It seems like only yesterday that the game’s top golfers competed for a green jacket at the Masters Tournament, the first major of the season.
With mid-July, however, the stage is set here for the final major, the British Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, which begins on Thursday.
It will be fascinating to see if Wyndham Clarkwho was a surprise winner at the United States Open in June, can back it up at the British Open – and whether the world No. 1, Scott Scheffler, whose name always seems to be on the scoreboard will make enough putts to win his second major after winning the Masters last year.
Here are five other players to watch this week.
Brooks Koepka
No one was more impressive in the majors this year than Koepka. He placed second in the Masters and won the PGA Championship.
At 33, Koepka, with five major titles, is still in the prime of his career. With one more major, he would join greats like Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson with six. Koepka said his goal was to hit double digits in majors, and that’s not out of the question.
“I think majors are sometimes the easiest to win,” he once said. “Half the people shoot themselves out, and mentally I know I can beat most of them.”
Koepka, who signed with the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf Tour in 2022, is healthy again. As knee and hip injuries took their toll in recent years, his game suffered and so did his confidence.
Rory McIlroy
With the advent of every major championship, the same question arises McIlroy, 34: Will he win his fifth title? He has been tied at four since he captured the PGA Championship in 2014.
He almost came through at the United States Open this year, but failed to birdie on No. 8, the vulnerable par 5, and bogeyed No. 14, another par 5, to finish second by one stroke .
McIlroy, who birdied the last two holes to win the Genesis Scottish Open last week, still has time. Mickelson and Ben Hogan didn’t get their first major until they were in their early thirties. On the other hand, McIlroy, number 2, cannot pass up these opportunities. There are only so many.
He’s got one big thing for him this week. It was on the same course in 2014 that he captured his only British Open, winning by two wins over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler.
Justin Rose
However, time is starting to become a factor Rose, who turns 43 at the end of the month, in his quest for a second major. His first was the US Open in 2013. Since 2000, only Tiger Woods and Mickelson have won majors after their 43rd birthday.
Rose, from England, has shown this year that he still has plenty of game. In February, he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on a 65 and 66 in his last two rounds. He placed sixth at the Players Championship, ninth at the PGA Championship and eighth at the RBC Canadian Open.
It’s hard to believe, but a quarter of a century has passed since Rose, as a 17-year-old amateur, holed out on the 72nd hole from 50 yards out and took fourth place at the 1998 British Open. “It was something,” he said, “that went far beyond anything I could have ever imagined or experienced.”
Cameron Smith
Hoping to defend his title Smith of Australia, who hit a final round of 64 last year and won by one stroke over Cameron Young. McIlroy finished third, two shots back. Smith, who made eight birdies, didn’t seem to miss a putt in the final round. Most memorable was the save he made at No. 17, the Road Hole, reeling in a 3-footer after a superb third shot that he navigated around the bunker.
“I knew if I could get it out there somewhere,” said No. 7 ranked Smith, “that I could do pretty well.”
The 29-year-old Smith, who recently won a LIV Tour event in London, tied for 34th at the Masters but tied for ninth on the PGA and was fourth at the US Open, finishing with a three -under 67. Unless his putter cools down , he should be on the hunt.
Colin Morikawa
Still alone 26, Morikawa, a two-time main champion, might have found something to turn his season around. Morikawa, ranked No. 19, finished with a 64 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic a few weeks ago, losing to Fowler in a playoff. It was his first top-10 finish since the Masters, which was quite surprising for a player of his ability.
His first major came in the 2020 PGA Championship. Morikawa, who shot 64 in the final round, made a memorable No. 16 eagle after reaching the green with his tee shot. In 2021, he won the British Open by two shots over Jordan Spieth.
However, Morikawa hasn’t won since and it’s starting to hit him.
“I mean frustrating, frustrating is a word I can use,” he said in June.
“It’s been a while, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to win,” he said. “It’s still there.”
