Everything you need to know about the British Open
The 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon marks the 10th Open at Troon, with the last event seeing Henrik Stenson’s record-breaking 20-under victory.
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Does major golf get better than this?
The 2024 British Open is completely up for grabs after an eventful Saturday reshuffled the leaderboard.
Billy Horschel enters the final round with the lead at 4-under, but he has plenty of competition to fight off if he wants to secure his first major championship. Six golfers (Sam Burns, Thriston Lawrence, Russell Henley, Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, Daniel Brown) sit one shot behind Horschel at 3-under, and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler remains in the hunt just two shots back.
USA TODAY Sports provides live updates, highlights and more from Royal Troon Golf Club in the deciding round below.
Don’t count Shane Lowry out just yet.
The tournament leader entering Saturday’s third round suffered through a disastrous 40 on the back nine and finished with a 6-over 77. But he’s regained some of the form that he showed the first two days with a stretch of four birdies in five holes to get back to 4-under for the tournament.
A 14-footer on the par-3 eighth hole known as the the “Postage Stamp” has Lowry just one stroke behind the leaders.
But the birdie he’ll look back on most fondly if he makes a final-round charge: a 56-foot bomb on No. 5.
With his second birdie in four holes, Justin Rose finds himself alone atop the leaderboard. An 8-foot birdie on the 608-yard par 5 moved Rose to 5-under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of the field.
As Rose was making his move, the third hole at Royal Troon provided a quick momentum swing for the final group of the day.
Leader Billy Horschel found a fairway bunker on the 372-yard par 4 and had to pitch out to safety. With a 17-footer to save par, Horschel missed to drop into a tie for the lead with Rose.
At the same time, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence hit his approach shot on No. 3 out of the rough to within 12 1/2 feet of the hole. He nailed his putt for birdie to pull even with Horschel at 4-under.
Of course, Lawrence and Horschel now have that same par-5 Rose birdied coming up next.
With Billy Horschel playing in the final group at Royal Troon − and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and PGA champ Xander Schauffele close behind − an American golfer could win all four of golf’s major championships this calendar year. (Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open.)
It’s been 42 years since the last American sweep.
For the record, the major winners in 1982 were Craig Stadler (Masters), Tom Watson (U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, British Open at Troon) and Raymond Floyd (PGA at Southern Hills).
It could be a sign of many more twists and turns to come on Sunday.
Englishman Justin Rose rolled in a 7-foot birdie putt on the second hole to pull even with third-round leader Billy Horschel atop the leaderboard.
However, Horschel nailed a 23-footer for a birdie of his own just seconds later to move back in front at 5-under.
Not to be outdone, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler birdied No. 3 to move into a six-way tie for third place at 3-under.
It’s officially “go time” as the leaders in the 152nd Open Championship are set to begin Round 4 at Troon.
- Billy Horschel -4
- Thriston Lawrence -3
- Sam Burns -3
- Russell Henley -3
- Xander Schauffele -3
- Justin Rose -3
- Daniel Brown -3
- Scottie Scheffler -2
Will someone go really low on Sunday and put some pressure on the leaders? With the unpredictable weather at the British Open, there’s always a chance a low score in the clubhouse could stand up if conditions take a rapid turn for the worse.
Two-time major champion Jon Rahm could be that player − especially after he birdied the first three holes of his final round. The Spaniard nailed birdie putts of 17 and 24 feet on Nos. 1 and 2, before sticking his approach shot on No. 3 to within four feet. Another one-putt green moved Rahm to 1-under for the championship, just three shots behind leader Billy Horschel.
The forecast for Sunday’s final round calls for a chance of a few brief showers from late afternoon with passing showers possible from early evening. Winds will be out of the southwest at 12-15 mph with gusts of 18-24 mph early and easing slightly later in the day.
High: 17°C (63°F).
Ryan Fox of New Zealand has posted Sunday’s best round for now, firing six birdies for a 4-under 67. He finishes the Open at 5-over.
After going par, par, par on the first hole of the first three rounds, Jordan Spieth opened Sunday’s final round with a birdie and went par, birdie, par through the first four holes.
Spieth bogeyed the par-3 fifth hole, he closed out the front nine a par, two birdies and a bogey, 2-under 34 through the first nine holes. He sits at 5-over through 11.
The Open will be broadcast live on NBC, with coverage also on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. The tentative broadcast schedule is as follows (all times Eastern):
Round 4: Sunday, July 21
- 4 a.m.-7 a.m.: Peacock
- 7 a.m.- 2 p.m.: NBC/Peacock
Live coverage and featured groups can be followed on the live stream on Peacock, as well as Fubo.
Follow along for live scoring updates from Royal Troon.
All times Eastern
2:35 a.m. — Darren Fichardt, Andy Ogletree
2:45 a.m. — Luis Masaveu, Young-han Song
2:55 a.m. — Darren Clarke, Tom McKibbin
3:05 a.m. — Ryan Fox, Hideki Matsuyama
3:15 a.m. — Aaron Rai, Rickie Fowler
3:25 a.m. — Tommy Morrison, Corey Conners
3:35 a.m. — Brooks Koepka, Marcel Siem
3:45 a.m. — Jeunghun Wang, Matthieu Pavon
4 a.m. — Thorbjørn Olesen, Jorge Campillo
4:10 a.m. — Matt Fitzpatrick, Richard Mansell
4:20 a.m. — Rasmus Højgaard, Kurt Kitayama
4:30 a.m. — Nicolai Højgaard, Jordan Spieth
4:40 a.m. — Jacob Skov Oleson, Alex Cejka
4:50 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Robert MacIntyre
5 a.m. — Harris English, Guido Migliozzi
5:10 a.m. — Joaquin Niemann, Mackenzie Hughes
5:25 a.m. — Tom Hoge, Adrian Meronk
5:35 a.m. — Austin Eckroat, Brian Harman
5:45 a.m. — Davis Thompson, Si Woo Kim
5:55 a.m. — Matt Wallace, Abraham Ancer
6:05 a.m. — Max Homa, Jason Day
6:15 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Eric Cole
6:25 a.m. — Emiliano Grillo, Cameron Young
6:35 a.m. — Joe Dean, Ewen Ferguson
6:50 a.m. — Dean Burmester, Patrick Cantlay
7 a.m. — Gary Woodland, Minkyu Kim
7:10 a.m. — Padraig Harrington, Brendon Todd
7:20 a.m. — Calum Scott, Matteo Manassero
7:30 a.m. — Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa
7:40 a.m. — Jon Rahm, Alex Noren
7:50 a.m. — Laurie Canter, Chris Kirk
8 a.m. — Sean Crocker, John Catlin
8:15 a.m. — Daniel Hillier, Shubhankar Sharma
8:25 a.m. — Byeong Hun An, Sungjae Im
8:35 a.m. — Matthew Jordan, Justin Thomas
8:45 a.m. — Adam Scott, Shane Lowry
8:55 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Daniel Brown
9:05 a.m. — Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele
9:15 a.m. — Russell Henley, Sam Burns
9:25 a.m. — Thriston Lawrence, Billy Horschel
According to Accuweather, Sunday’s forecast at Royal Troon calls for a morning shower, followed by intervals of clouds and sunshine. Chance of precipitation is 40%. High temperature of 63 degrees.
- Xander Schauffele (+350)
- Scottie Scheffler (+375)
- Billy Horschel (+450)
- Justin Rose (+800)
- Sam Burns (+800)
- Russell Henley (+900)
- Thriston Lawrence (+1400)
- Daniel Brown (+2000)
- Shane Lowry (+2500)
American Brian Harman claimed his first career major by playing four rounds of consistent, steady golf in the soggy conditions at Royal Liverpool to win the 2023 British Open by six strokes.
With only two career victories on the PGA Tour, Harman entered Sunday’s final round with a five-shot lead. He closed with a 1-under 70 as Jon Rahm, Tom Kim, Jason Day and Sepp Straka all tied for second place.
The 152nd British Open tees off at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, for the 10th time. Royal Troon first hosted The Open in 1923, when English golfer Arthur Havers defeated American Walter Hagen by one stroke.
Royal Troon went on to host the Open eight more times, most recently in 2016, when Sweden’s Henrik Stenson defeated Phil Mickelson by three strokes to win his first and only major title.
Tiger Woods is a three-time winner at The Open, pulling off victories in 2000, 2005 and 2006.
Woods’ first appearance at The Open was in 1995, when he finished in a tie for 68th place. He’s only appeared at the tournament once during the past four years, and that was in 2022 when he missed the cut. The last time he made the cut was in 2018 when he finished in a tie for sixth place at Carnoustie in Scotland.
Woods missed the cut this year.
Rory McIlroy has won The Open once back in 2014.
McIlroy first appeared at The Open in 2007, when he finished in 42nd place. McIlroy has finished in the top six, six times in eight tournaments dating back to 2014. He tied for sixth last year at Royal Liverpool.
He missed the cut this year.
Rory McIlroy says he’s ‘getting closer’ to ending his golf drought
Rory McIlroy talks to the media ahead of the start of the British Open and says he’s getting closer to another title.
Masters winner Scottie Scheffler has appeared at The Open three times in his career, with his highest finish coming during his 2021 debut at the event. Scheffler finished in a tie for eighth place that year at Royal St. George’s.
In an interview last weekend with the Times of London, Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie suggested it might be time for Tiger Woods to retire.
“Aren’t we there? I’d have thought we were past there. There is a time for all sportsmen to say goodbye, but it’s very difficult to tell Tiger it’s time to go,” Montgomerie said.
When asked about those comments on Tuesday, Woods fired back.
“As a past champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60. Colin’s not,” Woods said with a knowing smile. “He’s not a past champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to make that decision. I do.” — Steve Gardner
If you’re old enough to remember the origins of Tiger Woods, there’s nostalgic pleasure in the idea he can still dunk on Colin Montgomerie today with just as much flair as he did during the 1997 Masters in a third round that changed the course of golf history.
But Montgomerie, in the full context of his comments in the London Times, isn’t wrong either. What exactly is Woods trying to accomplish by still being out there?
Unless he can do something on the course, we might have to admit that Monty had a point.
Read Dan Wolken’s entire column.
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