For only the third time, The Open Championships takes place outside of England or Scotland, as late Wednesday night on California time, The Open will kick off at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
And that means the story of the week will likely fall on Rory McIlroy returning to his home country and on a course where he holds the course record. This time has to be a better result for McIlroy than in 2019, the last time The Open was at Royal Portrush.
McIlroy took a quadruple bogey eight on the first hole following hitting his tee shot out of bounds. He went on to miss the cut and it was another Irishman – Shane Lowry that brought home the win.
He is coming off a strong tournament at the Scottish Open where he finished in a tie for second, two shots off winner Chris Gotterup of the United States.
And McIlroy wasted no time prepping for this week, immediately leaving Scotland for the course where, after a few hours of sleep, was out first thing Monday morning for his initial practice round at Royal Portrush.
Betting wise, Scottie Scheffler – the top ranked player in the world – is the prohibitive favorite, and has earned that distinction with his play this season.
Xander Schauffele is the defending champion, but he has been down a bit this season. If he makes right with his game, he will be there Sunday.
An interesting story line this week will be the LIV golfers. The organization is without a win in the majors this year, with this being the last chance.
Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka usually carry the water in the majors for LIV. Koepka, one of my favorite golfers, has just been off this year and I don’t expect anything great this week.
DeChambeau is usually in contention when the majors roll around, but I am not sure his game fits the course. Of course, you know he will use his vast intelligence to put forth what is needed.
That leaves Rahm, who has played well in the majors. He was T14 at the Masters, T8 at the PGA, and T7 at the U.S. Open. Rahm is in good form right now, finishing second in the most recent LIV Golf Andalucia event.
There are always sentimental picks and recently that is frequently turning into Tommy Fleetwood for me. Always around the conversation of top golfers, Fleetwood has yet to win a PGA Tour event in 160-career starts.
His play in the majors this year has been spotty with a T21 in the Masters, T41 at the PGA, and missing the cut in the U.S. Open. Adding to the sentimental story is that no Englishman has won what was known for years as the British Open since Nick Faldo did so in 1992.
One longshot player is Jordan Spieth. Spieth was hardly a longshot for some time, but after suffering some injuries, he has fallen back. In his last start – the Travelers – he had to withdraw.
If he has healed, he must be considered a threat. The 2017 Open, he has not missed a cut in his 11 starts in the tournament. His game is well suited to the style needed to be successful at an Open.
There are young guns like Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland that could get the job done. Aberg did miss the cut at both the PGA and the U.S. Open, but he was T7 at the Masters and recently was T8 in the Scottish Open.
Hovland, the 27-year-old from Norway, was anointed as the next big thing a few years back and has had a good career but maybe not was expected. Earlier this year he missed three straight cuts. His major performances were a T21 at the Masters, then a T28 at the PGA. In the U.S. Open he was third, then was T11 at the Scottish Open last week.
There is one player I consider very dangerous this week and that is Robert MacIntyre of Scotland. The 28-year-old did miss the cut at the Masters, then was T47 at the PGA. His game was on fine display at the U.S. Open when he was second, two shots back of J.J. Spaun on a very difficult Oakmont course.
I could go on and on about numerous players that if things go right, they could bring home the Claret Jug.
To pick one winner, I would have to go with McIlroy. We will know by the end of the first round whether he will be in the mix or not. There will be an immense amount of pressure based on the failure in 2019, with the expectations of the rowdy Northern Ireland fans.
There is no doubt who the crowd favorite is this week and if his game – more mature than 2019 – gets going, it will make for some great television.
Hoping you have gotten some rest in the last week if you plan on watching live. I have always had great naps on Saturday and Sunday, and perhaps Friday this week.
Have a great time watching!
How to watch The Open
Even though the tournament will be played July 17-20, the television coverage begins on the west coast Wednesday, July 16 at 10:30 p.m.
Here is TV coverage for the tournament:
July 16-17: 10:30 p.m.-1 a.m. (Peacock); 1 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (NBC)
July 17-18: 10:30 p.m.-1 a.m. (Peacock); 1 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (NBC)
July 19: 2 a.m.-1 p.m. (NBC)
July 20: 1 a.m.-11 a.m. (NBC)
Also, if you have subscription to Peacock, you’re able to stream coverage, including the Feature Group option, where you can pick from some options in each wave to follow their entire round.
By Dennis Miller