The final men's Major of the year is upon us already!
What a season it has been in the men's game, with the Masters, PGA Championship and US Open all flying by in the past few months and the game's best now descending on Royal Liverpool this week to try and claim the fabled Claret Jug.
Royal Liverpool hosts its 13th Open Championship this week and first in nine years, when Rory McIlroy claimed the Claret Jug in 2014. Before that, Tiger Woods famously won at Hoylake over baked fairways in 2006, when he hit just one driver all week.
The course is a true links test with fairway bunkers and long, whispy rough set to make it a stern driving challenge - and that's before the wind starts howling. There's also the prospect of a par 5 finish as well as the brand new 'Little Eye' short par 3 17th, which is set to be controversial and potentially very difficult, too, if the wind gets up.
Here we take a look at five TaylorMade staffers, many of whom have excellent Open records, to look out for this week at the 151st Open...
Open Championship Key Info
5 Big Names To Watch At The 151st Open Championship
Rory McIlroy
- World Ranking: 2
- PGA Tour wins: 24
- DP World Tour wins: 16
- Open starts: 13
- Best Open result: 1st (2014)
View Rory McIlroy What's in the bag?
Rory McIlroy enters the 151st Open Championship as tournament favourite after his stunning victory at the Scottish Open this past weekend.
The Northern Irishman finished birdie-birdie to win his first ever pro title in Scotland and to become the first man to win the Scottish Open, Irish Open and Open Championship. That stunning 2-iron shot he hit into the 72nd hole was the best shot he has hit all year according to him, and the P760 model is set to be used a lot in the links conditions this week.
McIlroy built on his 2nd-place finish at the US Open last month and looks to have his game, and the frame of mind, to go and win his second Claret Jug this week.
His first came back here at Royal Liverpool in 2014, so he'll be hoping for a repeat of nine years ago. Getting over the line in Majors has proved a tricky task for McIlroy over these last nine years, but the stars could well be aligned for him this week.
Scottie Scheffler
- World Ranking: 1
- PGA Tour wins: 6
- Open starts: 2
- Best Open result: T8th (2021)
View Scottie Scheffler What's in the bag?
The World No.1 will arrive at Royal Liverpool after yet another top-five. Scheffler was T3rd at The Renaissance Club in last week's Scottish Open, meaning he has finished inside the top-five in each of his last seven starts.
All he needs to pick up his third win of the season, and second Major after winning last year's Masters, is for a few putts to go in and perhaps a little momentum - as there's arguably nobody in the world playing better golf than him right now.
His T3 in Scotland last week took him over the $19m mark in PGA Tour earnings for the season, already beating the record total with another month left. He'll be a very deserving Champion Golfer of the Year if he manages to lift the Claret Jug this week.
Tommy Fleetwood
- World Ranking: 21
- DP World Tour wins: 6
- Open starts: 8
- Best Open result: 2nd (2019)
View Tommy Fleetwood What's in the bag?
Fleetwood will be the home favourite this week, having grown up just north of Liverpool in Southport - where he used to sneak on to Open venue Royal Birkdale as a kid.
The Englishman is also one of the tournament favourites, having enjoyed a stellar 2023 campaign so far to go along with his fine Open Championship record.
He was 2nd to Shane Lowry at Royal Portrush and shot a 63 last week at the Scottish Open, where he was T6th, to go with his 63 in the final round of the US Open last month, where he was T5th.
Those performances came after his 2nd-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open, where Canada's own Nick Taylor holed a 72-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole to pip him to the title.
Fleetwood would be a very popular winner this week, and it's a distinct possibility too.
Rickie Fowler
- World Ranking: 22
- PGA Tour wins: 6
- Open starts: 11
- Best Open result: T2nd (2014)
View Rickie Fowler What's in the bag?
Rickie Fowler has been one of the world's top players this year and he finally ended his drought on the PGA Tour with victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier in the month for his first win since February 2019.
Fowler famously shot 62 in the first round of the US Open last month to become just the second man in history to shoot that number in a men's Major.
And he's got a great links record too that puts him among the favourites for the Claret Jug this week. Not only was he T5th in his second ever Open start, he finished T2nd here at Royal Liverpool in 2014 when the Open was last contested at Hoylake.
Fowler also won the Scottish Open in 2015 over the links of Gullane.
Collin Morikawa
- World Ranking: 19
- PGA Tour wins: 5
- Open starts: 2
- Best Open result: 1st (2021)
View Collin Morikawa What's in the bag?
Morikawa hasn't been enjoying his best season to date but there are serious signs of an upturn in his form after his 2nd-place finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in his most recent start, where Rickie Fowler pipped him in a playoff.
The talented American won The Open in his tournament debut at Royal St George's in 2021 so he has already shown he knows how to master links golf.
He opted to skip the Scottish Open last week to work on his game, where he'll have no doubt been getting some links practice in - don't bet against the 2021 Open Champion this week!
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