The fourth and final major of 2024 is here, as Royal Troon hosts the 152nd edition of The Open Championship. (More Golf News)
Following his remarkable near-miss at the U.S. Open, the event offers Rory McIlroy one last chance to stop his major drought from stretchi🗹ജng into an 11th year.
Bryson DeChambeau edged McIlroy out at Pinehurst and should again be among the contenders, while world number one Scottie Scheffler is targeting an improvement after a disappointin🦹g showing on home soil.
Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa – who won the 149th Open three years ago – are also eyeing glory, while Tiger Woods will play his first Open at Troon in 20 years.
Here, we run through the best Opta stats and storylines surrounding the😼 main contenders.
Can McIlroy bounce back?
McIlroy won his third major title at The Open in 2014, beating R🐬ickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by six shots at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. One month later, he made it four by winning the PGA Championshiꦜp at Valhalla.
Who would have thought that 10 years on, the Northern Irishman would still be yet to add another major title to his glitteringꦫ trophy cabinet?
Perh🧜aps his most gutting near-miss to date came at last month's U.S. Open. Neck-and-neck with DeChambeau at the top of the leaderboard as the final round drew to a close, McIlroy missไed two putts from within four yards in the final three holes.
The world number two took three weeks off after that disappointment before struggling on the greens again at last week's Sc๊ottish Open, finishing tied for fourth as Robert MacIntyre triumphed on home ground.
McIlroy has had five top-10 finishes in his last seven Open Championship appearances, thoug꧂h, including finishing in the top five on each of his last three Open outings on Scottish soi𒀰l.
He also finished in a share of fifth at his only previous Open at Troon in 2016, and produced his best Open performance of the l🦩ast decade when the event was last held in Scotland, finishing thir💞d and two shots adrift of Cameron Smith at St. Andrews in 2022.
With 21 top-10 finishe🐻s in 37 majors since his 2014 🐎PGA Championship win, McIlroy has generally put himself in contention on the big stage – an improvement he referenced at Tuesday's pre-tournament press conference.
The key, as he earlier told reporꦦters after the Scottish Open, will be getting his putter to "cooperate" when it matters most.
Double bubble for Bryson?
Not since Woods completed his 🌺memorable 'Tiger Slam' has any🐽 player won the U.S. Open and The Open Championship in the same year.
Woods, of course, captured both titles as he won three straightꦗ majors to round off 2000, then kick-started 2001 by triumphing at The Masters.
Tom Watson (1982), Lee Trevino (1971), Ben Hogan (1953), Gene Sarazen (1932) and Bo🤡bby 🧔Jones (1926 and 1930) are the other players to have won both in the same year.
DeChambeau will attempt to write his 🌠name into the history books this week, though his record at The Open leaveജs plenty to be desired.
Only in 2022 (T8) has he finished higher than 33rd at the event, a placing he managed in both 2017 and 2021. Across his six participations, he has also missed the cu♏t twice and finished in a share of 60th last year.
The American has really turned up at the majors this year, however, finishing T6 at The Master💧s and second at the PGA Championship before claiming his second U.S. Open title.
PGA Championship victor Schauffele is the only othe♒r player to finish inside the top 10 at each of this year's three majors to date.
Indeed, DeChambeau is 28 under par across this year's opening three majors (-2 at The Masters, -20 ꦿPGA Championship, -6 U.S. Open), a better aggregate score than any other player. Write him off at yourཧ peril.
Scheffler to stay on top?
Victory at Augusta seemed to 🦩be paving the way for a dominant year in t��he majors for world number one Scheffler, though that has not quite been the case, even if he is enjoying a fantastic season nevertheless.
His arrest on the eve of the PGA Championship was far from ideal preparation for that tournament, and it was followꦦed by a disappointing showing at the U.S. Open.
Will he get back to form at Royal Troon, an▨d become the ninth player to win both The Masters and The Open in the same year, and the first since Woods in 2005?
Scheffler's best finish at The Open was a tie for eighth in 2021. But he has won six of his last 10 tournaments this year (Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship, Masters, Heritage, Memoria𒁏l and Travele♒rs).
That marks the most wins on ꦿthe PGA Tour in a calendar year since Woods in 2009.
The last six major tournaments have been won by Amer🌟ican players. It is the USA's longest streak of major wins since 1982, and Scheffler is tꦡhe very best of the bunch.
Can Harman hold onto the title? The other contenders and Woods is back
Four golfers have finished inside the top 10 at each of the last two editions of The Open: McIlroy, Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman, w🍌ho won the Claret Jug last year.
Harman comes into The Open as the world number 13, though it is worth noting he has only finished in the top 10 in three majors (U.S. Open 2017, The Open 2022 and The Open 2023𓆏).
Scottish Open champion MacIntyre is one of only three multiple winners on the PGA Tour this year (he won the Can🌱adian Op♌en in June), along with Scheffler and McIlroy.
Home favourite MacIntyre is aiming to become the first Sc🍸ottish winner of a major since Paul Lawrie in 1999.
In his threeꦫ Open Championship appearances so far, Morikawa has either won (2021) or missed the cut (2022, 2023). He is one of two players to win The Open at the first attempt this century, alongside Ben Curtis in 2003.
What about Schauffele? He ♈finally ended his wait for a major title at the PGA Championship earlier this year. Since th𝕴e 2022 edition of that tournament, the world number three has played in 10 major tournaments and has never finished outside the top 20.
And, finally, Troon will welcome back Woods after a two-decade absenc♍e.
The 15-time major champion bit back at a suggestion he should be considering retirementಌ, an✤d will be out to prove his doubters wrong.
That being said, the last time he made the cut at The Open wa𓆉s in 2018, at Carnoustie (T-6th), and he failed to make the weekend at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship this year🔯.
Having also finished last of any player to make the cut at this year's Masters, Woods may be up against it at Royal Troon, though is firing on all🧸 fronts after Colin Montgomerie's retirement comments.
The course
Royal Troon is hosting The Open Championship for the 10th time. It will become the eighth course to welcome the tournament on 10 or more occasions an🐼d only the fourth venue in Scotland to play host that many times, after St. Andrews (30), 🐲Prestwick (24) and Muirfield (16).
The first Open at Troon took place 101 years ago, in 1923, and the𒁃 course has welcomed the tournament at least once iꦐn every decade since the 1950s.
The most rec🐟ent Open to be held at the venue saw Henrik Stenson edge out Phil Mickelson by three strokes back in 2016.
At that edition of the tournament, Stenson set records both for the lowest final score at a 72-h🐈ole Open (264) and the lowest score to par (20 under), with Smith match🔜ing that latter achievement two years ago.
Does more history await this year?
