Irish eyes are 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 about the British Open:
When is the British Open?
The first round began Thursday and play continues until Sunday, when the winner will collect a silver claret jug. Players will be in the same three-man groups for the opening two days, starting their round 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. Players in the last group don't even tee off until a little after 4 p.m.
How was the f
irst round?
Five players are tied for the lead at 4-under 67. It's the largest logjam after 18 holes of the British Open since there was a six-way tie in 1938.
They include former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Harris English, whose longtime caddie couldn't get a travel visa for the UK because of prison time served 20 years ago. The others are Jacob Skov Olesen, the British Amateur champion last year from Denmark; Li Haotong of China; and Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa.
Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player, is in a four-man group a shot further back, along with Sadom Kaewkanjana — an ordained Buddhist monk from Thailand — and Englishmen Matthew Jordan and Tyrrell Hatton.
Rory McIlroy, the home favorite, shot 70 and is three shots back.
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. Heading into the second round, he is listed at 5-2 with BetMGM Sportsbook. McIlroy is the second favorite at 15-2. They are Nos. 1 and 2 in the world.
Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick are next at 11-1. Harris English is 18-1.
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?
The players who went out early on Thursday go out late on Friday, and vice versa.
It means Rory McIlroy will be in the morning wave, teeing off at 10:09 a.m. (5:09 a.m. EDT). Co-leader Harris English is the next group, which is going out at 10:20 a.m.
Scottie Scheffler has a 3:10 p.m. tee time and is playing with Shane Lowry, the winner at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Starting times 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. Lowry got the best of the weather when he won six years ago.
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.
That was the case on Thursday — there was some rain, a changing wind and the sun peaked out at times — and it could well be the same for the second round on Friday. The wind, so important in links golf, hasn't been too strong yet.
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 Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose, 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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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP