For the first time since 2014, all eyes are on Hoylake.
The best players in the world have made their way to Royal Liverpool for the 2023 Open Championship, the final men’s major of the year.
Cam Smith, after his come-from-behind victory at the Old Course last season, enters the week as the defending champion. He admitted Monday that he was a bit emotional returning the Claret Jug.
The man he chased down at St. Andrews, Rory McIlroy, won the title of Champion Golfer of the Year nine years ago when the Open last came to this historic venue.
Both players won the last event they played in: Smith at LIV Golf London, and McIlroy at the Genesis Scottish Open.
More: 2023 British Open scoreboard, videos and more.
Golf course
Royal Liverpool | Par 71 | 7,383 yards
A view of the green on the par-4 1st hole for the 2023 Open Championship (plays as the 17th hole for the club routing) at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. (Photo: David Cannon/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Championship history
#TheOpenChampionship field history since 2014.
-Includes average finish position and Strokes Gained average per round. Players are sorted by SG: Total.
-Also includes finish position on all other links courses going back to 2017. The number under the tournament name is the… pic.twitter.com/l4zFOWfO5H
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) July 17, 2023
Betting preview
| Player | Odds | Player | Odds |
| Scottie Scheffler | (+700) | Tommy Fleetwood | (+2800) |
| Rory McIlroy | (+700) | Jordan Spieth | (+3000) |
| Jon Rahm | (+1300) | Dustin Johnson | (+3000) |
| Cam Smith | (+1800) | Shane Lowry | (+3500) |
| Brooks Koepka | (+1800) | Collin Morikawa | (+3500) |
| Xander Schauffele | (+2200) | Justin Rose | (+5000) |
| Viktor Hovland | (+2200) | Tony Finau | (+5500) |
| Patrick Cantlay | (+2200) | Matt Fitzpatrick | (+5500) |
| Tyrrell Hatton | (+2500) | Max Homa | (+6000) |
| Rickie Fowler | (+2500) | Corey Conners | (+6000) |
Odds as of 8:40 a.m. ET Tuesday
Cameron Smith on the seventeenth green on preview day of The Open at the Royal Liverpool, Wirral. Picture date: Sunday, July 16, 2023. (Press Association via AP Images)
Winning the same major championship two years in a row is difficult, but Smith’s game perfectly fits links golf, and he’s coming into the week in good form.
He won the latest LIV Golf event in London, finished solo fourth at the U.S. Open and tied for ninth at the PGA Championship.
“It still doesn’t feel real, even a year down the road. But yeah,…
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