Professional golfers will compete in the fourth and final major tournament of the season as the 151st Open Championship, often referred to as “The British Open” or just “The Open,” begins at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake in Wirral, England, on Thursday.
Australia’s Cameron Smith returns as the defending champion. Smith plays on the LIV Tour, has 11 career wins, and has finished in the top 10 in major tournaments five times since 2015 — including twice during 2023.
“I think, as a golfer, I’m actually a better golfer now than I was last year,” Smith told the media earlier this week. “The stuff that I had to clean up is progressing. It’s still a little bit of a work in progress … My five-iron and up has always been a bit of a struggle for me, and that’s an area of the game that we’ve worked probably harder than we have in the past. I feel like it’s right there. It just has to all come together.”
The field also includes many notables from the PGA, LIV, and PGA Champions tours, like Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed, and Phil Mickelson, as well as all three major champions from earlier in the season: Jon Rahm (Masters), Brooks Koepka (PGA Championship), and Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open).
“It’s great being here as a major champion, a PGA Tour winner, and someone that people are now thinking can win multiple,” Clark, who won his first major and second PGA event last month, told the media on Wednesday. “It’s kind of a fun feeling. That’s for sure.”
There are several golfers representing the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in England, including DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, and Sahith Theegala.
“I always get excited for the majors. They’re my favorite tournaments to play — the best field [and] usually the best golf courses,” Scheffler said. “I wouldn’t say any one of them is more important than the others, but I’m definitely excited to be here and excited to see what the course is like and the tournament conditions.”
Rickie Fowler, who recently snapped a four-year winless streak at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, is also competing, as is last week’s Scottish Open winner, Rory McIlroy. While McIlroy has his share of PGA wins, he has not won a major since the 2014 Open Championship, which was also held at Hoylake.
“Obviously a huge confidence boost going into The Open next week,” McIlroy told the media after his Scottish Open win. “I’ve had my chances over the last couple of months, and I’ve been knocking on the door, just haven’t quite been able to get it done. Hopefully, this breaks the seal, and we can go on from here.”
The Open began at 12:35 a.m. CDT on Thursday and continues through Sunday, when the latest champion will be crowned.