- a-Matt Kuchar, Sam Torrance, Stuart Appleby

11:45, 4:25 -- Scott Hoch, Patrik Sjoland, Steve Elkington

11:55, 4:35 -- Steve Stricker, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson

12:05, 4:45 -- Corey Pavin, a-Didier de Vooght, Kazuhiko Hosokawa

12:15, 4:55 -- Billy Mayfair, Barry Lane, David Howell

12:25, 5:05 -- Mark Calcavecchia, Joakim Haeggman, Keiichiro Fukabori

12:35, 5:15 -- Stewart Cink, John Huston, Toru Taniguchi

12:45, 5:25 -- Bob Estes, Peter Baker, Stephen Ames

12:55, 5:35 -- Brandt Jobe, Robert Karlsson, Toru Suzuki

1:05, 5:45 -- Andrew Magee, Colin Montgomerie, Ben Crenshaw

1:15, 5:55 -- Bob Tway, Curtis Strange, Greg Turner

1:25, 6:05 -- Brad Faxon, Lee Westwood, Trevor Dodds

1:45, 6:15 -- J.P. Hayes, Russell Claydon, Mark McNulty

1:55, 6:25 -- Tiger Woods, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Nick Price

2:05, 6:45 -- Mark Brooks, Darren Clarke, Eduardo Romero

2:15, 6:55 -- Paul Azinger, a-Sergio Garcia, Tony Johnstone

2:25, 7:05 -- Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Stephen Allan

2:35, 7:15 -- Steve Jones, Jesper Parnevik, Peter O’Malley

2:45, 7:25 -- Larry Mize, Paul McGinley, David Frost

2:55, 7:35 -- Gary Brown, Ross Drummond, Scott Henderson

3:05, 7:45 -- Greig Hutcheon, Steven Young, Graham Spring

3:15, 7:55 -- Grant Dodd, Robert Giles, Kyoung Ju Choi

3:25, 8:05 -- Francis Howley, Steve Alker, Lee Jones

3:35, 8:15 -- Fredrik Henge, Carl Suneson, Andrew Clapp

3:45, 11:15 -- Thomas Levet, Howard Clark, Brian Davis

3:55, 11:25 -- Gordan Brand Jnr, Bob May, Rodger Davis

4:15, 11:35 -- Paul Mitchell, Michael Campbell, Philip Walton

4:25, 11:45 -- Justin Leonard, Thomas Bjorn, David Duval

4:35, 11:55 -- Skip Kendall, David Carter, Carlos Franco

4:45, 12:05 -- Jeff Maggert, Phillip Price, Joe Ozaki

4:55, 12:15 -- Davis Love III, Ignacio Garrido, Vijay Singh

5:05, 12:25 -- Mark O’Meara, Nick Faldo, Shigeshi Maruyama

5:15, 12:35 -- Joe Durant, Raymond Russell, Stephen Leaney

5:25, 12:45 -- Brian Watts, Sandy Lyle, Yoshinori Mizumaki

5:35, 12:55 -- Lee Janzen, Ian Woosnam, Craig Parry

5:45, 1:05 -- John Daly, Bernhard Langer, Payne Stewart

5:55, 1:15 -- Tom Kite, Andrew Coltart, Frankie Minoza

6:05, 1:25 -- Fred Couples, Jose Maria Olazabal, Robert Allenby

6:15, 1:45 -- Loren Roberts, Santiago Luna, Greg Chalmers

6:25, 1:55 -- Dudley Hart, Greg Orr, Retief Goosen

6:45, 2:05 -- Tom Lehman, Mark James, Ernie Els

6:55, 2:15 -- Phil Mickelson, Costantino Rocca, Frank Nobilo

7:05, 2:25 -- Gary Player, Glenn Day, Peter Senior

7:15, 2:35 -- Derrick Cooper, Michael Long, Des Smyth

7:25, 2:45 -- Paul Lawrie, Mats Hallberg, Sven Struver

7:35, 2:55 -- Roger Bland, Darren Lee, Matthew McGuire

7:45, 3:05 -- Andrew McLardy, Andrew Oldcorn, Peter Hedblom

7:55, 3:15 -- a-Simon McCarthy, Jeff Remesy, Mark Litton

8:05, 3:25 -- a-Justin Rose, Steen Tinning, Bradley Dredge

8:15, 3:35 -- David Shacklady, Steven Armstrong, John Lovell