Andrew Johnston will have a fair wait to tee off at his debut US PGA Championship on Thursday, after being placed in the 16th group for the first round in Springfield.

Fresh from his eighth-placed finish at The Open, which secured an invite to this week's championship, "Beef" will begin his tournament alongside Swede Alex Noren and American Scott Piercy at 12.35pm local time (5.35pm UK time).

Both his rivals have competed in the competition before, with Piercy finishing five under in 2013 to finish fifth, while Noren was two over to finish 34th in 2011.

The trio will have an earlier start for their second round, and will begin at the 10th hole on Friday at 7.20am (12.20pm UK time).

Johnston's opening round will be watched more closely than when he begun his stint at Royal Troon earlier this month, after becoming an overnight home favourite for his likeable and unique character.

He will hope to add to his bumper year for prize money so far, which saw him pick up €333,000 for his debut European Tour win at the Spanish Open in April, coupled with a cheque for €197,000 after his superb showing at The Open.