It seems like just yesterday the world’s top golfers were battling it out for the green jackets at the first major of the season, the Masters Tournament.
But by mid-July, the stage was set for the final major, the Open Championship. Royal Liverpool Golf Club It starts Thursday in Hoylake, England.
It will be interesting to see how Wyndham ClarkAfter a surprise win at the US Open in June, he could back it up at the British Open — and whether or not he’s number 1 in the world. Scotty Schaeffler His name, who always seems to be on the leaderboard, will putt well enough to win his second major after winning the Masters last year.
Here are five other players to watch this week.
Brooks Koepka
No player has been as impressive in the majors this year. Koepka. He tied for second at the Masters and won the PGA Championship.
Koepka, 33, has five major titles and is still in the prime of his career. If he wins one more major, he’ll be on par with six-major greats like Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson. Koepka said his goal is to hit double digits in the majors, and that it’s not impossible.
“Sometimes I think the majors are the easiest to win,” he once said. “Half the people shoot themselves to death, but I know I can beat most people mentally.”
Koepka, who signed with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Tour for 2022, is fit again. Knee and hip injuries have taken a toll on him over the past few years, slowing his game and eroding his confidence.
Rory McIlroy
With the advent of each major championship comes the same question. McIlroy, 34: Will you win the title for the fifth time? Since winning the PGA Championship in 2014, he’s only won four.
At this year’s U.S. Open, he came close to winning, but failed to make a birdie at his weakest par-5 8th, and bogeyed at the par-5 14th, finishing second, one shot behind.
McIlroy, who won last week’s Genesis Scottish Open with birdies on the last two holes, still has time. Mickelson and Ben Hogan didn’t get their first major until they were in their early 30s. Meanwhile, McIlroy, ranked No. 2, cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away. That’s all there is to it.
He has one big thing this week. It was at the same course that he won his only British Open title in 2014, beating Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler by two margins.
Justin Rose
But time is starting to become a factor. Rose, He will turn 43 at the end of this month and is aiming for a second major. His first win was the 2013 US Open. Since 2000, only Tiger Woods and Mickelson have won a major past his 43rd birthday.
England’s Rose has shown he still has plenty of room to play this year. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February with 65 and 66 in the last two rounds. He finished tied for 6th in the Players Championship, tied for 9th in the PGA Championship, and finished 8th in the RBC Canadian Open.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a quarter of a century since the 17-year-old amateur finished tied for fourth at the 1998 Open at the 72nd hole from 50 yards out. “It was far beyond anything I could have imagined or experienced,” he said.
Cameron Smith
hoping to defend his title Smith of Australiahit 64 in the final round last year to beat Cameron Young by one stroke. McIlroy finished in third, two shots behind. Smith, who took eight birdies, didn’t miss a putt in the final round. His most memorable save is a neat 10-foot bunker-evading third shot on the 17th road hole.
“We thought we could do pretty well if we scored somewhere,” said Smith, who is ranked seventh.
The 29-year-old Smith, who won the recent LIV Tour event in London, finished tied for 34th at the Masters, tied for 9th at the PGA, and finished 4th at the US Open, finishing 3-under 67. As long as the putter doesn’t get cold. , he should have taken part in the hunt.
Colin Morikawa
still just Morikawa 26The two-time major champion may have found something to turn his season around. No. 19 Morikawa finished 64 in the Rocket Mortgage Classic a few weeks ago, losing to Fowler in the playoffs. It was his first top 10 finish since the Masters and the most surprising for a player of his ability.
His first major tournament was the 2020 PGA Championship. Morikawa, who hit 64 in the final round, scored a memorable eagle on the 16th, which reached the green on his tee shot. In 2021, he won the British Open by two strokes over Jordan Spieth.
But Morikawa hasn’t won since, and that worries him.
“I mean, frustrating, frustrating is a word I can use,” he said in June.
“Time has passed, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know how to win,” he said. “It’s still there.”
