Featured Group: McIlroy, Fowler, Els

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At each PGA TOUR event this season, a featured pairing will be highlighted prior to the first round. Here is the featured group for Thursday and Friday at the British Open.

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This week's featured group for the British Open includes the two most talked-about young stars in golf, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, as well as one of the most consistent British Open finishers of the last decade, Ernie Els.

This week will be a trip down memory lane for the 41-year-old Els, who was a rising star still a year away from joining the PGA TOUR when he played at Royal St. George's in the 1994 British Open (he finished tied for sixth that year). Since then, he's won three majors -- including the 2002 British Open -- and 18 TOUR events, and in May during the week of THE PLAYERS Championship, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

McIlroy and Fowler have been tagged with the same high expectations Els faced nearly 20 years ago.

The 22-year-old McIlroy dominated the U.S. Open at Congressional for his first major win, a performance that has some observers wondering if he's the next Tiger Woods. Whether that comparison is fair or not, McIlroy has performed better than any other young player since Woods broke on the scene in 1996. He earned his first TOUR victory last year with a final-round 62 at the Quail Hollow Championship.

McIlroy also boasts a victory on the European Tour at the Dubai Desert Classic, but it's his performance in major championships that has caused so much stir. He set the course record in last year's British Open at St. Andrews with a first-round 63. While he struggled with a second-round 80, he bounced back on the weekend and finished the event tied for third.

He also tied for third at last year's PGA Championship, and led the Masters through the first three rounds, before limping to a 15th-place finish with a final-round 80. This year, he has three top 10s on TOUR, including a fifth-place finish at the Memorial.

McIlroy said in a Tuesday press conference that he's looking forward to his pairing with Els and Fowler.

"I've known Rickie since our amateur days back in '06 and '07," he said. " It's nice to, especially for me, go out on the golf course this week and have someone there that's familiar. And Ernie, as well. We're in the same management company and I've spent a little bit of time around him, so it'll be nice to have those two guys to play with the first two days."

The Northern Irishman hasn't teed it up since the U.S. Open, which has led to some players questioning his strategy, but his consistent play in major championships shows that he knows how to prepare.

Fowler, also 22 years old, has been close to his first victory on TOUR several times this year. He finished in the top 10 twice this year and in the top 25 eight times. He played well in his last event, the AT&T National, but like McIlroy has taken time off before the British.

Fowler suffered a minor knee injury that caused him to miss the CVS Charity Classic, but said that he is ready for the British. He finished 14th last year in his first British Open appearance -- his best result thus far in a major -- and has a great combination of length off the tee and putting touch. He's also second in birdie average, which should fuel him through any rough patches at Royal St. George's.

One of America's most successful players, Phil Mickelson, thinks Fowler is ready to break through soon.

"He's playing some very good golf, and he's got a lot of talent," Mickelson said in a press conference on Tuesday. "But yet he's only 22, and you don't want to rush it, but it's tough when you've got a guy like Rory the same age who comes out and wins a major."

Despite the competition between them, Fowler said he feels like he has a "good, friendly rivalry" with McIlroy.

"We are good buddies," he told the Press Association. "We enjoy being around each other. But at the end of the day, we are both trying to push each other and beat each other -- and that's good.

"He is pushing me to play my best and work on my game and obviously I hope I can catch up to him. It is pretty cool on my part to be compared to him. We are the same age, have similar playing styles as we are both fairly aggressive and hopefully we can play for a long time together."

Els did not play in the British Open last year at St. Andrews but finished in the top 10 in the championship from 2006-2009. He has five other top five performances in the championship, including a win in 2002 at Murfield, and finished tied for 18th in 2003 -- the last time the British Open was held at Royal St. George's. He's missed his last three cuts on the PGA TOUR, but showed signs of progress at last week's rain-shortened Barclay's Scottish Open, where he finished tied for 25th.

Twice he has played the British Open fresh off a win at the U.S. Open, so he knows the good vibes that McIlroy must have right now.

"It's a great feeling going to the Open as U.S. Open champion," Els told The Scotsman newspaper. "When you win one major, you feel going to the next one you can win it easily.

"That is the way I felt and I think Rory will have a lot of confidence. He will deal with the pressure. He will try to go under the radar after he does his press conference and get on with it."

PGA TOUR Season Summary

Rory McIlroy Rickie Fowler Ernie Els   2011 Top-10s 3 2 4 Current FEC Rank NA 52nd 139th 2010 FEC Rank 36th 19th 9th Career at the British Open Appearances 3 1 16 Wins 0 0 1 Top-10s 1 0 10 Best finish T3 T14 1st Last Appearance/Finish 2010/T3th 2010/T14th 2009/T8th Round 1 Scoring Avg. 66.67 79.00 71.05 Round 2 Scoring Avg. 76.67 67.00 70.25

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