The Open Championship represents the final opportunity for the world’s best players to win a major before the end of 2025, with the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy among the favourites at Royal Portrush.
It has been a fantastic major championship season, with both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler adding to their tallies at The Masters and the PGA Championship respectively.
The Open Championship always threatens to produce some surprises. Five of the last eight winners of the Claret Jug have not won another major.
It also has to be factored in that Royal Portrush is preparing to host the event for only the third time ever this week. Shane Lowry was victorious when The Open headed to Northern Ireland six years ago.
LIV Golf star tipped as an outsider to win The Open Championship and secure his first major title
His good friend McIlroy appears to be well-placed to make amends for missing the cut in 2019. He finished tied for second at the Genesis Scottish Open this past week. It is also easy to forget that he won three times earlier in the year.
However, writing for Golf Monthly, Sky Sports reporter Wayne Riley admitted that he has a concern about McIlroy in the coming days. He went on to pick out a couple of outsiders for the title.
“As for Rory, he’ll be determined to come out firing after missing the cut in 2019, despite a valiant second-round 65. And he also [had] the course record at Portrush,” he said.
“But there’s just so much pressure on his shoulders, and while he came through that at Augusta, I’m just not sure I fancy him here.
Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images
“If you’re looking for a couple of other names to throw a few quid on, I’d go with Tyrrell Hatton and Ryan Fox.
“I think Tyrrell will win a major one day – he’s a flusher with a good track record on links courses – and Fox has just won his first event on the PGA Tour and also plays well on links tracks.”
Why Wayne Riley is particularly confident about Scottie Scheffler’s chances at Royal Portrush
Of course, it is difficult to see someone other than McIlroy or Scheffler winning this week. The pair have won six times between them this year, including two of the three majors.
And Riley suggested why he would put the world number one at the very top of the list to triumph and move a step closer to his own Career Grand Slam.
“It’s just so hard to look past him right now, and while he doesn’t have a huge amount of links golf experience, he’s played in four Opens and recorded two top-ten finishes,” he wrote.
“One of those was last year at Troon, where he was in the mix during the final round but couldn’t buy a putt. He generally puts the ball in play off the tee, he thinks creatively about his shots and he possesses a great short game.
“Plus, I feel like links greens can sometimes help those who aren’t the very best with the flat-stick.”
So much of what happens over the rest of the week will come down to the weather and the draw. With that, it is no surprise that Riley has picked out Scheffler as the standout name, while leaving the door open for more of a shock.
