Open Championship storylines: What to expect from Rory and Scottie, and how will Royal Portrush play

The 2025 Open Championship gets underway Thursday astatine 1:35 a.m. ET astatine Royal Portrush successful Northern Ireland.

Xander Schauffele is the defending champion, portion Shane Lowry won the past clip the Open was played connected the people successful 2019.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy caput successful No. 1 and No. 2 successful the satellite and winners of 2 of the year's archetypal 3 majors.

Will the large names conflict it retired astatine the top? What agelong shots could contend? And however volition Royal Portrush play implicit the adjacent 4 days? We effort to reply immoderate of the biggest question heading into the 153rd Open.

Is Scottie Scheffler inactive the overwhelming favourite this week?

Mark Schlabach: The Open is the lone large title successful which Scheffler hasn't finished successful the apical three, but links play hasn't precisely befuddled him. He has 4 apical 25s successful arsenic galore starts successful the event, including a necktie for seventh astatine Royal Troon Golf Club successful Scotland past year.

Links play would look to acceptable the three-time large champion's crippled perfectly. His world-class robust play shouldn't permission him successful excessively galore hard spots, and connected the uncommon juncture erstwhile helium does miss the green, his exceptional abbreviated crippled should beryllium capable to bail him out. His putting, which was erstwhile considered a weakness, has improved dramatically; helium ranks 22nd connected circuit successful strokes gained, putting (.362) this season.

McIlroy, Jon Rahm and others are much than susceptible of lifting the Claret Jug connected Sunday, but however tin you spell against Scheffler astatine this point? He hasn't finished extracurricular the apical 25 successful each of his 15 starts connected the PGA Tour this season, and helium was successful the apical 10 successful each of his past 10.

Paolo Uggetti: Yes, but with a caveat. While Scheffler hasn't precisely performed poorly astatine this major, arsenic Mark pointed out, determination is immoderate hostility betwixt Scheffler's propensity for fairness connected a play people and the essence of links golf, which tin often straddle the enactment betwixt just and unfair.

It appears, however, that Scheffler is trying to clasp that a spot more. It helps, too, that helium considers Portrush connected the fairer broadside of links tracks, particularly its cookware bunkers.

"I deliberation immoderate of the links courses I've played, it was benignant of deed oregon miss erstwhile you went into a bunker what benignant of prevarication you were going to get," Scheffler said. "There's a batch much slope into the bunkers wherever the shot benignant of funnels into the middle. I would reason that mightiness beryllium a small spot much just than 2 guys hitting a akin changeable and 1 feline has to putt it backmost into the bunker and the different feline has a cleanable lie."

Yet, arsenic ever with Scheffler, it whitethorn conscionable travel down to his putting. Though helium has improved successful that area, helium is coming disconnected a week astatine the Scottish Open wherever helium mislaid astir a changeable and a fractional to the tract connected the greens. That doesn't precisely animate assurance successful his quality to grip different week of links surfaces.

"I deliberation getting adjusted to velocity is ever benignant of the astir important implicit here," Scheffler said. "Outside of that, putting is putting. Golf is inactive play nary substance wherever you're playing."

What bash you expect from Rory McIlroy this week?

Schlabach: I'd beryllium stunned if it doesn't spell overmuch amended than the past clip we saw McIlroy competing successful an Open astatine Royal Portrush. In the archetypal Open Championship successful Northern Ireland successful 68 years successful 2019, McIlroy seemed overwhelmed by the expectations of being the assemblage favourite successful his homeland.

On the archetypal tee, McIlroy pulled his thrust near into planetary retired of bounds, starring to a quadruple-bogey 8. He carded a double-bogey 5 connected the 16th and triple-bogey 7 connected the 18th, adding up to an 8-over 79 successful the archetypal round.

To McIlroy's credit, helium rebounded to marque 7 birdies and 1 bogey successful the 2nd round, astir rallying to marque the chopped with a 6-under 65.

"You get to an Open, it's a large championship, everything that comes on with it, and I conscionable deliberation that feeling, the locomotion to the archetypal tee and past that ovation, I was inactive a small amazed and a small taken aback, like, 'Geez, these radical truly privation maine to win,'" McIlroy said this week.

"I deliberation that brought its ain benignant of unit and much internally from myself and not truly wanting to fto radical down. I conjecture it's conscionable thing I didn't mentally hole for that time oregon that week. But I learned beauteous rapidly that 1 of my challenges, particularly successful a week similar this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle."

McIlroy and Ireland's Shane Lowry, who captured the Claret Jug successful 2019, fig to person the biggest galleries pursuing them again.

McIlroy's crippled seems to beryllium successful a amended spot aft his post-Masters triumph lull; helium tied for sixth astatine the Travelers Championship and for 2nd astatine the Genesis Scottish Open.

He surely has immoderate fond memories of Royal Portrush arsenic well: He acceptable the people grounds with a 61 arsenic a 16-year-old.

Uggetti: For each the speech astir however McIlroy mightiness beryllium freed up aft his Masters triumph and what has happened instead, it's ironic and fitting that the spot wherever helium has looked possibly astir comfy and successful his constituent has been present -- successful Scotland past week and Northern Ireland this week.

McIlroy talked Monday astir embracing the homecoming helium knows helium is going to get from section fans alternatively of isolating himself similar helium did successful 2019. You tin already archer he's doing that arsenic helium takes clip to motion for fans and springiness them nods and acknowledgments passim his signifier rounds.

Of course, nary of that matters if his crippled isn't up to par. The bully quality for McIlroy is that it appears it is. At the Scottish, McIlroy's crippled looked sharper than it has since the Masters and helium seemed contented with wherever things basal heading into the past large of the year.

"I'm excited with wherever my crippled is. I felt similar I showed immoderate truly bully signs past week," McIlroy, who finished second, said. "I consciousness similar I'm successful a bully spot and had -- not that past week was a axenic mentation week, but I decidedly consciousness similar it enactment maine successful a bully spot heading into here."

At this point, I would beryllium much amazed if McIlroy wasn't successful the premix travel the play than if helium was.

Thoughts connected Xander Schauffele's defense?

Schlabach: It's the past large title of the twelvemonth and the last changeable astatine glory, and the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year could usage thing affirmative to salvage what has truthful acold been a mislaid season.

It's not arsenic if Schauffele has played poorly this season; helium hasn't missed a chopped successful 12 starts connected circuit and has 7 apical 25s. His run simply feels incomplete aft helium missed 8 weeks with a achy rib injury. His champion finishes were a necktie for eighth astatine the Masters and past week's Scottish Open.

It isn't hard to fig retired wherefore Schauffele hasn't won successful 2025 aft capturing his archetypal 2 majors astatine the PGA Championship and The Open past season. He ranks 112th connected circuit successful strokes gained: disconnected the tee (-.018) and 138th successful putting (-.144).

Uggetti: The much I perceive Schauffele talk, the much I deliberation helium volition triumph aggregate Open Championships, whether it's this week oregon beyond.

It seems similar helium has the perfect attack and cognition toward links play successful that helium knows it volition beryllium difficult, helium knows it volition beryllium unpredictable and yet helium is relishing the accidental to grind done thing the people and the conditions propulsion astatine him.

"It's conscionable the mentality. I think, erstwhile you accidental links golf, it comes with weather, and erstwhile you play successful atrocious weather, you person to person a bully attitude," Schauffele said. "You person to visualize a batch much than conscionable hitting your fig connected a machine."

Schauffele hasn't had what I ideate is the follow-up helium expected to a imagination play past year, but helium is intelligibly trending successful the close absorption aft a T-12 successful the U.S. Open and a T-8 astatine the Scottish past week. If the conditions get unruly this weekend, determination are aren't galore guys you would spot to excel. Schauffele is 1 of those.

What to cognize astir Royal Portrush and however you expect it to play this week

Schlabach: It's each going to beryllium connected the upwind and upwind due to the fact that Royal Portrush is exposed to each of the elements connected the bluish extremity of Northern Ireland.

That being said, Lowry and the remainder of the tract enjoyed unbelievable scoring conditions successful the archetypal 3 rounds successful 2019. The rainfall stayed distant and the winds were calm, arsenic Lowry carded a bogey-free 63 connected Saturday to acceptable a 54-hole scoring grounds successful The Open.

Then connected Sunday, torrential rains and dependable winds blew arsenic Lowry and others held on.

"We'll spot however the upwind turns retired this week," Scheffler said. "Weather has a beauteous melodramatic effect connected however the play people is going to play. You tin play your signifier rounds and prepare, but yet erstwhile you measurement connected the tee connected Thursday, immoderate the upwind presents is going to beryllium astir apt the strongest portion of the test."

Schauffele noted that the upwind tin adjacent impact golfers' putts.

"Putting is ever tricky with wind," Schauffele said. "There's immoderate holes wherever the mounds screen the greens and immoderate holes that are much exposed wherever the upwind is going to impact the shot connected the green. I deliberation whoever wins this week is an highly well-rounded player."

Uggetti: It tin beryllium gettable (see Lowry's 63 successful 2019) and it tin besides consciousness intolerable depending connected the spot of the upwind and the direction. Above all, it volition necessitate a large magnitude of strategical decision-making.

Case successful point: During his Monday signifier round, I watched McIlroy deed a operator into a 400-yard par 4 and past 3-iron into a 474-yard par 4. I watched him statement with his caddie Harry Diamond for a fewer minutes astir what nine to deed disconnected the tricky 15th spread if it played downwind.

As Scheffler and others person pointed out, Portrush is simply a links people but it is unsocial successful that determination are much elevation changes than astatine astir links courses. This makes for an absorbing operation of crushed crippled and aerial game.

The players who tin fig retired erstwhile it is close to usage 1 oregon the different volition apt beryllium the ones warring for the Claret Jug travel Sunday.

One longer changeable that could beryllium successful contention this week?

Schlabach: It wasn't agelong agone that 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick described his crippled arsenic "rubbish," and it had been a portion since the English golfer had been successful the premix astatine 1 of the large 4 until helium tied for eighth astatine the PGA Championship astatine Quail Hollow Club successful May.

The 30-year-old doesn't person a large way grounds successful The Open, but he's coming successful with bully signifier aft tying for eighth astatine the Rocket Classic and for 4th successful the Scottish Open. If the upwind gets tricky connected the weekend, Fitzpatrick is much than susceptible of handling the conditions, conscionable similar helium did astatine The Country Club successful Brookline, Massachusetts, erstwhile helium captured his archetypal major.

Uggetti: How astir Justin Rose? Not lone did helium instrumentality McIlroy to a playoff astatine the Masters, but conscionable past twelvemonth astatine Royal Troon, Rose had a existent changeable to triumph connected the backmost 9 and came up abbreviated of Schauffele by lone 2 shots.

Rose is besides coming disconnected an awesome decorativeness astatine the Scottish Open, wherever helium changeable 7-under successful the last circular to leap each the mode up to sixth place. If Rose is capable to conjure up 1 much tally astatine a large this week and extremity a 33-year drought for Englishmen successful the Open it would beryllium an epic story.