Open guide: Who's hot, not and a dark horse

Xander Schauffele of the USA during a preview day ahead of The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport. Pic: Jacob King/PA Wire. 

WHO’S HOT 

Can a golfer who was berating himself as “so bad at golf” as recently as last weekend be considered hot? Rory McIlroy is clearly quite a good golfer, and comes in search of a second Open victory after completing a successful Master defence in April.

The Irishman’s closing 64 for T7 at last Sunday’s Scottish Open served as a well-timed riposte to the previous day’s 73 which prompted that unfortunate outburst. and he admitted this week that his game was continuing to “trend in the right direction”. Scottie Scheffler may be defending champion and favourite but McIlroy has the bit between his teeth.

* England’s Matt Fitzpatrick has three PGA Tour victories and a runner-up finish at The Players Championship in 2026 and has risen to number three in the official golf world rankings.

A winner of the R&A Silver Medal as low amateur at the 2013 Open at Muirfield and a US Open champion in 2022, Fitzpatrick is now knocking on the door for a Claret Jug. He was T4 at Royal Portrush a year ago and a tie for third at the Genesis Scottish Open last Sunday at North Berwick’s Renaissance Club was a reminder of his readiness for victory this Sunday.

WHO’S NOT

His elevation to a two-time major champion in 2024 seems a long time ago for Xander Schauffele and the American has slipped out of the world’s top 10 to number 14 since his career-high ranking of number two following that PGA-Open double of two years hence.

Just one PGA Tour victory has followed, at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan in 2025 and despite a solid showing in this year’s majors, T9 at the Masters, T7 at the PGA and T11 for the US Open, a missed cut at last weekend’s Scottish Open does not bode well for Schauffele’s prospects at Royal Birkdale this weekend.

* With three missed cuts to date in this year’s majors, Bryson DeChambeau will be more than eager to avoid an unwanted slam of failing to make the weekend at all four. The former US champion may be going down a storm on the LIV circuit but his all guns blazing approach is less well suited to the more complex set-ups and higher quality courses of the major championships.

It is an erratic Open record with three missed cuts and two top-10s in eight appearances, a T10 most recently at Royal Portrush 12 months ago, yet his links strategy needs refining if he is to improve on that this week.

AND A DARK HORSE?

Chris Gotterup established his links credentials in stunning fashion in 2025, winning the Scottish Open at North Berwick’s Renaissance Club, shooting a second-round 61 en route, to qualify for his Open debut the following week at Royal Portrush. He duly finished third on the Dunluce Links to celebrate his 26th birthday in style on the Sunday.

This year’s lead-in to Birkdale has seen the American win three times on the PGA Tour in 2026, most recently last month at the John Deere Classic, while he claimed a credible tie for 11th last weekend in his Scottish Open title defence.