British Open: The Players to Watch

The Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland, which is hosting the British Open this week for the 10th time since 1923, has delivered such big-name winners as Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.

Will another big name prevail at Troon this year? Or will a less heralded contender pull off a surprise, as Todd Hamilton did in 2004 when he outdueled Ernie Els in a playoff?

The field, as always, is stacked with the top players in the game, including No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 3 Xander Schauffele and No. 9 Bryson DeChambeau, each trying to capture his second major title this year.

Here are five other players to keep an eye on.

Cameron Young

It’s difficult to believe that Young — who made a great run at the title two years ago when he finished second behind Cameron Smith — is still searching for his first victory on the PGA Tour.

It could very well happen at Troon.

Young, 27, has produced some wonderful rounds in recent weeks, highlighted by his 59 in the third round at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

He could have used a strong finish a week later at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Michigan.

Trailing by a stroke heading into the final round, Young could do no better than a one-over 73 to finish in a tie for sixth. After a poor tee shot on the 14th hole, a par 5, a frustrated Young stuck his driver in the ground, breaking the shaft. He bogeyed two of his last three holes.

Young, ranked 25th, tied for eighth in last year’s British Open, his fifth top-10 finish in a major championship.

Ludvig Aberg

Ask any of the experts and the verdict is practically unanimous: Ludvig Aberg, 24, will become a star. It’s just a matter of when.

Aberg, ranked No. 4, finished second at this year’s Masters and was in the hunt for much of the U.S. Open. A triple bogey on the 13th hole in his third round severely hurt his chances.

He hits the ball beautifully and doesn’t appear to get rattled when things don’t go his way.

Aberg played for the first time as a professional in last year’s Canadian Open, finishing in a tie for 25th. A few months later, he won the European Masters in Switzerland and was promptly chosen by the captain Luke Donald to be a member of Team Europe’s Ryder Cup squad, where he was victorious in two of his four matches.

This will be the first appearance in the British Open for Aberg, who tied for fourth in last week’s Scottish Open after being up two through 54 holes. But with his game and demeanor, it will be surprising if his name does not appear on the leaderboard.

Akshay Bhatia

A few weeks ago in Michigan, Bhattia, looking for his second win in 2024, showed once again how cruel this game could be.

On the final hole, he lined up a 32-foot birdie putt for the victory. He left it a few feet short, however, and then he missed again, ending up in a four-way tie for second. It was his first three putt of the entire week.

“You’ve got so much slope there so you don’t want to run it five, six feet by,” Bhattia, 22, said afterward. “Just a little bit of nerves, honestly. I’m human and yeah, the greens got slower throughout the day.”

“I know how to close a golf tournament; I’ve done it better. Today just wasn’t my day.”

No matter. Bhattia, ranked No. 26, has played very well in recent weeks. He tied for 16th at the U.S. Open and followed that a week later with a tie for fifth at the Travelers Championship. This will be his first British Open.

Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay, an eight-time winner on tour, belongs on the list of best players still without a major title.

He came close at the U.S. Open this year, tying for third, two strokes behind DeChambeau. Paired with Rory McIlroy in the final group, Cantlay, who had seized the first-round lead with a five-under 65, was in it until the very end. He reached 13 greens in regulation on Sunday but couldn’t capitalize.

“All in all I thought I played pretty solid,” he said after the final round. “Could have holed a few more putts. If I would have putted like I did [on Saturday], I would have been right there.”

His record in the British Open hasn’t been overly impressive. In four starts, he has posted only one top 10, a tie for eighth in 2022.

Even so, Cantlay, 32, is ranked eighth in the world, and his caddie, Joe LaCava, is as experienced as they come, having worked many years for Fred Couples and for Tiger Woods.

Jon Rahm

It’s been a tough year in the majors for Rahm, who tied for 45th at the Masters, missed the cut in the P.G.A. Championship, and withdrew from the U.S. Open because of a foot injury.

It’s a performance that not many expected, not after Rahm won the Masters last year for his second major title and tied for second at the Open Championship.

As for the foot injury, Rahm, 29, was back on the course a week later at LIV Golf Nashville, finishing in a tie for third.

“The main reason for the withdrawal [from the U.S. Open] was the infection I had and just to be precautionary towards not making it worse,” Rahm, ranked No. 10, said in Nashville.

This will be his fifth appearance in the British Open. His other top 10 was a tie for third in 2021.