What: The British Open, the fourth and final major in men's golf of the year.
Where: Royal Birkdale, Southport, just north of Liverpool.
When: Thursday-Sunday.
+ The competition
The British Open, or "The Open" as it is also called, is the oldest of the four major tournaments and was first played in 1860.
The winner will be awarded prize money equivalent to approximately SEK 31 million.
+ Background
The last time the competition was played at Royal Birkdale was in 2017, when American Jordan Spieth won at 12 under par. This year's edition will be the 11th time the British Open has been held at the course.
In 2017, Southport offered classic British Open weather, meaning rain and drizzle. This week, the forecast shows sun and dry weather instead.
"Obviously the British heatwave has dried out the course a bit, so it's a really cool course. It's definitely the hardest 'The Open' course I've played on," says Swedish hope Ludvig Åberg in the British Open broadcasts from this week's practice rounds.
+ Question mark
How is Ludvig Åberg's form? The great Swedish hope has slipped of late, fallen to 20th place in the world rankings and also missed the qualifying limit in this weekend's major tournament Scottish Open. Åberg has yet to get it right in "The Open" - his best result in the competition is last year's shared 21st place.
+ The Swedes
In addition to Åberg, Joakim Lagergren, Alex Norén, Jesper Svensson and Sweden's only male major winner, Henrik Stenson, will also be playing.
For Stenson, this will be his ninth British Open start since his historic success at Royal Troon in 2016.
+ The stars discussed
Two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau has had a tough season. The much-talked-about LIV star has missed the cut in all three majors heading into the British Open, and the amount of time he spends recording golf videos for YouTube has been questioned.
Phil Mickelson has been in even more turmoil. The six-time major winner took time out from golf in April, citing family health issues. Later, Golf Digest reported that the 56-year-old had his membership at an exclusive club in San Diego revoked after allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a female employee.
Mickelson's representatives have denied the reports.
"Mr. Mickelson has never been expelled from any golf club. His membership has never been revoked by a golf club," representatives said in a statement to the New York Post in early July.
+ Favorites
World number one Scottie Scheffler is the reigning champion and one of the heavy favourites, despite missing the cut on the PGA Tour for the first time since August 2022 this weekend. World number two Rory McIlroy is, in turn, chasing his first major on British soil since 2014.
The home crowd's big favourite, however, is said to be world number one Tommy Fleetwood, who was born in Southport, where the course is located.
It's extremely rare to play "The Open" in the city where you grew up, in front of fans who are there to cheer you on, says Fleetwood.
