Perhaps more than any other high-profile professional golf tournament, the U.S. Open presents some of the year’s most interesting early-round groupings.

The USGA organizers long ago ignored any pretense of randomness in the groups that they unveil. Later-round pairings are ultimately self-selective, so why not have a little fun with the ones you can engineer? That’s been the USGA’s philosophy of late, and it’s a brilliant one that creates that much more pre-Open buzz. Articles like this one, for instance.

Here are some of the marquee pairings:

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott: “Pairing of Death”

The phrase “pairing of death” refers not only to the fact that it contains the first-, second- and third-ranked players in the world, but also to the undoubtedly still-simmering enmity between Tiger Woods and former caddy Steve Williams, who now loops for Adam Scott. Here’s hoping protracted coverage of this dynamic doesn’t drown out the fact that Scott is the reigning Masters champion and that his excellent tee-to-green game would seem to give him an advantage over most at Merion Golf Club.

McIlroy is in the midst of a trying year where his previous near-coronation as golf’s “Next Greatest Player” has led to some rough patches of play in 2013. He has yet to win, and to be honest, Merion may not be the best fit for him. McIlroy’s main weapon is his driver, which he won’t be able to hit so often given Merion’s modest length and numerous holes where length is no substitute for strategic play. Still, he’s the No. 2 player in the world.

Marc Leishman, John Senden, Marcus Fraser: “Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie!”

This trio of players from Down Under may surprise a few people with their solid play. Senden is one of the game’s best ball-strikers, which should keep him from playing from Merion’s treacherous rough as often as most others will. Leishman had a good showing at the year’s first major, which shows he can compete at tough tracks. Fraser is not exactly a household name, but at No. 72 in the world he has the game to put up a good showing at Merion.

Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Tim Clark: “More from the Southern Hemisphere”

All three players in this group have won huge events — Oosthuizen the 2010 Open Championship, Schwartzel the 2011 Masters and Clark the 2010 Players Champion — and Merion is a good match for all of them. The 2012 U.S. Open champion could easily come from this group, furnishing South Africa with its first champion since Retief Goosen in 2004.

Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Nicolas Colsaerts: “Bombs Away”

This pairing is an example of the USGA showing its sense of humor. All three of its members are among the longest drivers of the golf ball in the game. Merion should be an exercise in frustration for all of them, to the point where they may take some unnecessary chances off tees. Brace yourselves for a bunch of birdies from this group, offset by at least a couple double bogies.

Stephen Fox (a), Webb Simpson, Ernie Els: “Reign and Shine”

Had these players been paired together at this time last year, it would have appeared completely random. But now, they are reigning U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and Open Champions, respectively. It would shock the world in Ouimet-like fashion if Fox were to take the title, but Simpson and Els are both legitimate contenders.

Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero, Jason Day: “Get Ready for the Future”

Call this group the League of Future Major Champions. An American, an Italian and an Aussie will go to Philadelphia and one of them might even walk away a major champion. Yes, Day finished just outside the playoff at the Masters this year, but Manassero has been playing the best golf of the three recently, having won the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour. Fowler had his best run at a major title in 2011, where he strung together four solid rounds at Royal St. George’s Golf Club to finish T5.

Geoff Ogilvy, Angel Cabrera, Paul Lawrie: “Expert Grinders”

These three may not seem to have much in common beyond their major champion status. But all three of them have won majors where the winning score was significantly over par, indicating that they are at their best when the going gets rough. Ogilvy won the 2006 U.S. Open at 5-over par. Cabrera won the 2007 edition at 5-over par. Lawrie survived Carnoustie and a playoff with Jean Van de Velde and Justin Leonard in 1999, having posted 6-over par (few remember that Cabrera finished a shot outside that playoff, too).

Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer: “Hey, Remember Us?”

All three are polished players. All three are European. But that’s not why the USGA paired them together. This is the “Struggling Former World No. 1” group. Kaymer has a major — the 2010 PGA Championship — but the other two are desperate to secure one in order to validate the remainder of their very good careers to this point.

Did we miss any others? Let us know in the comments.