Five to watch at the 154th Open
· Yahoo Sports
Royal Birkdale will host the 154th Open Championship from Thursday onwards.
Here the Press Association looks at some of the players to watch.
Visit esporist.com for more information.
Rory McIlroy
The Northern Irishman has won only one Claret Jug, at nearby Royal Liverpool 12 years ago, but will still go into the tournament as second favourite and will have a huge backing from fans. On his only previous appearance at Birkdale in 2017 he finished joint fourth after a first-round 71 left him playing catch-up six behind.
Scottie Scheffler
The world number one is the only player ahead of McIlroy in the betting but the odds of him successfully defending his Open title are more remote. Only 16 players have won back-to-back and no-one since Padraig Harrington in 2008 has managed it.
Bob MacIntyre
MacIntyre has not had the happiest time on the PGA Tour since back-to-back top-four finishes in April, missing the cut in the first two majors of the year and still being off his game at last month’s US Open, but a return to the UK after finishing joint-10th in the Travelers Championship at the end of June will have helped his mood. His Open form returned last year at Royal Portrush with a third top-10 in six starts and he has the game for links golf.
Jordan Spieth
Birkdale’s last Open winner seems unlikely to contend considering his form, which has not brought him a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour since May last year. However, he was a popular champion in 2017 and now provides entertainment of a different kind with his regular trips to parts of the course not often visited by his peers, so a repeat of his final-round visit to the practice ground for a penalty drop cannot be ruled out.
Tyrrell Hatton
Two top-seven finishes in majors this year, and three in the last five, show the 34-year-old has a game suited to the highest level, he just needs to find the finishing touch. His Open record, missing the cut in more than half of his 13 appearances, with just two top-fives (the last seven years ago), does not instil much confidence but he is a much better than that suggests. However, his nationality may count against him as no Englishman has won since 1992.