Lookahead – 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon
Ron Klos
2 years ago
Located in South Ayrshire, Scotland, Royal Troon will host the 152nd Open Championship from July 18-21. It has a reputation as one of Scotland’s greatest links courses. It is a shorter par-71 course that measures 7,190 yards. 2023 Open Championship winner Brian Harman will look to defend his title.
Royal Troon’s Old Course was founded in 1878, expanded to 18 holes ten years later and re-designed by five-time Champion Golfer James Braid ahead of its first Open in 1923. Designed in the traditional out-and-back manner of the Old Course at St Andrews, Troon’s test begins with a gentle opening through some of the most striking links land to be found at any of the Open venues and concludes with a back nine as tough as any finish in the world. It most recently staged the Championship in 2016, when Henrik Stenson defeated Phil Mickelson down the stretch. It will host its 10th Open in 2024.
Fairway positioning and keeping the ball in play off the tee is essential for success at Royal Troon. With potentially windy conditions, anything too high in the air with excess spin will disappear into the deep foot-long fescue rough. Fairway bunkers are among the course’s biggest defense. They are dotted around the landing area making strategy and accuracy off the tee paramount. The greens at Troon are among the smallest at an Open course venue and will emphasize pinpoint accuracy in tough conditions.
Royal Troon is a “tale of two nines.” Royal Troon’s front nine heads south along the Firth of Clyde, making a sharp, 180-degree turn on the 10th hole. It plays shorter and downwind allowing golfers of all lengths off the tee to have a chance for success provided they can keep the ball in the fairway. Deep bunkers line the first six holes, although the southerly breezes make them the most scorable on the course.
The middle six holes move inland, characterized by hills, gorse bushes, and higher fescue. A series of blind shots make these holes much more difficult than the first six. The back nine plays into the wind making it longer and more difficult overall. Within this stretch are two of the shortest and longest holes in the Open Championship rotation. The par-3 8th hole is called the “Postage Stamp” which measures 123 yards and plays slightly downhill to a narrow green surrounded by bunkers on all sides and slopes that will repel inaccurate shots into thick rough or deep bunkers. The back nine also has a par-4 called “The Railway” that ranks as one of the toughest Open Championship holes in history.
ODDS TO WIN 2024 BRITISH OPEN
- Rory McIlroy +700
- Jon Rahm +850
- Scottie Scheffler +950
- Cameron Smith +1800
- Jordan Spieth +1800
- Viktor Hovland +2100
- Patrick Cantlay +2200
- Brooks Koepka +2800
- Cameron Young +2900
- Tommy Fleetwood +2900
- Shane Lowry +2900
- Xander Schauffele +3100
- Collin Morikawa +3100
- Max Homa +3100
- Justin Thomas +3400
- Tyrrell Hatton +3400
- Will Zalatoris +3400
- Hideki Matsuyama +3400
- Matt Fitzpatrick +3400
- Dustin Johnson +3400
- Tom Kim +4200
- Jason Day +4200
- Tony Finau +4200
- Brian Harman +5000
- Sung-Jae Im +5000
- Min Woo Lee +5000
- Robert Macintyre +6500
- Sam Burns +6500
- Patrick Reed +6500
- Corey Conners +6500
- Bryson DeChambeau +8000
- Si Woo Kim +8000
- Justin Rose +8000
- Sahith Theegala +8000
- Adrian Meronk +8000
- Joaquin Niemann +10000
- Adam Scott +10000
- Louis Oosthuizen +11000
- Tiger Woods +11000
- Padraig Harrington +11000
- Ryan Fox +11000
- Thomas Detry +12000
- Seamus Power +12000
- Kurt Kitayama +12000
- Russell Henley +12000
- Jordan Smith +12000
- Talor Gooch +12000
- Matthew Jordan +12000
- Tom Hoge +14000
- Alex Noren +14000
- Phil Mickelson +15000
- Gary Woodland +15000
- Mito Pereira +16000
- J.T. Poston +17000
- Keegan Bradley +17000
- Thomas Pieters +17000
- Abraham Ancer +17000
- Sergio Garcia +17000
- Matt Wallace +17000
- Sam Bennett +21000
- Keith Mitchell +21000
- Harris English +21000
- Danny Willett +21000
- Alex Fitzpatrick +21000
- Chris Kirk +21000
- Billy Horschel +21000
- Taylor Moore +28000
- Stewart Cink +30000
- Charl Schwartzel +30000
- Zach Johnson +65000
- Darren Clarke +100000