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Eight players who need to win The Open at Royal Portrush

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – It’s a week of firsts and lasts here at Royal Portrush.

After all, it’s the first Open to be held on the Causeway Coast since 1951, a major that until recently was only a pipe dream for local sons like Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.

But it’s also the last major of the year, allowing the game’s best to author a different end to the Grand Slam season for the first time in 71 years.

So who needs this one – the final major of the decade – the most?

It starts, on these famed links, with the tournament favorite:

1. RORY MCILROY

Until McIlroy wins one, the Masters will remain the most important tournament to his career, but this event, at this course, is the most deeply personal. That the Portrush Open arrives at his current crossroads only adds to the intrigue.

McIlroy is now five years removed from his last major title, and during that drought the sport’s alpha dog has been surpassed first by Jordan Spieth and now by Brooks Koepka. Ranked third in the world, McIlroy’s skills are not diminished – in fact, he might be better than ever, once again leading the Tour in the all-around strokes gained statistic – and yet he remains defined by his major retreats over the past five seasons.

This week McIlroy has tried to rationalize the personal significance, and he even attempted to downplay some of the pre-tournament focus (“I don’t feel like I’m the center of attention,” he said), but come Thursday make no mistake: All eyes will be on Northern Ireland’s native son.

If he could bust his major-less streak with that immense pressure, with the overwhelming support of the home crowd, it’d be the stuff of legend.


2. DUSTIN JOHNSON

No player has dominated the PGA Tour this decade more than Johnson, who has won 19 times and ascended to world No. 1 and accomplished so many great things ... and yet he still has just a single major, the 2016 U.S. Open, to show for it. It’s mystifying.

That major breakthrough was supposed to unleash DJ’s inner giant-killer. Instead, it’s only led to more frustration, because for every World Golf Championship he captures with ease, he has failed to show up (three missed cuts), shrank with the 36-hole lead (2018 U.S. Open) or made costly mistakes late (2019 PGA) when it mattered most.

Recently, he’s not just been overshadowed by friendly rival Koepka. He’s been outright eclipsed.

It’s time for DJ to remember that he’s been the most consistently elite performer of the 2010s.



3. TIGER WOODS

Does Tiger need this Open? OK, probably not. The Masters will go down as one of his greatest achievements, resuming his climb up Mt. Nicklaus after more than a decade of scandal and injury and miserable play derailed his legendary career. But three months later, Woods admittedly is still reeling, physically, from that seismic victory, and his lack of tournament prep suggests he’s either unwilling or unable to ramp up more than a few times a year. It’s a sobering reminder that, at 43, with a fused back, he’s on borrowed time, which puts even more emphasis on his precious major appearances.

A fourth Open title seems unlikely this week – Portrush favors the bombers; he looked lethargic in practice; and the cool, damp conditions aren’t ideal for his achy back – but there’s no better strategist in the game.


4. JON RAHM

Still just 24, the fiery Spaniard isn’t getting desperate for major glory (at least not publicly), but golf fans and media are becoming less patient. Because for all of his otherworldly skills, here is Rahm’s chance to show that he’s a more complete and mature player.

Remember The Players earlier this year? Rahm held a one-shot lead heading into the final round, then made an inexplicable course-management mistake and was heckled by fans on his way to a closing 77. He’s promised that he’s more level-headed in crunch time, but his major record the past two years (four top-10s, three missed cuts) suggests he’s still very much a work in progress.

For a player with world No. 1 potential, Rahm can prove here that he can handle the magnitude of the moment – not just in the Irish Open, but The Open.


Full-field tee times from the 148th Open Championship

Full coverage of the 148th Open Championship


5. RICKIE FOWLER

It’s revealing that the R&A chose not to drag the 14th-ranked Fowler into the media center for another pre-tournament news conference, where he’d be asked why he hasn’t yet won a major.

Even they must realize that storyline is getting old, now that Fowler is no longer the orange-clad, young hotshot that is taking the golf world by storm.

Other players have assumed that mantle now, leaving Fowler as the eminently likable and immensely popular 30-year-old who has 10 top-10s in majors but no big trophy. Hey, maybe that’s just who Fowler is as a player, very good but not great – to wit: he has just as many Tour titles (five) as DeChambeau, who is five years younger – but he’s still capable of producing stirring golf.

A win at Portrush would be cathartic not just for Fowler, but the entire industry that has been desperate for his success.


6. JUSTIN ROSE

Last year’s tie for second represented just his third top-10 in the tournament Rose covets most – and that only came following a frenetic 64-69 weekend after making the cut on the number. Suffice it to say, The Open hasn’t been overly kind over the years to Rose, who splashed onto the scene in 1998 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old. That day it seemed improbable that he’d go two decades between title runs, but, well, here we are.

The classy Englishman turns 39 later this month, and though his CV features Olympic gold and a $10 million FedExCup, he probably needs to bag another Big One to seal his spot in the Hall of Fame.

Why not now, while he’s in the midst of the best sustained run of his career?



7. BROOKS KOEPKA

Let’s be clear: Regardless of what happens this week, Koepka has already stamped himself as a player for the ages and a major threat for the foreseeable future. But there’s still plenty at stake this week, where he already has an edge (not that he needs it) with his caddie, Ricky Elliott, being a Portrush member.

No player in the modern era has finished in the top 2 in all four majors in the same calendar year, so Koepka could wrap up the best major season in history. And he could leapfrog McIlroy and stake his claim as the defining player of the decade.

Heady stuff, to be sure, but that’s never deterred King Koepka.


8. MATT KUCHAR

What a season it’s been for Kuchar, who at 41 is playing the best golf of his career and who has unwittingly sullied his golly-gee reputation with a couple of high-profile controversies.

With nine Tour wins and nearly $50 million in earnings, Kuchar has no doubt enjoyed a fine career, earning one of the nominations for the backhanded compliment of Best Player Without a Major.

As with most things with Kuchar, his record in the big events looks good on paper – 15 top-12s! – but he’s had scant chances to actually win, save for his heartbreaking loss at the 2017 Open.

Kuchar will always be able to carve out a niche on the big Tour – he’s top 11 in both fairways and greens hit, setting himself up for a Furyk-like run of longevity – but it’s unlikely he’ll have many more opportunities in the majors as a 290-yard plodder.

If he can’t cash in this year, with the best form of his life, then it’s reasonable to assume that he never will.