McIlroy, Tiger chase major breakthrough at The Open

The 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon, beginning Thursday in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, represents a pivotal point of the summer for the world of golf.

It’s the final chance to see Tiger Woods play this season, the final shot for Rory McIlroy to halt his major championship drought at 10 years, and the last opportunity for someone new to join Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau as a 2024 major winner.

Royal Troon takes its first turn in The Open rotation since 2016, when Sweden’s Henrik Stenson staved off Phil Mickelson in a memorable Sunday duel to win his only career major.

The course on the Scottish coast features the longest hole in the championship’s history, as the par-5 sixth measures 623 yards. But it’s perhaps best known for the devious par-3 eighth hole; though just 123 yards from tee to green, that green is merely 33 paces wide, earning the nickname “The Postage Stamp.”

“You don’t need a 240-yard par-3 for it to be hard,” Woods said.

Woods, 48, is competing in all four majors for the first time since his single-car accident in 2021 that led to multiple surgeries and an arduous comeback. He’ll play with Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in the Thursday afternoon and Friday morning waves.

The Open, with its distinctive links style, could present the 15-time major champ his best chance to win one more at his age. At Royal Troon alone, Stenson was 40 years old and Mickelson 46 in 2016; Todd Hamilton was 38 when he won in 2004.

“I think the older you get, the less you can carry the golf ball. But over here, you can run the golf ball 100 yards if you get the right wind and the right trajectory,” Woods said. “It negates somewhat of the high launch conditions that most of the times you see on the tour nowadays that populate the world. … I think that’s one of the reasons why you see older champions up there on the board because they’re not forced to have to carry the ball 320 yards anymore.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was among the players who skipped last week’s Genesis Scottish Open in order to study Royal Troon up close. His best Open finish to date is T8.

“As far as the learning curve goes, I just feel like you have to be more creative here,” Scheffler said. “I love that part of it. I feel like, when I do come over here, this is really how golf was intended to be played. I feel like there’s a lot more opportunity for shot making and being creative around the greens.”

Already a six-time winner this year, Scheffler is favored once again, but McIlroy is high on the board. The Northern Irishman collapsed down the home stretch at last month’s U.S. Open, but said he took the proper time away from golf to reset and prepare for The Open. The questions about when he’ll win another major are growing louder.

“It doesn’t bother me. I know that I’m in a good spot,” McIlroy said. “If I think about 2015 through 2020, that five-year stretch I seldom had a realistic chance to win a major championship in that five-year period. So I’d much rather have these close calls. It means that I’m getting closer.”

Robert MacIntyre of Scotland is sure to be among the crowd favorites. Last week, he became the first Scot since 1999 to win his national open, a dream come true for MacIntyre. For what it’s worth, 1999 was also the last time a Scot won the Open Championship.

“(On Thursday) we’ll start off from level par,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve got as much chance as everyone else in the field. Same Thursday last week, I had the same chance as everyone else. It’s just about getting in that position on Sunday and seeing where the cards fall.”