PORTRUSH – Golf’s oldest championship returns to one of the newer links courses. New is relative in this case, because Royal Portrush was founded 137 years ago. But this is only its third time hosting the British Open, and the Northern Ireland links is certain to be high on the rotation.
The R&A is expecting 278,000 spectators for the week at the British Open, which would be the second-largest crowd in the 165-year history of the championship.
Irish eyes will be on Rory McIlroy, the Masters champion and latest to win the career Grand Slam. He is embracing the expectation, unlike in 2019 when McIlroy was so emotional at the reception that he hit his first shot out of bounds and shot 79.
This is the final major of the year, and the most unusual of the four majors because of links golf, where funny bounces and pot bunkers and fickle weather can determine the winner.
Here’s what you need to know going into the British Open.
When is the British Open?
The first round begins Thursday at about 6:30 a.m. and players in groups of three all start on the first hole. Daylight is not an issue at the British Open because it doesn’t get dark until about 10:30 p.m. The last group won’t even tee off until a little after 4 p.m.
How can I watch the British Open?
There is wall-to-wall coverage, along with a five-hour time difference between Northern Ireland and the East Coast of the U.S. It will start at 1:30 a.m. EDT on the Peacock streaming service, and then USA Network picks up coverage from 4 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
If you’re living on the West Coast, the British Open will come on just before bedtime. For golf fans in Hawaii, it will start right after sunset on Waikiki.
The Open concludes at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, both on NBC.
Who are the betting favorites?
Scottie Scheffler has been the favorite at every major this year, and the British Open is no exception. BetMGM Sportsbook lists Scheffler at +550, slightly ahead of home favorite Rory McIlroy at +700. They are Nos. 1 and 2 in the world.
Jon Rahm is next at +1100, followed by defending champion Xander Schauffele (+2000) and Tommy Fleetwood of England (+2200). Bryson DeChambeau is listed at +2500.
The British Open is the only major where Scheffler has not had a serious chance at winning on the back nine on Sunday. But he hasn’t finished out of the top 10 since late March.
What are the tee times?
Starting times aren’t posted until Tuesday, and they are more important than at any other major because the British Open features 15 hours of golf in the opening rounds, and there’s never any telling what the weather will do.
Players look at their starting times. And then they check the weather. There have been times when someone gets the worst of the weather on Thursday and Friday. Shane Lowry got the best of the weather when he won at Royal Portrush in 2019.
What’s the forecast?
Mixed. That’s the term often used in these parts to indicate a little bit of everything, and sometimes that can be in one day.
Practice on Monday temporarily was suspended because of thunderstorms. Rain was in the forecast for parts of Tuesday and Wednesday, and there’s a chance of showers pretty much every day the rest of the week. There will be sunshine. There will be wind. This is normal.
What’s at stake?
The winner gets a silver claret jug, the oldest trophy in golf. As part of a new tradition, Xander Schauffele had to return the jug to the R&A on Monday in a short ceremony. Then he has four days to win it back.
The winner also gets introduced as the “champion golfer of the year,” another tradition. He also will get a five-year exemption to the other three majors, an exemption into the British Open until age 55 (past winners could play until 60) and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
Who are the players to watch?
Scottie Scheffler is No. 1 in the world and usually in contention no matter how he is playing. But this is the British Open, and this is Northern Ireland, so this week starts with Rory McIlroy. There is pressure to perform, but he also is relieved of the burden from having not won a major in 11 years. He took care of that by winning the Masters and bringing home that green jacket.
If Scheffler were to win, he would go to the U.S. Open next year for a chance at the Grand Slam.
Schauffele is trying to become the first repeat winner since Padraig Harrington in 2007 and 2008. But the Californian was slowed by a rib injury early in the year and still hasn’t won yet.
British hopes lies with the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton, while Jon Rahm of Spain can also get within one leg of the Grand Slam with a British Open title.
Why is it the British Open when it’s being played on the island of Ireland?
Royal Portrush is in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. The official title is The Open Championship or simply The Open. The Associated Press, along with several U.S. newspapers, have referred it to as the British Open for more than 100 years to distinguish it from other national opens like the U.S. Open and Australian Open.
The R&A once referred to it as the “British Open” in official films in the 1950s.
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