Rory McIlroy will be roared on in his homeland as the 153rd British Open gets underway at Royal Portrush on Thursday as world number one Scottie Scheffler seeks his first Claret Jug.The world number three has not won a tournament since lifting the Claret Jug a year ago and has not even managed a top-five finish in 12 tournaments this year.

Former PGA Tour pro Johnson Wagner apologized to the British Open crowd after skulling a shot into the grandstand during a live demo.

The somewhat contradictory answer was that golf does fulfill Scheffler, along with his family, but that if the game ever affected his role as a husband and father he'd quit on the spot. Family matters the most to him, so he ends up asking himself the same question at tournament after tournament:

Backspin: His year was slowed by a rib injury that kept him out for two months. Padraig Harrington (2007-08), Tiger Woods (2005-06) and Tom Watson (1982-83) are the only back-to-back Open champions the last 50 years.

Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world, has three wins on Tour this year, including a major victory at the 2025 PGA Championship. Scheffler finished tied for seventh in last month's U.S. Open and has finished in the top 10 in nine consecutive tournaments.

Chris Gotterup may have secured his FedEx Cup playoff spot by winning the Genesis Scottish Open, jumping from 88th to 39th in the standings. Scottie Scheffler maintains a substantial lead in the FedEx Cup standings despite Rory McIlroy gaining ground.

The final men's major of the year is here, as the 2025 British Open Championship kicks off Thursday morning at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.