The 152nd Open Championship begins at Royal Troon on Thursday, and it is tough to pick a winner of a tournament that is living up to its name.
That has not stopped our writers from trying though, as well as offering a dark horse to watch and a player they fancy to struggle.
Rory McIlroy knows he needs a victory or else his major championship drought will extend to a decade, with his painful US Open collapse at Pinehurst fresh in the memory.
Bryson DeChambeau was that weeks winner, and is one of the more likely American contenders alongside World No 1 Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa.
Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton are Englands two best chances, but last weeks Scottish Open winner Bob MacIntyre will attract plenty of support from his home crowd. Tiger Woods tees it up, and will once again be the source of fascination. These are our writers predictions.
Now has the maturity to accept the vagaries of links golf and to hold back when necessary. Saying that, it is not beyond the realms that he could try to drive the first three greens.
Hes World No 1 for a reason. His run of success this year is extraordinary and there is no reason why he cant carry it on at Troon. Unless he gets himself arrested again.
Royal Troon rewards straight driving and the 2020 Open winner has found 72.03 per cent of fairways on the PGA Tour this season, the second-best percentage of all players. Rock solid recent form after a top-five at the Scottish Open and has finishes of T3-T4-T14 at the years first three majors.
The two-time major winner has been back to his best again this year after abandoning trying to draw the ball and going back to his dart-like fade with his irons. Has swapped his 5-wood for a yet-to-be released 3-iron and will be adding a Hi-Toe 60 degree to his bag to fine tune his game to links golf as much as possible.
Has obviously enjoyed himself since his dream win at the Scottish Open on Sunday. Beware the hungover golfer. His Renaissance glory will have him freewheeling.
The Englishman is overdue a decent Open and is in the form to produce it after a third-place finish at last weeks Valderrama LIV event. The venue works for him – he delivered his best Open finish of fifth when the championship was last staged at Troon in 2016.
Another American who is a superb driver of the ball, although more known for his power. Young has finished second and T8 on two Open appearances, on very different layouts at St Andrews and Hoylake. Young comes into the Open on the back of two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour so current form is encouraging too
Driver is a weakness but being able to take long-irons off the tee allows the young American to close the gap on the field and lean on his amazing shot-shaping skills. Missed the cut at Hoylake last year but his T4 at The Renaissance Club last week shows he has figured out how to play links courses.
The late-early draw has gone against him and a battered body that needs plenty of preparation between rounds and he is far more likely to miss the cut than finish in the top 30
Even though the Ayrshire links is a manageable walk for Woods it is asking too much of the three-times Open champion to contend given how little competitive golf he plays these days.
Ticks all the boxes for a potential Open winner but never quite seems to take the step forward required when an opportunity presents itself. When his name appears on the first page of a major leaderboard, too often a bogey or two follows and the cycle repeats. Short-range putting is always a worry.
The fact the rest of the field can putt from 100 feet off the green on some holes nullifies the World No 1s scrambling prowess. As we saw at Pinehurst last month, he struggles on fast fairways and greens and I expect it to be the same here.
In 2011, he bounced back from that final-round 80 at the Masters to win the US Open. If he does the same this week and averts going the full decade without a major it will be a joyous scene.
The New Zealander is in remission from leukaemia and was undergoing chemotherapy 12 months ago when he was due to play at Royal Liverpool. He is playing this year on the medical exemption of all medical exemptions.
Golf sorely needs superstars, and 24-year-old Abergs frightening consistency means he is well on his way to becoming one. Fellow Swede Henrik Stenson won at Troon in 2016, but it would be a tall order to win on his first Open start with all the fanfare surrounding the tournament. This is no ordinary debutant though; he finished second on his first look round Augusta National in April.
In addition to Tommy Fleetwood, Dean is the next Englishman I am hoping does well. The 29-year-old was a Morrisons delivery driver and struggled to pay for travel on Tour before banking £170,000 by finishing runners up at the Kenya Open in February. Every Open has a feel good story and I hope this year it is Joe Dean.
For some reason – and, lets be honest, its LIV – the R&A has done nothing to commemorate the incredible duel at Troons most recent Open. It would be delicious if the pair were up top again.
Gene Sarazen, then 71, managed it in his plus-fours in the 1973 Open but the shortest hole on the rota is more likely to be a card-wrecker.
Someone, probably an American and probably a LIV player, will cross into the sacrilegious by saying the Postage Stamp is unfair. Naturally, this will follow a big number, probably involving their ball coming to rest directly against the face of a revetted bunker. Woe is me.
Only unlikely due to uneasy finish to the Masters and missed the cut at Pinehurst and Valhalla. Royal Troon is relatively flat so proving to the world he can still hang with the worlds best should be achievable.
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