Five contenders to win the 2025 British Open
Defending champion Xander Schauffele returns to defend his crown, while home favourite Rory McIlroy is assured of a great reception evey time he takes to the course.
We take a look at five of the main contenders to win the 153rd edition of golf's oldest major.
Scottie Scheffler (USA)
World ranking: 1
British Open best: Tied seventh (2024)
The world No 1 is the pre-tournament favourite after rediscovering the form that brought him a staggering nine titles last season. Scheffler has not finished outside the top 10 at any event since the Players Championship in March. He lifted his third major title with victory at the PGA Championship and has won two other PGA Tour events this year.
The American has cut a sombre figure this week at Portrush, questioning why he even plays the sport. "This is not a fulfilling life," he told reporters.
Maybe some of that can be put down to his record at the British Open, which is considerably weaker than at the other majors. However, he showed signs of getting to grips with links golf last year at Troon, before a disappointing finish saw him end eight shots behind champion Xander Schauffele.
Rory McIlroy (NIR)
World ranking: 2
British Open best: Winner (2014)
The hometown hero is expected to make a strong challenge for his second British Open title after ending his 11-year wait for a fifth major title by completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters in April.
It is 20 years ago, almost to the day, that a 16-year-old McIlroy breezed round Royal Portrush in 61 shots to set a new course record as an amateur.
McIlroy missed the cut the last time the tournament was held at Portrush in 2019 and will be desperate to make amends. He arrives in strong form following a second-place finish at last week's Scottish Open.
Xander Schauffele (USA)
World ranking: 3
British Open best: Winner (2024)
Schauffele backed up his maiden major victory at last year's PGA Championship with a two-shot win at Royal Troon, but has struggled to find his best so far this season.
But he managed just his second top-10 of 2025 in Scotland and will still be expecting to mount a strong title defence. Schauffele pulled away from a host of challengers 12 months ago with a brilliant, bogey-free final round of 65 to take the spoils.
Afterwards as he held the Claret Jug, Schauffele said: "Oh man. Hearing your name called with 'Open champion' after it is something I've dreamt of for a very long time."
Bryson DeChambeau (USA)
World ranking: 15
British Open best: Tied-eighth (2022)
The big-hitting American has struggled previously at the British Open, missing the cut for the third time last year, but has otherwise been one of the most consistent players at the biggest events. He has finished in the top six in five of the past seven majors, winning his second US Open title in 2024.
DeChambeau will hope to take advantage of any rain-softened conditions and boost his hopes of qualifying automatically for the US Ryder Cup team despite not gaining any points for LIV Golf events.
'I've got to fine-tune my game and focus on executing my shots the way I know I can on the golf course. I haven't been doing that recently,' DeChambeau said on his preparations for Portrush. "A little bit more due diligence on my side of the coin. Not taking things for granted and focusing on what I can do to give myself the best chance to win at The Open.
Jon Rahm (ESP)
World ranking: 72
British Open best: Tied-second (2023)
Rahm has come close on several occasions to becoming the first Spanish winner of the British Open since Seve Ballesteros won the last of his three titles in 1988. Winning it would represent the pinnacle of his career, Rahm said.
'In my opinion, the Open Championship is the most prestigious event you can win in golf,' Rahm said on Tuesday. 'For my understanding of the game and the history of the game, I think the Claret Gug is the most special one."
The 30-year-old, a former Masters and US Open champion, is in excellent form. He has two major top-10 finishes this season and his worst result in 10 LIV Golf events this year was a tie for 11th place in Dallas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Older, wiser DeChambeau proud of his Open turnaround
Bryson DeChambeau credited a change of mindset for his stunning recovery from a dreadful start to finish the British Open at nine under par on Sunday. The flamboyant 31-year-old American carded a wild 78 at Royal Portrush on Thursday, hacking his way round the course in wet and windy conditions. DeChambeau even considered flying straight home before deciding to battle on, and he followed up with rounds of 65, 68 and 64 to give himself a good chance of improving on his best Open finish of tied eighth in 2022. "Normally, I'd be super pissed and frustrated, which I was rightfully so, because I thought I played pretty well and shot seven over," DeChambeau said. "I said to myself, I'm going to do something different this time. I'm going to transition my brain to say, look, I'm going to give it everything I have tomorrow, no matter what happens." DeChambeau, twice US Open champion, admitted he still has not worked out how to play links golf in adverse weather. "It was fair conditions the past few days," he said. "I always told you guys I like it when it's fair conditions. I can play well. I still have to crack the code when it's raining and windy." Nicknamed "the scientist" due to his analytical and statistical approach to mastering the game of golf, DeChambeau became the longest driver on the PGA Tour in 2020. "I think I look at the game a little bit different than others. I want to win. I think we all know that. But there's more than winning," he said. "There's how you influence a younger population, how you showcase yourself. The only reason we're getting paid the numbers we're getting paid is because of those individuals out there in the stands." And he is not going to change his style any time soon. "I like showcasing myself to others and doing fun challenges because that's just who I am, has shown people the true side of myself," he said. "I'm not just a professional, but I'm an entertainer as well." DeChambeau has thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Portrush. "It was a fun three days," he said. "It's a great Open venue. There's a lot of tricky hole locations. It would be a lot of fun to come back. It's a great town."
Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Brilliant Scheffler cruises to fourth major title at British Open
Scottie Scheffler romped to a magnificent four-shot victory to seal his first British Open title at Royal Portrush on Sunday, notching his fourth major success. The world number one eased to a three-under par final round of 68, finishing on 17-under for the tournament after shooting in the 60s on all four days. It was the 10th successive time Scheffler has converted a 54-hole lead into a win. His dominance over the past two years has been such that once he birdied the first hole, it seemed as though the chasing pack had already lost any belief of challenging. Scheffler, who took a lead he would never relinquish with a seven-under 64 on Friday, extended his run of successive top-10 finishes to 11 events. That streak now features four wins, including the PGA Championship and British Open titles. The American, who led by four shots overnight, became only the second world number one to lift the Claret Jug after Tiger Woods, completing the third leg of a possible career Grand Slam. Harris English finished in a distant second place, ending the tournament on 13-under courtesy of a closing round of 66. Chris Gotterup completed a dream fortnight after last weekend's Scottish Open triumph, carding a 67 to end a shot further behind in third. Home favourite Rory McIlroy could not launch a serious charge, with his challenge finally snuffed out by a double-bogey on the 10th hole. He had to settle for a tie for seventh place on 10-under and a standing ovation from his thousands of fans surrounding the 18th green. Scheffler made three birdies in his first five holes to serenely reach 17-under for the tournament, opening up an eight-shot chasm. Gotterup climbed into second on minus 11, with a group of four players, including McIlroy, one shot further back. Scheffler holed long par putts on the sixth and seventh holes to stay in total control, but slipped up with a double-bogey on the eighth after it took him four shots to reach the green. It was first time he had dropped shots since the 11th hole of his second round on Friday. But he showed why he rarely lets 54-hole leads slip on the ninth, with a trademark precise iron shot setting up another birdie. From then on, it was a procession for the 29-year-old as he parred every hole on the back nine except for a routine birdie on the par-five 12th. Scheffler had raised eyebrows before the tournament when he suggested his pursuit of dominance on the course was an "unfulfilling life" that only provides fleeting moments of satisfaction. He tapped in on the 18th green to tick off another achievement on his seemingly unstoppable path to golfing greatness, raising his arms in celebration before embracing his wife and young son. McIlroy hung on the fringes of contention with three birdies on the front nine, against a lone bogey on the par-four fourth. But he fired his approach shot from the rough on 10 through the back of the green and eventually made a six which effectively ended any hopes of lifting a second British Open title this weekend. English and Gotterup, playing together in the third-last group, battled it out for second place over the closing holes. English, who also came second to Scheffler at this year's PGA Championship, grabbed the runner-up honours again thanks to birdies on the 16th and 17th holes. Wyndham Clark added a 65 to his second and third-round scores of 66 to take a tie for fourth place on 11-under, fighting back from an opening round of 76. Matthew Fitzpatrick finished on the same score as England's wait for a first British Open winner since Nick Faldo in 1992 went on. Li Haotong, playing alongside Scheffler and bidding to become the first Chinese man to win a major, also ended on 11-under after a one-under 70. Bryson DeChambeau soared up the leaderboard with a seven-under 64, the joint-best round of the championship, to finish on nine-under in a tie for 10th and will be left to rue a first-round 78.
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
The Open: Scottie Scheffler clinches fourth major title
Scottie Scheffler cruised to a magnificent four-shot victory to seal his first Open championship at Royal Portrush on Sunday, clinching his fourth major success. The world No1 eased to a three-under par final round of 68, finishing on 17-under for the tournament after shooting in the 60s on all four days. It was the 10th successive time Scheffler has converted a 54-hole lead into a win. His dominance over the past two years has been such that once he birdied the first hole, it seemed as though the chasing pack had already lost any belief of challenging. Scheffler, who took a lead he would never relinquish with a seven-under 64 on Friday, extended his run of successive top-10 finishes to 11 events. That streak now includes the PGA Championship and British Open titles. Scheffler's victory at Royal Portrush was his fourth this year, despite a slow start after a freak hand injury caused by broken glass when he was making pasta. The American became only the second world number one to lift the Claret Jug after Tiger Woods, completing the third leg of a possible career Grand Slam. Scheffler began with a shot into 10 inches for birdie. One hour into the final round, his lead already was seven shots and no got closer than four the rest of the way at Royal Portrush. He goes into the US Open next year with a chance to make it a clean sweep of golf's biggest titles. Scheffler won the Masters by three shots in 2022 and by four shots last year. He won the PGA Championship by five shots in May. Harris English finished in a distant second place, ending the tournament on 13-under courtesy of a closing round of 66. Chris Gotterup completed a dream two weeks after last weekend's Scottish Open triumph, carding a 67 to end a shot further behind in third. Home favourite Rory McIlroy could not launch a serious charge, with his challenge finally snuffed out by a double-bogey on the 10th hole. He had to settle for a tie for seventh place on 10-under and a standing ovation from his thousands of fans surrounding the 18th green. Li Haotong, the first Chinese man to go out in the final group of a major, finished tied fourth on 11 under with England's Matt Fitzpatrick and American Wyndham Clark. Bryson DeChambeau lauded the improvement made by Scheffler as the American closed in on victory. DeChambeau produced a remarkable final three rounds after shooting a seven-over 78 on Thursday, to set the clubhouse lead on nine under. However, his quest for a first Claret Jug had to wait as Scheffler hit the turn for the back nine at 16 under par. 'It was a fun three days. I was really proud of the way I turned it around,' said DeChambeau, a two-time US Open champion. 'Scottie's in a league of his own right now. I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good, so he's figured out a lot of stuff since then. It's really impressive to see and something we can all learn from for sure.' Even world number two McIlroy was blown away by Scheffler's consistency. 'Scottie Scheffler is inevitable,' said McIlroy. 'He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes.'
