Royal Birkdale stages its 11th Open with Scheffler the man to beat

Golf's oldest major returns to England's north-west coast this week as Royal Birkdale prepares to stage the 154th Open Championship, with the world's best teeing off from Thursday 16 July through Sunday 19 July. It is the 11th time the Southport links has hosted the event, making it the most frequently used venue in the modern rota behind only St Andrews, a run that stretches back to Birkdale's Open debut in 1954.

Scheffler the man to beat

Scottie Scheffler arrives as both defending champion and clear favourite, having lifted the Claret Jug last year at 17 under. The world number one is a short price with the bookmakers at around 7-1, though his season has been unusually quiet by his standards. A single win and a missed cut at the recent Genesis Scottish Open have left the door ajar. Rory McIlroy, chasing a second Open title, heads the chasing pack, with home favourite Tommy Fleetwood and a deep field of major winners close behind.

A links with history

Laid out among towering sand dunes and redesigned into its current shape in 1922, Birkdale is regarded as one of the fairest and most demanding of the Open venues. It was here in 2017 that Jordan Spieth produced one of the championship's great final rounds to win at 12 under. The course has been quietly reworked since, with changes to its closing stretch, and organisers have added new spectator options for a championship that has grown into one of the summer's biggest sporting draws.

As ever, the British weather may have the final say. Forecasters expect scattered showers and a stiffening breeze across the four days, the kind of conditions that separate links specialists from the rest.