There are 156 of the best golfers in the world competing this weekend at the 151st edition of The Open Championship. It is the oldest tournament in golf by at least 25 years, first played in 1860 as a three-round tournament on a 12-hole links course with eight competing players.
It is still open to all who can qualify, which started in 1861, and it is still links golf, which brings an extra challenge for golfers that they don’t find on courses in the United States.
It also now has a much bigger field, and instead of the original red leather belt with a silver buckle worth £25, the winner gets the Claret Jug (introduced in 1872) and $3 million, a $500,000 increase from last year.
Favorites to Win The Open Championship
- Rory McIlroy (+700)
- Scottie Scheffler (+700)
- Jon Rahm (+1300)
- Cameron Smith (+1800)
- Brooks Koepka (+1800)
- Xander Schauffele (+2200)
- Viktor Hovland (+2200)
- Patrick Cantlay (+2200)
- Tyrrell Hatton (+2500)
- Rickie Fowler (+2500)
It’s been a minute since Rory McIlroy came into a major championship with the expectations he has this week. In 2014 he won The Open Championship, then followed that up with a win in the PGA Championship. But since then, it’s been a string of majors (and major) disappointment.
This year in the majors, he has a runner-up and a T7, he has six straight top-10 finishes, he just won the links golf tuneup at the Scottish Open, and this year’s British Open is back at Royal Liverpool, where McIlroy won his Claret Jug nine years ago. The stars are aligning for McIlroy, and he is a deserved co-favorite.
The other golfer at +700 is Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number-one player. In the majors this year, he has finished T10, T2, and third, and he hasn’t finished outside the top-12 in any tournament since last October. His best finish at The Open Championship was a T8 in 2021.
Jon Rahm has four wins this season, including the Masters in April. He was T3 at The Open Championship in 2021. Cameron Smith is the defending champion and is hoping to be the first repeat Open champion since 2008. Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka is hoping to build on his win at the PGA Championship and win his first Claret Jug. He has three PGA Championship wins and wins at the U.S. Open in 2017 and 2018.
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