The Open: McIlory and Lowry get home backing but Scheffler the favourite at Portrush

The 153rd edition of The Open Championship will take place at Royal Portrush from Thursday to Sunday, with McIlroy targeting another memorable success.

McIlroy, who hails from just over 60 miles away in Holywood, County Down, endured a torrid time when The Open was last held at the Northern Irish course.

He missed the cut by one stroke back in 2019, though there was still a popular victor as Ireland's Shane Lowry lifted the Claret Jug.

McIlroy will be desperate to fare better this time around and finish an already memorable year on a high. But after disappointing efforts at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, the five-time major winner will have to raise his game.

Xander Schauffele is eyeing back-to-back successes at golf's oldest major, but it is difficult to look beyond world number one Scottie Scheffler as the main favourite. Lowry and Jon Rahm are among the other challengers.

Ahead of Thursday's opening round, we run through the key Opta stats for the main contenders.

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival at Portrush on Monday, McIlroy said The Open was the event he had circled in his diary at the start of the year, even more so than the Masters.

McIlroy is aiming to become the ninth player to win the Masters and The Open in the same year, and the first since Tiger Woods in 2005.

Scores of 79 and 65 saw McIlroy miss the cut when The Open was last held at Portrush in 2019, while he also failed to make the weekend at Royal Troon 12 months ago following a first-round 78 – his worst major score since that nightmare start six years ago.

McIlroy was in contention at the previous two editions, though, finishing third in 2022 and tied for sixth in 2023.

He also enters this week's event off the back of his best showing since the Masters, having finished tied for second behind Chris Gotterup at the Scottish Open.

McIlroy has acknowledged that he struggled to control his emotions at Portrush in 2019. With the pressure lifted somewhat by the achievement of completing the career grand slam, he should fare better this time.

Following his triumph at Troon last year, Schauffele is bidding to become the first player since Padraig Harrington (in 2007 and 2008) to win back-to-back editions of The Open.

Only six American golfers have ever achieved this feat – Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Woods.

But after capturing his first two major titles in 2024, a year that also saw him make the top 10 on 15 occasions, Schauffele has struggled for form this season.

He is yet to win a tournament or manage a top-five finish in 12 outings this year, being tied for eighth at both the Masters and the Scottish Open.

A rib injury hampered the world number three at the start of the year, though he described his game as "bad across the board" ahead of last week's outing at the Renaissance Club. Schauffele must regain his trademark steadiness if he is to retain the Claret Jug.

McIlroy may have home advantage and Schauffele may be the defending champion, but at any major, there is always the possibility that Scheffler overpowers the field.

The world number one is the only player to record a top-10 finish at all three majors played in 2025, placing fourth at the Masters and tying for seventh at the U.S. Open, on either side of a dominant five-stroke victory at the PGA Championship.

Since the start of 2020, Scheffler leads all players for wins (three) and top-10 finishes (15) at major championships. Those figures have come in 21 tournaments, meaning he has made the top 10 in 71% of instances.

However, the American has something to prove this week, with The Open being his least successful major thus far. While he has also failed to win the U.S. Open, he has finished second and joint-third at that event, with his best Open finish being T7 last year.

But Scheffler has three wins and 12 top-10 finishes this year, making the top 10 on each of his last 10 outings since the Players Championship in March (T20).

It is safe to assume Scheffler will be in contention. The rest of the field will simply hope he doesn't surge clear as he did at Quail Hollow in May.

While McIlroy, Schauffele and Scheffler have all been major champions within the last 12 months, Rahm's wait for a third major title will extend to at least three years if he does not triumph this week.

Rahm – the winner of the 2021 U.S. Open and the 2023 Masters – has been a consistent presence in the chasing back at recent editions of the Open.

With finishes of T2 in 2023 and T7 in 2024, the Spaniard is one of only two golfers to make the top 10 at the last two Open Championships, alongside Matthew Jordan.

Since the last Open to be held at Royal Portrush in 2019, Rahm is a combined 29 under par at the Championship – better than any other player who has made the cut in every edition during that time.

Rahm has continued his consistent form throughout 2025, finishing T14 at the Masters, T8 at the PGA Championship and T7 at the U.S. Open.

He has also accrued nine top-10 finishes in 10 LIV Golf tournaments this year, being tied for 11th on the one occasion he missed out (in Dallas last month). Few players have been trending in the right direction like he has.

The Open has been, by far, DeChambeau's least enjoyable major.

In seven appearances at the Championship, DeChambeau's best finish was T8 in 2022. In his other six outings, he has missed the cut on three occasions, while finishing T33 in both 2017 and 2021 and T60 in 2023.

That seems remarkable for a player with six top-five finishes – and one title – in the last 10 majors, but he has often struggled to adapt to windy and wet conditions, which can so often characterise The Open.

The two-time U.S. Open champion shot 76 and 75 to finish three shots back of the cut line at Troon last year. DeChambeau certainly has the ability to spring a surprise, but with changeable weather predicted, his struggles with links golf may resurface.

Lowry remains the most recent European to win The Open, and this week's event marks a return to the course where he achieved that feat.

The last four editions have seen three Americans – Collin Morikawa, Brian Harman and the aforementioned Schauffele – and one Australian, Cameron Smith, lift the Claret Jug.

Lowry has failed to make the cut at the last two majors, but there are reasons for positivity ahead of the Irishman's 50th major appearance.

He has four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this year and was the halfway leader at Troon last year, only to be derailed by a terrible third round of 77.

Lowry rode a wave of home support to triumph six years ago – could we see a similar outcome this time around?

Outside the very biggest names, one of the most interesting players to watch will be J.J. Spaun, who holed an incredible 64-foot birdie putt to win the U.S. Open last month.

This will be Spaun's first Open Championship, and he is riding the crest of a wave.

The 34-year-old is the most improved player to currently occupy a place in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings, having climbed 109 spots from 119th to 10th this year, also recording four top-three finishes on the PGA Tour.

Robert MacIntyre finished two shots back of Spaun at the U.S. Open, and the Scot could have the credentials for a run at Portrush. He made his major debut when the Open was last held at the course in 2019, finishing tied for sixth.

Of the former Open champions in the field, Morikawa – who triumphed at Royal St. George's three years ago – may offer the biggest challenge to the favourites.

Morikawa's accuracy off the tee puts him among the best in the field, but greater consistency is needed after failing to break the top 20 at the PGA Championship or U.S. Open.

McIlroy and Scheffler are two of only three players to have recorded at least one top-three major finish in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The other is Viktor Hovland, who was tied for second at the 2023 PGA Championship and third at the 2024 PGA and 2025 U.S. Open. If he brings his A-Game, the Norwegian will be there or thereabouts, but three consecutive missed cuts earlier this year showed his fragility.

And Hovland is not the only player looking to shake off the "nearly man" tag.

Tommy Fleetwood has made the top 10 at three of the last five Open Championships, including a runner-up finish to Lowry in 2019. Despite 42 top-10 finishes in 160 events on the PGA Tour, he is still yet to taste victory at any event. The Englishman suffered a heartbreaking near-miss at the Travelers Championship last month.

Cameron Young, meanwhile, has recorded six top-10 finishes at majors since the start of 2022 – more than any player without a major triumph in that time.

Hovland, Fleetwood and Young will all be desperate to finally get over the line at one of golf's biggest tournaments, while other players are looking to avoid an unwanted sweep.

Nick Dunlap, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Sepp Straka and 2022 Open champion Smith are the five players to have missed the cut at all three majors so far in 2025.

Justin Thomas, meanwhile, has missed the cut at seven of his last 11 major tournaments, having only previously done so five times in 28 attempts. The Open also remains the only major where he has not recorded a top-10 finish.

Then there is Justin Rose, who came so close at Augusta in April, but then failed to make the cut at the next two majors. He did, though, place sixth at the Scottish Open.