Setting the scene

So much has changed since The Open was first played on the fairways of Royal Troon just over a century ago but the difficulty of predicting who will become Champion Golfer of the Year has made for a refreshing constant.

Arthur Havers was a surprise winner in these parts in 1923 and few were tipping Brian Harman for glory 12 months ago before the American conquered Royal Liverpool with ruthless efficiency.

Harman dealt superbly with a weekend downpour at Hoylake and, as ever, the forces of nature will do their best to disrupt even the best-laid plans of the finest golfers on the planet this time around.

At Royal Troon, you have to be ready for anything.

Steady rain and a stiff breeze is expected for Thursday’s opening round and the word ‘unsettled’ crops up in the longer-term forecast heading into the weekend. It is those who most successfully navigate the varying elements provided on the Ayrshire coast who will find their way towards the top of the leaderboard come Sunday evening.

Harman's success 12 months ago continued the USA’s special relationship with golf’s original Championship and history tells us this particular venue has been a popular one for those who make the trip from across the Atlantic.

Between 1962 and 2004, six Opens were played at Royal Troon and all six were won by Americans. It would have been seven had Phil Mickelson prevailed in his gripping head-to-head with Henrik Stenson which had the sporting world captivated last time the Championship was played here in 2016.

Two of those previous winners, Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton, are back at the scene of their greatest triumphs and will play in the first group on Thursday morning. Leonard will hit the first shot of The 152nd Open, while Hamilton will be alongside him as two Troon Champions bid to show the rest how it's done. 

Many in the field will be seeking a quick lesson on how to play the Postage Stamp.

The 123-yard par-3 8th has been the talk of the town, with the best players in the world assessing how to attack a hole that has not had a scoring average below par in its past five Opens.

Scottie Scheffler, for one, is a big fan: “I think great little short holes like that are fun. I think it's an underrated skill for guys nowadays to be able to control your ball.”

Scheffler is in an upbeat mood and he leads the American charge this week. The Masters champion and world number one has had a season to remember, with six PGA TOUR titles to his name.

The last person to do that was Tiger Woods in 2006 – and he went on to win The 135th Open at Royal Liverpool that year.

This week, Woods is back at Royal Troon for the first time in 20 years and has been busy re-acclimatising to a course he insists is among his favourites.

“I've always loved playing here,” he said.

“I've only played here twice. I played in 1997 and in 2004. I loved them both. I got a chance to play with Tom Weiskopf in his last practice round.

“That was neat for him to take me back to some of his holes and how he played them, and I obviously gave him some stick, and he's giving me stick, like we always do. We had a wonderful time playing just a wonderful practice round.”

Woods tees off at 2:37pm local time on Thursday and will play alongside Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. Schauffele broke his major duck earlier this year while Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa both know what it takes to win The Open, in a strong American contingent.

That also includes Bryson DeChambeau. Golf’s prime innovator will tee off searching for his second major win in succession following a superb display at the US Open.

And what of the home front? Havers remains the only British winner of an Open at Troon and there would be no more popular winner this week than Robert MacIntyre.

The Oban native stormed to an emotional RBC Canadian Open triumph with his dad on the bag in June and then backed it up in equally special scenes at the Scottish Open last week. There would barely be a dry eye in the house were he to stand on the 18th green with the Claret Jug in his hands.

Rory McIlroy’s latest ‘so near yet so far’ moment was perhaps his most agonising but he will be similarly roared on by a crowd who cannot help but root for an end to a major drought that now spans a decade.

Of the European contenders, Ludvig Aberg’s Open debut should be unmissable while Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm have impressive Championship records behind them. Rahm is bidding to continue a Spanish sporting summer that has already brought a Wimbledon success for Carlos Alcaraz and a European Championship title for the national football team.

In the finest of Open traditions, the tales which are added to this Championship’s fabled storybook in the coming days will not be limited to the game's biggest stars.

Michael Hendry will struggle to keep his emotions in check when he stands on the 1st tee, 12 months on from withdrawing from The 151st Open after being diagnosed with leukaemia. 

Twelve amateurs will also tee off on Thursday, the most in any Open field since 1987. They include Luis Masaveu, who qualified at Royal Cinque Ports using a spare set of clubs, and Dominic Clemons, who missed out on sealing his spot when he finished runner-up at The Amateur Championship but bounced back in the best possible way by sharing top spot with Justin Rose at Burnham & Berrow.

On the topic of finishing runner-up, whoever does so this week should not lose hope – quite the opposite, if anything.

After all, in every previous Championship held at Royal Troon, the player finishing second (or one of the joint-second place finishers if there was more than one) has either previously won or gone on to win The Open.

That may be scant consolation for whoever occupies that unwanted spot on Sunday but it is a fascinating quirk – one of many set to emerge in this special corner of Ayrshire.

Royal Troon is ready. And the rest of us are ready for anything.