Akron (Ohio), August 1: Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri will tee off at the same time as Tiger Woods but from a different end of the Firestone South course at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, here on Thursday. Lahiri will play with Luke List at 10.20 am from the first tee, while Woods will start play with Jason Day at the same time but from the tenth tee.

Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma’s presence will make it the first time two Indians feature in the same #WGC Championships. pic.twitter.com/KKXW7il50N

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) August 1, 2018

Also playing in the morning session will be Shubhankar Sharma as two Indians will play the event for the first time. Sharma plays the first round with Aaron Wise from first tee at 9.30 am. This is an important event for both as they seek to move forward on various fronts. Lahiri is trying to get back to top-50, while Sharma is trying to gain a PGA Tour card.

A dream Ohio pairing. 👏 @TigerWoods & @JDayGolf headline one of the top groups to follow during the first two rounds. pic.twitter.com/qSdLzId4eX

— WGC_Bridgestone (@WGC_Bridgestone) July 31, 2018

Meanwhile Woods has won this event eight times, including the first three times of this event's history. Woods got into top-50 in the nick of time after recording his best finish since 2013 by getting to tied 6th at the Open at Carnoustie. That year he was also tied 4th at the Masters and tied 6th at the Open. Woods last played at a WGC in this very tournament in 2014 but pulled out before completing it.

Among the favourites is World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, fresh of his third win of the season. Johnson returns to Firestone for a final time having won here in 2016. Fellow past champion Rory McIlroy, who like Woods was T-6 at the Open Championship two weeks ago, has one win and three runners-up finishes this year. Both McIlroy and Woods can be lethal at this course.

.@McIlroyRory grinding on the range. Watch as he prepares for the @WGC_Bridgestone. https://t.co/tG02NgkixA

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 31, 2018

The Firestone Country Club (South) is a 7,400-yard par 70, which has been a signature stop on the PGA Tour for five decades and the last of the original WGC venues. The event will not be hosted by Firestone any longer starting in 2019 when it heads to Memphis.

Last year, Hideki Matsuyama captured his fifth PGA Tour win here, climbing to third in the world. This year injury and disappointing play have pulled Matsuyama down to 16th in the world with just one top-10 finish in 2018.

Our defending champion Hideki Matsuyama talks with media as he looks to capture his third WGC title. https://t.co/BpZED6NBY3

— WGC_Bridgestone (@WGC_Bridgestone) July 31, 2018