The British Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Preview

Written By Miles Curry

Hoylake, England (PSF) - Every sport strives to have parody. In team and individual sports there are rules in place to ensure that everyone is on a level playing field. The golf world right now has the most parody it has ever had. The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool this week is the personification of that fact. 




The betting favorite for the tournament is Scottie Scheffler at +750, the top ranked golfer in the world. Scheffler has seven straight top five finishes, including two majors; and has not finished lower than T-12 in the last two years. Scheffler has been absolutely dominant over the field although he hasn’t won a major this season. Can Scheffler finally break through and win a major this season? 





The world number two ranked player is Rory McIlory, who is coming off an unbelievable victory at the Genesis Scottish Open last week. Rory has seemed to be rounding into proper form as of late finishing no lower than T-9 in his last six events including 2 majors. McIlory is searching for that elusive fifth major that has avoided him for the last nine years. Can McIlroy win that fifth major and become world number one with a victory at Royal Liverpool?





Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters Champion, is second in betting odds at +110. Rahm has been inconsistent since winning the Masters in April, but he finished T-10 at the U.S. Open and has taken the last three weeks off in preparation for this tournament. Can Rahm round back into form and win his second major this season?





Other golfers such as Brooks Koepka, winner of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Cameron Smith, the defending British Open Champion, Rickie Fowler, winner of the Rocket Mortgage Classic and runner-up at the US Open, and Viktor Hovland, winner of The Memorial Tournament and runner up at the PGA Championship this season, are all other names to watch throughout the week. Koepka is in prime form and has shown a profound ability to play his best in majors. Smith is the reigning champion and recently won the LIV Golf event hosted in England two weeks ago. Fowler is playing his best golf in years and is hungry for his first major. Hovland has been formidable all season, going down to the wire with Koepka at Oak Hill in May and winning at the Jack Nicklaus designed Memorial Tournament just weeks later. 






Then there is the course, Royal Liverpool. The British Links are extremely unique with its deep bunkers, a rolling terrain, multiple internal out of bounds, and changes to holes 15-18. The grounds have experienced some inclimate weather making them even softer and the difficulty of the links is ramped up when weather is bad and the winds are moving at high speeds. The course is different from when it last hosted the British Open in 2014, this will provide a new experience for both returning and new golfers to Royal Liverpool. 











Although Cameron Smith is the reigning British Open Champion, the last time the tournament was held at Royal Liverpool, Rory McIlroy came out victorious. That was also Rory’s last major win.











The storylines, golfers, and course all make The British Open Championship a must watch this weekend. This tournament is impossible to predict as so many great golfers will be competing for the last major of the year. No one player stands out as the clear favorite, and that will provide for great entertainment throughout the weekend.  







The British Open at Royal Liverpool will combine seven golfers with legitimate cases to win the tournament, along with a historic venue that will test the mental and physical fortitude of these great golfers.











Miles Curry
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