The 151st Open Championship begins on Thursday at Royal Liverpool, Merseyside, where the world's best will battle it out over 72 holes to claim the famous Claret Jug.
Cameron Smith triumphed at St Andrews last season, dazzling on the greens in the final round at the Old Course to reel in Rory McIlroy, and the Aussie is among the market leaders again as he bids to be the first man to successfully defend this title since Padraig Harrington in 2008.
While McIlroy failed to keep pace with Smith at St Andrews, he knows how to win at Royal Liverpool, which was the scene of his first and so far only Open title in 2014.
With Tiger Woods absent, he is the sole course winner in the field and he returns to Royal Liverpool, better known as Hoylake, on the back of a remarkable victory at the Scottish Open.
McIlroy's last Major triumph came in 2014, at the US PGA Championship the month after the Open, but the bookies believe he's the man to beat. Can he overcome the mental obstacles which have dogged him in the biggest moments over the last decade?
McIlroy's biggest challenger in the betting market is world number one Scottie Scheffler, who is on a remarkable run, finishing no worse than fifth in his last seven events and only failing to get over the line due to a problematic putter.
Masters champion Jon Rahm is next on the list. He has had a quiet preparation but must not be ruled out, while US PGA Championship hero Brooks Koepka is another to keep an eye on in his pursuit of a sixth Major title.
- Viktor Hovland to win the Open
- Brooks Koepka to win the Open
- Tommy Fleetwood to win the Open
- Adam Scott to win the Open
Hovland Poised To Make Amends
While all the talk will be of McIlroy's attempts to shake off St Andrews heartache, the same applies to Viktor Hovland, who teed off in the final group alongside the Northern Irishman in 2022 and slipped back to finish fourth due to a disappointing final round.
However, Hovland has gone about proving that he's a Major contender this season, finishing seventh at the Masters then going toe-to-toe with Koepka in a thrilling US PGA duel which demonstrated that the Norwegian has the bottle to win the biggest titles in the sport.
He came up just short on that occasion, due in part to Koepka's brilliance and also an unlucky break on the 16th hole, but that was a hugely encouraging performance and he followed up with another Major top-20 finish at the US Open despite saying he disliked Los Angeles Country Club.
Hoylake, softened by rain in the build-up to suggest it will play much like the 2014 Open, requires a top-class tee-to-green game and there's no questioning Hovland's credentials in that department.
His short-game comes with risks attached but he's chipped well in the Majors this season and it's just over a month since he won the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour, so he should still be full of confidence for his Royal Liverpool debut.
A 25th-place finish in last week's Scottish Open was not devoid of promise so Hovland looks poised for a big week on the Merseyside links.
VIKTOR HOVLAND TO WIN THE OPEN
Hovland looking to make ammends
Koepka's Approach Could Be Perfect
If Hovland doesn't manage to get the job done, it could be the man who beat him at Oak Hill Country Club who lifts the Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon.
Tiger Woods famously deployed a measured approach to win the 2006 Open at Hoylake, hitting one driver all week, and while Brooks Koepka is likely to be more cavalier, there is a similarity in his approach to Major championships.
The brash Floridian has won five Majors due to his excellent course management skills and his ability to relentlessly pound fairways and greens in regulation and that style of play should work well on the Wirral.
Koepka missed the cut at St Andrews last year but he was out of sorts at the time and previous Open form figures of 10-6-39-4-6 in five appearances from 2017 to 2021 offer a better guide to his links credentials.
The 33-year-old followed his US PGA victory with a solid 17th place at the US Open then he finished third at LIV Valderrama before a mid-pack finish at LIV London.
Fleetwood To Show Links Pedigree
There might not be a more popular winner than McIlroy this week but Tommy Fleetwood could give his Ryder Cup teammate a run for his money and the popular Southport swinger can delight the home crowd by contending for the Open once again.
Local hero Fleetwood was raised on the links courses of Merseyside and his knowledge of this style of golf is up there with anyone else in the field, as he has demonstrated in recent Opens, finishing runner-up behind Shane Lowry at Portrush in 2019 and then fourth at St Andrews 12 months ago.
Fleetwood's Majors form figures this season have been progressive - he would've been disappointed to only finish 33rd at the Masters, but 18th at Oak Hill was followed by a top-five finish at the LACC and he'll fancy his chances of improving further on that record on Merseyside.
The 32-year-old has been in fine form in North America, finishing fifth at the Wells Fargo and losing out in a playoff at the Canadian Open, then he jetted over to Scotland to finish in a tie for sixth at the Renaissance Club on Sunday.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD TO WIN THE OPEN
Adam Scott relying on experience
Experienced Scott To Contend
Not many in this field can claim to have played in both the 2006 and 2014 Opens at Royal Liverpool but Adam Scott was excellent in both of them, finishing eighth behind Woods in 2006 and fifth behind McIlroy eight years later.
The former world number one is not the force he once was but he is capable of top-class golf when he's in the mood and recent performances offer encouragement that the 43-year-old will put his experience to good use this week.
Scott missed the cut in Scotland last week but he was fifth at the Wells Fargo, eighth at the Byron Nelson and ninth at the Memorial Tournament so he's playing well enough to be a factor.
