Golf’s major championship season comes to a close at the British Open, the last chance of the year for Rory McIlroy to end his nine-year drought in the majors.
At least the territory will be familiar. Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, is the site of the 151st edition of golf’s oldest championship. McIlroy won the last time at Royal Liverpool.
The defending British Open champion is Cameron Smith, who defected to LIV Golf about a month later.
The golf world is more chaotic and confusing than ever with the recent announcement of a partnership among the PGA Tour, European tour and the Saudi Arabia backers of LIV Golf. There is hope it could end the divide between rival circuits, and yet friction remains over the idea that defectors to LIV Golf might be able to return.
As for Americans with LIV Golf, the British Open is their last chance to earn Ryder Cup points to qualify for the team or at least show themselves worthy as a captain’s pick.
WHAT’S THE BRITISH OPEN SCHEDULE AND WHERE IS IT HELD?
The British Open will be played at Royal Liverpool for the 13th time dating to 1897, and most recently since 2014.
These are the longest days in golf. The first group typically tees off at 6:30 a.m. and because of the daylight in the U.K. in the summer, the last group doesn’t even start the round until 4 p.m. The 156-man field is cut to the top 70 players after two rounds.
The great charm of this championship — and great angst to the players — is who gets the good and bad end of the draw. The wind off the Irish sea can rage in either the morning or the afternoon, or it can be relatively calm. Louis Oosthuizen won at St. Andrews in 2010 by avoiding the wind for two days. Rory McIlroy faced little wind Thursday morning the last time at Royal Liverpool and it helped to stake him to a big lead on the weekend.
Royal Liverpool is where Bobby Jones won the Open in 1930 on his way to the Grand Slam, and where Tiger Woods won in 2006 on a course so dry and fast he used driver only one time.
HOW TO WATCH THE BRITISH OPEN
NBC Universal will deliver 49 hours of coverage of the British Open through three of its platforms.
For Americans who love watching links golf, set the alarm early. Coverage begins Thursday (July 20) and Friday (July 21) at 1:30 a.m. EDT on the Peacock streaming service. USA Network picks up coverage at 4 a.m. until 3 p.m., and then Peacock returns until 4 p.m.
On the weekend, third round coverage Saturday (July 22) goes from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on USA Network, and NBC takes over from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The final round Sunday (July 3) starts at 4 a.m. on USA Network, and it shifts over to NBC from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Woods won’t be playing as he recovers from ankle surgery in April, the third straight major he misses.
All eyes will be on McIlroy, and not just because he was the last Open champion at Royal Liverpool. He now has gone 33 majors over nine years since winning his last major, astonishing for a player of that talent. McIlroy had great chances to win last year at St. Andrews and last month in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles.
Brooks Koepka was runner-up at the Masters, won the PGA Championship and tied for 17th in the U.S. Open. He is back to good health and back to being a major force in the most important tournaments.
The top two players in the world are Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. Rahm already won the Masters this year for his second major. Scheffler is at No. 1 mainly because he has yet to finish worse than tied for 12th in any tournament this year.
Rickie Fowler wasn’t even eligible for the British Open the last two years. Now he has regained his form, winning for the first time in four years at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. His game is suited for links golf, and he was runner-up at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
Fowler is among several players who are overdue their first major. That list would include Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland and Cameron Young, who was runner-up at the Open last year.
BETTING GUIDE
McIlroy is the favorite at +750 to win his second British Open, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Scheffler is next at +850, just ahead of Rahm at +900. They are followed by Koepka at +1200 and Hovland at +1400, while Smith and Schauffele come in at +1600 and +1800.
Golf is never easy to predict, especially with Woods on the sideline. On the one hand, the last No. 1 player in the world to win the British Open was Woods in 2006 at Royal Liverpool. On the other, no one from outside the top 50 in the world has won the Open since Darren Clarke in 2011.
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