IT is that time of year again when the English golf fan wonder if one of their own can actually end the long wait for Open Championship success.
This time around there are a number of contenders, but the field is strong and the conditions different to normal, so it’s even harder to call who will triumph at Carnoustie than in normal years.
Nick Faldo was the last Englishman to win when he won at Muirfield in 1992, while Rory McIlroy won for Northern Ireland in 2014 and Paul Lawrie was the last Scottish player to claim the Claret Jug in 1999 – at Carnoustie.
This year there are are a few contenders from these shores, like Tommy Fleetwood who hit a course record on the same track nine months ago, but who are main contenders in the field? From England and beyond, at a time when British golf is as strong as it has been for a long time?
THE FAVOURITE
Dustin Johnson
Johnson, who finished tied second in 2011, loves links golf and tends to fair reasonably well. He also goes to Scotland in reasonable form, and rallied to finish third at US Open when a third round in poor conditions cost him. People refer to his short game as his biggest weakness but there is no way he should be discounted on that front, and he has the talent to shine.
Odds: 12/1
THE BRIT
Justin Rose
Despite bursting onto the Open stage as an amateur in 1998 at Royal Birkdale, his appearances in the British showpiece have not been to the standard they would have expected. He has only had one top-ten in an Open.
However, he has won twice on Tour this season, including a WGC, and he already boasts a major win so can handle the big occasion if he is in contention.
Odds: 16/1
THE EUROPEAN
Alex Noren
The Swede’s rise has been rapid recently and has won six in exactly two years, three have come in the UK. The conditions will not be like normal because of the warm weather, but he has the game to shine and he also warmed up for The Open with victory in France.
Paris’ Le Golf National, where Graeme Storm once shone, is not a links but it was a tough test building up to Carnoustie, and tougher than Gullane, which played much easier.
Odds: 30/1
THE LONG SHOT
Ryan Fox
It would be a major surprise to see the man from Down Under get his hands on the big prize but the New Zealander is in fine form on the European Tour, so is worth keeping an eye on and having gone agonisingly close to winning the Irish Open at Ballyliffin.
Fox, 31, secured his place at The Open through Ireland and then finished tied sixth at Gullane, so there is every chance he will there or thereabouts for a strong each way finish on Sunday.
Odds: 110/1
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