Golf’s 2024 Open Championship has officially begun at Scotland’s Royal Troon, with action taking place into Sunday 21 July.
An estimated 250,000 golf fans are expected to flood the Ayrshire course, with poor weather forecast for the duration of the tournament.
It’s the first time the major competition has been held here since 2016, after taking place at Royal Liverpool in Merseyside in 2023.
The tournament is rotated between different links courses across the United Kingdom on an annual basis.
Justin Leonard, the Champion Golfer of 1997, had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot of the 152nd Open.
Reigning champion Brian Harman will be hoping to retain the Claret Jug trophy, after dominating last year’s tournament.
Other players preparing to tee off this year include favourite Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa and Eric Cole.
The Open 2024 tee times – day one
It was an early start for the professionals today, with rain and wind blighting play in typical Open weather conditions.
All times listed are BST.
06:35 Todd Hamilton (US), Justin Leonard (US), Jack McDonald (Sco)
06:46 Tom McKibbin (NI), (a) Calum Scott (Sco), Alexander Noren (Swe)
06:57 Michael Hendry (NZ), Vincent Norrman (Swe), Jesper Svensson (Swe)
07:08 Daniel Hillier (NZ), Ryosuke Kinoshita (Jpn), Young-Han Song (Kor)
07:19 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Ryo Hisatsune (Jpn), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
07:30 Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den), Keita Nakajima (Jpn), Adam Scott (Aus)
07:41 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Justin Rose (Eng), (a) Jasper Stubbs (Aus)
07:52 Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Matthew Southgate (Eng), Justin Thomas (US)
08:03 Laurie Canter (Eng), Nick Taylor (Can), Matt Wallace (Eng)
08:14 Matteo Manassero (Ita), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Sebastian Soderberg
(Swe)
08:25 Austin Eckroat (US), Zach Johnson (US), Thorbjoern Olesen (Den)
08:36 John Daly (US), (a) Santiago de la Fuente (Mex), Aaron Rai (Eng)
08:47 Stewart Cink (US), (a) Dominic Clemons (Eng), Chris Kirk (US)
09:03 Stephan Jaeger (Ger), Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Adam Schenk (US)
09:14 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (SA), Lucas Glover (US), Adam Hadwin (Can)
09:25 Tony Finau (US), Russell Henley (US), Matthieu Pavon (Fra)
09:36 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Jon Rahm (Spa)
09:47 Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Bryson DeChambeau (US), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
09:58 Brian Harman (US), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Sahith Theegala (US)
10:09 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Max Homa (US), Rory McIlroy (NI)
10:20 Keegan Bradley (US), (a) Gordon Sargent (US), Will Zalatoris (US)
10:31 Alexander Bjoerk (Swe), Harris English (US), Maverick McNealy (US)
10:42 Sean Crocker (US), Guido Migliozzi (Ita), (a) Tommy Morrison (US)
10:53 John Catlin (US), Gun-Taek Koh (Kor), David Puig (Spa)
11:04 Daniel Bradbury (Eng), Thriston Lawrence (SA), Elvis Smylie (Aus)
11:15 Ignacio Elvira (Spa), Darren Fichardt (SA), Min-Kyu Kim (Kor)
11:26 Mason Andersen (US), Sam Hutsby (Eng), Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn)
11:47 Ewen Ferguson (Sco), Marcel Siem (Ger)
11:58 Yuto Katsuragawa (Jpn), Romain Langasque (Fra), Chengtsung Pan (Tai)
12:09 Angel Hidalgo (Spa), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), Richard Mansell (Eng)
12:20 Jorge Campillo (Spa), Corey Conners (Can), Ryan Fox (NZ)
12:31 Ernie Els (SA), (a) Altin van der Merwe (SA), Gary Woodland (US)
12:42 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), (a) Jacob Olesen (Den), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
12:53 Billy Horschel (US), Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Victor Perez (Fra)
13:04 Jordan Smith (Eng), Sepp Straka (Aut), Brendon Todd (US)
13:15 Denny McCarthy (US), Adrian Meronk (Pol), Taylor Moore (US)
13:26 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Jason Day (Aus), Rickie Fowler (US)
13:37 Alex Cejka (Ger), Eric Cole (US), Kurt Kitayama (US)
13:48 Dean Burmester (SA), Darren Clarke (NI), JT Poston (US)
14:04 Dustin Johnson (US), Joost Luiten (Ned), Phil Mickelson (US)
14:15 Padraig Harrington (Ire), Matthew Jordan (Eng), Davis Thompson (US)
14:26 Wyndham Clark (US), Brooks Koepka (US), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
14:37 Patrick Cantlay (US), Xander Schauffele (US), Tiger Woods (US)
14:48 Sam Burns (US), Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Collin Morikawa (US)
14:59 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Shane Lowry (Ire), Cameron Smith (Aus)
15:10 Scottie Scheffler (US), Jordan Spieth (US), Cameron Young (US)
15:21 Akshay Bhatia (US), Tom Hoge (US), Sami Valimaki (Fin)
15:32 Ben Griffin (US), Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Mackenzie Hughes (Can)
15:43 Joseph Dean (Eng), Andy Ogletree (US), Yannik Paul (Ger)
15:54 Charlie Lindh (Swe), (a) Luis Masaveu (Spa), Ryan van Velzen (SA)
16:05 Kazuma Kobori (NZ), (a) Jaime Montojo (Spa), (a) Liam Nolan (Ire)
16:16 Denwit Boriboonsub (Tha), Daniel Brown (Eng), (a) Matthew Dodd-Berry (Eng)
16:27 Sam Horsfield (Eng), Aguri Iwasaki (Jpn), Jeung-Hun Wang (Kor)
(a) denotes amateur
The Open 2024 tee times – day two
Day two (Friday 19 July) tee times have also been confirmed.
All times are BST.
06:35 Ewen Ferguson (Sco), Marcel Siem (Ger)
06:46 Yuto Katsuragawa (Jpn), Romain Langasque (Fra), Chengtsung Pan (Tai)
06:57 Angel Hidalgo (Spa), Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), Richard Mansell (Eng)
07:08 Jorge Campillo (Spa), Corey Conners (Can), Ryan Fox (NZ)
07:19 Ernie Els (SA), (a) Altin van der Merwe (SA), Gary Woodland (US)
07:30 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), (a) Jacob Olesen (Den), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
07:41 Billy Horschel (US), Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Victor Perez (Fra)
07:52 Jordan Smith (Eng), Sepp Straka (Aut), Brendon Todd (US)
08:03 Denny McCarthy (US), Adrian Meronk (Pol), Taylor Moore (US)
08:14 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Jason Day (Aus), Rickie Fowler (US)
08:25 Alex Cejka (Ger), Eric Cole (US), Kurt Kitayama (US)
08:36 Dean Burmester (SA), Darren Clarke (NI), JT Poston (US)
08:47 Dustin Johnson (US), Joost Luiten (Ned), Phil Mickelson (US)
09:03 Padraig Harrington (Ire), Matthew Jordan (Eng), Davis Thompson (US)
09:14 Wyndham Clark (US), Brooks Koepka (US), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
09:25 Patrick Cantlay (US), Xander Schauffele (US), Tiger Woods (US)
09:36 Sam Burns (US), Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Collin Morikawa (US)
09:47 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Shane Lowry (Ire), Cameron Smith (Aus)
09:58 Scottie Scheffler (US), Jordan Spieth (US), Cameron Young (US)
10:09 Akshay Bhatia (US), Tom Hoge (US), Sami Valimaki (Fin)
10:20 Ben Griffin (US), Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Mackenzie Hughes (Can)
10:31 Joseph Dean (Eng), Andy Ogletree (US), Yannik Paul (Ger)
10:42 Charlie Lindh (Swe), (a) Luis Masaveu (Spa), Ryan van Velzen (SA)
10:53 Kazuma Kobori (NZ), (a) Jaime Montojo (Spa), (a) Liam Nolan (Ire)
11:04 Denwit Boriboonsub (Tha), Daniel Brown (Eng), (a) Matthew Dodd-Berry (Eng)
11:15 Sam Horsfield (Eng), Aguri Iwasaki (Jpn), Jeung-Hun Wang (Kor)
11:26 Todd Hamilton (US), Justin Leonard (US), Jack McDonald (Sco)
11:47 Tom McKibbin (NI), (a) Calum Scott (Sco), Alexander Noren (Swe)
11:58 Michael Hendry (NZ), Vincent Norrman (Swe), Jesper Svensson (Swe)
12:09 Daniel Hillier (NZ), Ryosuke Kinoshita (Jpn), Young-Han Song (Kor)
12:20 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Ryo Hisatsune (Jpn), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
12:31 Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den), Keita Nakajima (Jpn), Adam Scott (Aus)
12:42 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Justin Rose (Eng), (a) Jasper Stubbs (Aus)
12:53 Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Matthew Southgate (Eng), Justin Thomas (US)
13:04 Laurie Canter (Eng), Nick Taylor (Can), Matt Wallace (Eng)
13:15 Matteo Manassero (Ita), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Sebastian Soderberg
(Swe)
13:26 Austin Eckroat (US), Zach Johnson (US), Thorbjoern Olesen (Den)
13:37 John Daly (US), (a) Santiago De La Fuente (Mex), Aaron Rai (Eng)
13:48 Stewart Cink (US), (a) Dominic Clemons (Eng), Chris Kirk (US)
14:04 Stephan Jaeger (Ger), Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Adam Schenk (US)
14:15 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (SA), Lucas Glover (US), Adam Hadwin (Can)
14:26 Tony Finau (US), Russell Henley (US), Matthieu Pavon (Fra)
14:37 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Jon Rahm (Spa)
14:48 Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Bryson DeChambeau (US), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
14:59 Brian Harman (US), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Sahith Theegala (US)
15:10 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Max Homa (US), Rory McIlroy (NI)
15:21 Keegan Bradley (US), (a) Gordon Sargent (US), Will Zalatoris (US)
15:32 Alexander Bjoerk (Swe), Harris English (US), Maverick McNealy (US)
15:43 Sean Crocker (US), Guido Migliozzi (Ita), (a) Tommy Morrison (US)
15:54 John Catlin (US), Gun-Taek Koh (Kor), David Puig (Spa)
16:05 Daniel Bradbury (Eng), Thriston Lawrence (SA), Elvis Smylie (Aus)
16:16 Ignacio Elvira (Spa), Darren Fichardt (SA), Min-Kyu Kim (Kor)
16:27 Mason Andersen (US), Sam Hutsby (Eng), Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn)
How can I watch The Open?
UK viewers can watch all the action from this year’s Open on Sky Sports, Sky Sports Golf, or by streaming on NOW TV.
You can add Sky Sports from £22 per month.
Viewers can also watch events via NOW without signing up to a contract.
NOW can be streamed through a computer or apps found on most smart TVs, phones and consoles.
Sky Sports subscribers will also be able to watch the drama unfold live via the Sky Go app.
Who is tipped to win The Open?
World number one, Scottie Scheffler, is the favourite to take home this year’s trophy at the Open.
The 28-year-old American catapulted to world number one in 2022, with his first three PGA Tour wins before adding his maiden major title with a commanding three-stroke victory at The Masters in the same year.
His six PGA Tour victories before the calendar turned to July are the most since Arnold Palmer in 1962. On Tuesday, someone pointed out to Scheffler that Palmer’s seventh victory that year was a claret jug he won at Royal Troon.
In response, Scheffler shrugged and said: “Yeah, that would be great.”
“I love the history of the game, and there’s certain things that I know and certain things that I don’t. That was something that for some reason I just never stumbled across,” he said, searching for the right answer.
“So I had no idea that that was a thing.”
PGA champion Xander Schauffele might be the second-most consistent player in golf behind Scheffler – nothing but top 20s in his last 10 starts and 51 cuts in a row – and has acquired a taste for less-than-pleasant conditions, particularly in the Open.
“If the weather gets really bad, you just have to take the bunkers out of play and really try and plot your way around,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be super pretty. Just kind of place the ball around the property and really just try and get it in the hole in as few shots as possible.”
The 30-year-old American claimed his first major title when he produced a record-breaking performance at the PGA Championship in May 2024, leading some to consider him a contender in this year’s Open.
He now has eight PGA Tour titles to his name, including the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open, while he equalled the record for the lowest round in major history with an first-round 62 at the 2023 US Open.
Rory McIlroy will be hoping to make amends following his final-round collapse in June’s US Open.
Speaking ahead of the tournament about his failure to secure a major win over the past 10 years, the Northern Irish star said: “One thing that I’ve done a really good job of over the past three or four years in the majors is, I’ve been willing to have my heart be broken, because I’ve put myself out there.
“I’ve let myself be vulnerable and let myself get to that point, basically, of no return. I’ve experienced three of those Sundays in the last two or three years but that’s what you need to do.
“You need to put yourself out there and be willing to get hurt. Because it’s that fine margin of walking through that threshold of, ‘if this doesn’t happen, it’s really gonna suck. But if it does happen, it’s gonna be awesome’.”
And Tiger Woods is back at Royal Troon for the first time in two decades.
In a pre-tournament press conference, the 48-year-old described Royal Troon as “gettable”.
He said: “Overall, it’s one of those courses where you’re going to get it on one of the nines.
“Half of the holes are going to be playing really difficult, and the other ones are definitely gettable.“
He added that he’d been working hard in the gym, stating: “I’ll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event.”