151st Open Championship up for grabs at Royal Liverpool
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Golf's oldest championship and the final major championship of the year is upon us with the 151st Open Championship up for grabs at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
The Open Championship, often referred to as 'The British Open' returns to the 12-time host Royal Liverpool where the championship was last held nearly a decade ago in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won the tournament.
McIlroy heads into the week on a high note, having won the Scottish Open with two birdies on the final two holes of the tournament and looks to keep it going this week.
This oldest golf championship in the world will be the final major championship of the year, with Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, and Wyndham Clark each having won one of the first three of 2023 and looking to become the first player to win two majors in the same year since Koepka won the U.S. Open and PGA Championship both in 2018.
This final major of the year often features lower than usual scores compared to the Masters, U.S. Open, and PGA Championship, with the last three winners having final scores of -20, -15, and -15.
Defending champion Cam Smith looks to go back-to-back, a feat that no one has pulled off at the Open since Padraig Harrington in 2007 and 2008.
Other recent champions in the field looking to win the Open again include two-time major champion Collin Morikawa who won the 2021 Open at Royal St. George's, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari, and four-time major champion Jordan Spieth, who won the Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
For Rory McIlroy, anything but a win here at Royal Liverpool will complete the ninth straight season without a major championship for the four-time major champion.
The Open Championship this year will feature a field with some players not seen in recent events, all who have qualified as past champions who are under the age of 60, including John Daly and Ernie Els.
Tiger Woods will not be in the field as he continues to recover from ankle surgery he underwent following his withdrawal from this year's Masters.
The opening round of the tournament will get underway on Thursday.