Golf Glance: Royal Troon to host major finals in 2024

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from every major North American golf tour.

PGA TOUR

Last tournament: Scottish Open (Robert MacIntyre)

THIS WEEK: The Open Championship, Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, July 18-21

Course: Royal Troon (Par 71, 7,385 Yards)

Purse: $17M (Winner: $3.1M)

Defending champion: Brian Harman

FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 1:30-4 am ET (Peacock), 4 am-3 pm (USA), 3-4:15 pm (Peacock); Saturday: 5-7 am (USA), 7 am-3 pm (NBC); Sunday: 4-7 am (USA), 7 am-2 pm (NBC)

Streaming: The R&A controls all digital streaming and broadcast rights.

X: @TheOpen

Notes: The field includes 49 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, the top 30 in the FedExCup standings and 19 past Open champions. … Royal Troon is hosting The Open for the 10th time, with Henrik Stenson winning the most recently in 2016, when he famously defeated Phil Mickelson. … Scheffler has become the fourth player with at least six wins in the same season since 1983 and the first since Tiger Woods in 2009. Woods in 2007 was the last player to win at least seven times in a single season. … Woods will start the season fifth, with the only cut he made at the Masters (60th). He finished T24 at the 1997 Open Championship played in Troon and T9 in 2004. … Justin Rose cruised through Final Qualifying to earn a spot in this week’s field. At No. 75 in the FedEx Cup standings, they have just three weeks to break into the Top 70 that will qualify for the first round of the playoffs. … Xander Schauffele has the longest active streak with 51 consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour. Scheffler is second with 40. Hideki Matsuyama has the longest consecutive hitting streak in the majors at 17. Adam Scott leads all active players as he will play in his 93rd consecutive major.

BEST BEST: Scheffler (+500 on DraftKings) has had his best finish at The Open three years ago with a T8, but this has also been a previous standard-shattering year for the world’s No. 1-ranked player. In addition to winning the Masters and Players, Scheffler has claimed four signature event victories. He leads the field in the books with 16 percent of total bets backing him to claim his first Open title this week. … Rory McIlroy (+850) bounced back from a meltdown break after the US Open to post a T4 at the Scottish Open. McIlroy has one last chance to break his decade-long major drought this year. He is second to Scheffler with 9 percent of the total backer bets, but McIlroy leads the field with 18 percent of the money. … Schauffele (+1200) was unable to successfully defend his title at the Scottish Open, but he produced his 10th consecutive top-20 finish. That includes a win at the PGA Championship, a T2 at the Masters and a T7 at the US Open. … Ludvig Aberg (+2000) showed inexperience in blowing the 54-hole lead with a 73 at the Scottish Open. He has two Masters titles and a T12 at the US Open on his 2024 resume. Aberg is third with 8 percent of the money backing him to win his first major at Royal Troon. … Collin Morikawa (+1400) hasn’t found the winner’s circle since last fall, but the 2021 Open champion keeps knocking on the door. That includes last week’s T4 – six top 10s in nine starts, a streak that doesn’t include a T16. … Bryson DeChambeau’s major record (+2000) this year includes a T6 at the Masters, a second at the PGA and a win at the US Open. Finishing ninth in Andalucia was underwhelming against LIV’s small field, and his best Open finish was T8 two years ago.

THIS WEEK: Barracuda Championship, Truckee, California, July 18-21

Course: Mount Tahoe Club, Old Greenwood (Par 71, 7,480 Yards)

Purse: $4M (Winner: $720,000)

Defending champion: Akshay Bhatia

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Sunday, 5-8 pm ET (Golf Channel)

X: @CudaChamp

NOTE: There are only three weeks and four events remaining before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, where only the top 70 players will qualify for the first event. There are 26 players in the field this week with a chance to move into the Top 70 with a win. … This is the only PGA Tour event that uses the Modified Stableford scoring system. Players get eight points for double eagle, five for eagle and two for birdie. No points are earned for par, when bogey minus one point and double bogey or worse minus three points. … Bhatia will not defend his title as he is competing in the Open Championship. The field includes 50 players from the DP World Tour with strategic alliances between the tours. … The winner will receive a PGA Tour exemption until 2026 if a current tour member, or until 2025 if a current DP World Tour member. … Erik Van Rooyen holds the 50-plus tournament scoring record in 2021.

Next tournament: 3M Open, Blaine, Minn., July 25-28

LPGA Tour

Last tournament: Evian Championship (Akaya Furue)

THIS WEEK: Dana Open, Sylvania, Ohio, July 18-21

Course: Highland Meadows Golf Club (Par 71, 6,666 yards)

Purse: $1.75M (Winner: $162,500)

Defending champion: Linn Grant

The race to lead the CME Globe: Nelly Korda

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday, 12-3 pm ET (Golf Channel / Peacock); Saturday, 2-5pm (Peacock), 8-10pm (GC — Tape Delay); Sunday, 1-2 pm (GC), 2-4 pm (CBS)

X: @danaopenlpga

NOTE: This is the 39th playing and the 40th anniversary of the event, which Highland Meadows has hosted since 1988. … there will be “Lexi Thompson Day” and will feature fans, players and tournament staff wearing pink, a favorite color for Thompson. , who announced this will be her last year playing a full LPGA Tour schedule. … Linnea Strom is the only one of 12 winners on this year’s tour (ShopRite LPGA Classic) in this week’s field, which includes 20 of the 26 new players in 2024. … Se Ri Pak holds the tournament score of 261 set in 1998 .

Next tournament: CPKC Women’s Open, Calgary, July 25-28

PGA Tour Champion

LAST TOURNAMENT: Kaulig Company Championship (Ernie Els)

THIS WEEK: DEAD.

Charles Schwab Cup Leaders: Els

Next tournament: Senior Open Championship, Carnoustie, Scotland, July 25-28

LIV Golf League

LAST TOURNAMENT: Andalusia, Spain (Individual: Sergio Garcia; Team: Fireballs GC)

THIS WEEK: DEAD.

Leaders 2024: Player, Joaquin Niemann; Team, Crusher GC

Next tournament: LIV Golf England, England, July 26-28

–Field Level Media