It’s finally time for the last major championship of the year.
The British Open kicks off on Thursday morning from Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England. The last time the course hosted the British Open was in 2014, which coincidentally was Rory McIlroy’s last win at a major championship.
McIlroy, who won last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, will tee it up with Jon Rahm and Justin Rose just before 10 am ET on Thursday. McIlroy once again opted not to speak with reporters this week, something he did before his runner-up finish at the US Open in Los Angeles last month.
Jordan Spieth and Matthew Fitzpatrick will play with Jason Day in the early wave, and will tee off about half an hour before Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler and others. Koepka, who has five major championship wins in his career, won the PGA Championship earlier this season and finished second at the Masters. Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Phil Mickelson will trail McIlroy’s group in the late wave on Thursday.
The British Open is offering a record $16.5 million purse this week, with $3 million going to the winner on Sunday afternoon. That prize pool is actually the smallest among the major championships. The R&A is prepared for demonstrations to break out on the course this week, too, although there is no direct intelligence that anything is planned.
Can Cam Smith successfully defend his title and retain the Claret Jug? Is it finally time for McIlroy to pick up his fifth major? Keep up with all of the action on Thursday with Yahoo Sports: