LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - American Scottie Scheffler will set out to buck a British Open trend and become the first player to defend the title for 18 years at a baked Royal Birkdale this week.
Ireland's Padraig Harrington was the last player to retain the Claret Jug when he won at Birkdale in 2008 and the trend since then has favoured first-time winners.
South African Ernie Els was the most recent repeat champion, at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012, since when the sport's oldest major has been a hot potato.
Several players will be favoured to snap the sequence of first-time winners, though, with world number one Scheffler and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy the favourites despite both coming in with question marks about their form.
Scheffler produced a links golf masterclass on the Antrim coast last year with a processional four-stroke victory at Portrush adding a fourth major to his collection.
The 30-year-old has not won since his first event of the season and his preparation suffered a jolt at last week's Scottish Open when he missed his first cut in four years.
That early exit did have some benefits though as Scheffler arrived earlier than expected at Birkdale to cast his eye over a course on which he has never played.
McIlroy found himself caught up in a maelstrom at Portrush last year where his every step was followed by thousands of fans willing him to the title on his home links.
Huge galleries will follow him from Thursday too at Birkdale where in 2017 he finished tied fourth behind dominant champion Jordan Spieth.
McIlroy, 37, retained the Masters this year in a thriller but has played only sporadically since as he focuses on more quality time away from the grind.
Apart from one round at the Scottish Open he looked in fine fettle and will seek to win the Claret Jug again having done so just along the coast at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
"I don't feel like it's too far away. There's definitely some positive signs," McIlroy said after signing off with a round of 64 to finish seventh in Scotland.
Americans have won four of the last five Opens with Xander Schauffele in 2024 at Royal Troon, Brian Harman at Royal Liverpool in 2023 and Collin Morikawa at Royal St George's in 2021. With the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, English fans will head to the coast north of Liverpool hoping to be part of a magical sporting day for the nation.
While England's soccer team chase a first World Cup title since 1966, the wait for an English Open champion is also a long one, dating back to Nick Faldo's triumph in 1992.
Leading the English charge will be local boy Tommy Fleetwood who grew up next to the course in Southport and used to sneak on to it to play holes with his dad as a youngster.
The ever-dependable Justin Rose will be in the mix on the course where in 1998 he first came to attention by finishing fourth as an amateur, while Matt Fitzpatrick, who has won three times on the PGA Tour this year, and surprise U.S. PGA winner Aaron Rai could challenge to end the drought.
With Britain in the grip of its third heatwave of the summer, the par-70 Royal Birkdale course has transformed from green to straw colour with fast fairways and penal rough demanding accuracy off the tee.
The sun is expected to keep shining this week and the forecast of stiff breezes off the Irish Sea across the dunes means the 154th Open is set to be a true links golf puzzle.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
