Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson grouped

Jason Day will begin the defence of his US PGA Championship title alongside former champions Rory McIlroy and the in-form Phil Mickelson.

Australian Day's three-stroke victory at Whistling Straits last year was his first major win, helping to propel him to number one in the world.

He will be in impressive company at Baltusrol Golf Club, with Mickelson on the back of a stunning performance at The Open.

The American's 17-under-par 267 would have won all but four of the previous editions of The Open, however he was denied by Henrik Stenson - the Swede taking victory by three strokes after an absorbing final-round shootout with Mickelson.

As is traditional at the US PGA, Stenson will play with 2016's other major winners, Masters champion Danny Willett and U.S. Open victor Dustin Johnson.

Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia make up another eye-catching group in New Jersey, at an event brought forward from its usual August slot due to the Olympic Games.

Day, Johnson, Spieth and McIlroy - golf's top-four ranked players - have all pulled out of the 2016 Games amid fears over the Zika virus and issues with packed scheduling.