The Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, will host the British Open for the 10th time in 2017, as the sport's elite vie for the oldest major title in existence beginning on Thursday.
Dustin Johnson entered last month's U.S. Open as one of the major favourites and returns to The Open Championship as the hottest pick among American players, edging Jordan Spieth by a slim margin with the bookmakers.
It's been almost three years since Rory McIlroy last won a major, and one of his two 2014 triumphs came in the British Open, with the Northern Irishman tipped to do well once again in this weekend's tournament.