Hoylake, England. The final major championship of the year is now front and center and the cast of serious contenders provides the usual litany of star players plus a few others determined to enter the fray.
Royal Liverpool will be the scene as the club stages its 13th Open Championship and the battle ahead looks to be a big-time tussle indeed.
The ten outlined below have plenty of reasons to be mentioned and any one of them can make a strong case why they will be the most fortunate one in taking home the famed Claret Jug.
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Rory McIlroy
Last week’s win at Renaissance was an apt metaphor for Rory McIlroy’s career. The Northern Irishman has not seen a major win since the 2014 PGA Championship and the manner by which he claimed his first professional win in Scotland with two successive birdies at the final two holes was breathtaking in its overall efficiency and execution.
But now the question arises — was McIlroy’s “renaissance” one week too early or will the momentum carry over with a second win in The Open at Royal Liverpool?
There is little doubt when the 34-year-old’s golf game is in full flight his capabilities are beyond those of any other golfer playing today.
Leaving the Old Course last year at St. Andrews and being thoroughly outplayed by Cameron Smith during the final round was a gut-wrenching outcome for McIlroy. He has a golden opportunity to seize back the throne and command the top level in professional golf. Is he ready to do that or will the same old Rory story continue onward? The pressure will certainly be his shoulders — can he at last secure his fifth major win?
Cameron Smith
The defending Open champion looks to be ready to keep the Claret Jug in his possession. After opting to leave the PGA TOUR and head to LIV, the talented Aussie has demonstrated his golf game is ready to go for this week’s Open after winning the LIV event in London just a few weeks ago.
Smith’s secret is a solid all-around game aided considerably as one of the finest putters on the planet. At the last two major championships, Smith finished strongly with T9 at the PGA Championship and a solo fourth place finish at the U.S. Open.
The win last year at St. Andrews came with a brilliant final round 64. Now, the spotlight intensifies as Smith is certainly among the finest of players on the planet. Expectations can often times sink others — Smith has shown the capacity to relish such moments and this week at Hoylake could well be his defining moment in demonstrating last year was anything but a fluke triumph.
Jon Rahm
The third ranked player in the world plays in his 8th Open Championship this week with his best being two top five finishes — the last coming in ’21. He won the Masters earlier this year but performances in the following two majors were disappointing – starting with a first round 76 at Oak Hill in the PGA Championship and finishing T-50.
At the U.S. Open the Spaniard closed with a 65 but was already out of the hunt and finished T-10. For Rahm climbing the mountain to number one was an accomplishment. Staying there quite another. This week will prove whether the 28-year-old is ready to reassert his earlier play and return to the starring role at the top of the rankings.
Robert MacIntyre
The Scotsman nearly pulled off a monumental win at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open. Firing a final round 64 which included a Houdini-like recovery from the left rough which resulted in a sensational closing birdie. The 26-year-old unfortunately lost to a hard-charging Rory McIlroy but the promise of a successful professional career now looks to be headed in the right direction.
MacIntyre will tee it up in his fourth Open and has placed in the top eight on two different occasions at the ’19 and ’21 championships. A Ryder Cup spot for team Europe is almost a certainty but the 54th ranked player in the world now seems to have his mojo in place for much bigger moments. This week at Hoylake could be the launching pad for him.
Scottie Scheffler
The most consistent player in the game today. Scheffler rides the top of the world rankings and for good reason. The 27-year-old has finished in the top five in his last seven starts on the PGA TOUR — including a T3 at the Genesis Scottish Open last week.
The 2023 calendar year has produced two wins at Phoenix and The Players Championship. Having won the green jacket at Augusta in 2022, Scheffler is looking to add to his major count at this week’s Open Championship.
The lone blemish for Scheffler is having to deal with a balky putter at times. His tee-to-green play has been stellar and should the putts begin to fall it is very possible the Texan will be wrapping his arms around the Claret Jug when play concludes.
Tommy Fleetwood
For the 32-year-old from Southport, this year’s Open is a nearby home game. Fleetwood has been playing at a high level recently. In the last three Opens, he has finished in the top five. Earlier this year he lost in a playoff for the RBC Canadian Open and he finished T5 at the U.S. Open and last week earned a T6 at the Scottish Open.
The 21st ranked player in the world has proven he can score low in the majors with a pair of 63s scored in the 2018 and 2023 U.S. Opens respectively. In both instances, the score came during the final round when out of contention. The key at Royal Liverpool is can the Englishman get off to a good enough start and be in the thick of things when the final nine holes are played?
Brooks Koepka
When big game is involved, you need big game hunters. Brooks Koepka fits that profile to a tee — no pun intended.
After claiming his third PGA Championship title at Oak Hill this past May for his fifth major win, the 33-year-old has re-emerged as the golfer fully capable of raising his game at the biggest of moments.
Koepka coughed up this year’s Masters but the ever-resolute golfer stated it was a lesson he permanently has placed in his memory banks.
Make no mistake about this, should Koepka command the top of the leaderboard there will be players wondering if they have the guts to see things through all the way to the end with him lurking about.
Viktor Hovland
One of the first things one must establish when major events are played is the wherewithal to get into contention. The highly talented Norwegian has become a mainstay on leaderboards when the game’s most impactful events are played.
In 2023, the 25-year-old finished T7 at The Masters, second at the PGA Championship and 19th at the U.S. Open. Ranked fifth in the world, Hovland is now fully capable of going the one extra step in securing his first major title.
Related: Confident Rory McIlroy ‘could not ask for better preparation’ ahead of the Open
Rickie Fowler
Restoring confidence can be a very fragile element after you have lost your way in competitive circles. Fowler has long been a fan favorite but so much of his time and attention seemed to be elsewhere with his face appearing more prominently in commercials than on leaderboards.
Fowler has now returned to prominence. A near triumph at the U.S. Open was possible before fading in the final round. His win in Detroit at the Rocket Mortgage event just a few weeks ago was his first in four years and the return to glory was something Fowler rightly cherished.
Aided by a return to teacher Butch Harmon, Fowler seems fully loaded and ready to enter the fray against the game’s most formidable players. Often bailed out by a quality putting stroke, the magic of Rickie has been aided by strengthening the rest of his game.
In 2014, Fowler finished T2 when The Open was last played at Royal Liverpool. Rickie is now ready to go the one extra step and could well claim his first major victory at Hoylake this week.
Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele
The two are listed together because of their long-standing relationship, having come from the Southern California area and in being partnered together during past team events.
Despite high world ranking positions with Cantlay in the fourth position and Schauffele in the sixth slot, neither man has been able to break through and claim his first major title to date.
The talents possessed are considerable but, in the game’s most coveted events, it is 29-year-old Schauffele who has showed the better delivery with a total of ten top 10 finishes, however with only one coming in The Open Championship.
Cantlay has been the bigger enigma. Lauded for his coolness under pressure, the 31-year-old has a total of just four top tens with only one coming in The Open.
Can either man finally bring to the forefront the immense skills each possesses? The clock is ticking on both of them to show they have the wherewithal to triumph when golf’s biggest events are staged.
