After a whirlwind couple of months, including the US Open and PGA Championship, some of the world’s best players are now taking a break ahead of The Open, which gets underway at Royal Troon on July 18.
Scottie Scheffler is now likely to be out of action until the third major of the year, and Rory McIlroy won’t return to action until the Scottish Open, the week before The Open.
For the LIV Golf contingent, one more event in Andalucia will take place on July 12 ahead of golf’s most prestigious competition returning to Troon.
The Open was last held at the famous Scottish course back in 2016 when Henrik Stenson landed his first and only major championship victory.
Here, The Golfing Gazette takes a look at where the top five from eight years ago are now.
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1. Henrik Stenson
Stenson, finishing on 20 under, staved off the advances of Phil Mickelson eight years ago.
The Swede, now with LIV Golf, has endured a tough 2024 thus far and sits 36th in the individual standings.
His highest finish came in the Hong Kong event, and Stenson has most recently finished 25th in Nashville.
It’s fair to say he’s not the same player who took Troon by storm in 2016.
2. Phil Mickelson
As mentioned, Mickelson pushed Stenson all the way eight years ago.
The pair traded blows for 36 holes of action over the weekend and finished well clear of third place JB Holmes after posting a score of 17 under.
Mickelson, of course, now features alongside Stenson at LIV, and the American has endured a worse season thus far.
The lefty currently sits 40th in the individual standings and has missed cuts at the US Open and Masters.
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3. J.B. Holmes
J.B Holmes was perhaps a surprise name to appear on the 2016 leaderboard, and the 42-year-old’s current form is a long way from what he produced at Troon.
Holmes finished on six under, eleven shots adrift of Mickelson and 14 back of Stenson.
The American has played seven events this season and has not made a single cut.
His most recent disappointment came in the Valero Texas Open, where a second-round 79 saw his weekend cut short once more.
4. Steve Stricker
A name well known by fans around the well, Steve Stricker managed to break into the top five in 2016.
The American’s five under through four rounds saw him claim outright fourth, pipping three big names in the process.
Now competing on the Champions Tour, the American narrowly missed out on the American Family Insurance Championship after losing to Ernie Els in a play-off.
Stricker also featured at this year’s Players Championship but missed the cut after posting a score of two over.
T5 Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia
McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton and Sergio Garcia all finished one shot back of Striker on four under.
The Northern Irishman will be hoping to bounce back from his US Open disappointment at Troon, and having placed well before, he should feel optimistic about his chances.
Hatton is coming off a victory at LIV Golf Nashville, his first win in over three years.
As for Garcia, he performed well at the US Open and could be well-suited to the windy links conditions.
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