The Open Championship has almost arrived, with the major championship returning to Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Shane Lowry has taken on Royal Portrush once more ahead of the event, having won The Open Championship at the venue in 2019.
His close friend Rory McIlroy missed the cut at The Open in 2019, as did fellow golfing icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
The tricky conditions tripped up even the world’s best that year, with a difficult tournament once again on the cards next week.
Many PGA Tour players are, however, currently familiarising themselves with links golf once more at this week’s Scottish Open.
Johnson Wagner says who he thinks is favorite to win The Open Championship
McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and J.J. Spaun are among the field at The Renaissance Club, with the trio looking to add to their major championship wins from earlier this year.
And world number one Scheffler has come under the spotlight just before The Open, with Johnson Wagner having been asked on 5 Clubs if he thinks he is the favorite to lift the Claret Jug.
READ MORE: What Rory McIlroy noticed about Royal Portrush golf course when he saw it for the very first time
He replied: “I think so. For sure [by a smaller margin than the other three majors]. He is definitely my favorite.
“He is the number one player in the world, he is on good form. I am excited to see what he does at the Scottish Open.
“I think he is going to warm up to links golf. [Jack] Nicklaus had such a good record because of his mental toughness and that is one of Scottie’s greatest attributes.
“Maybe he has not applied that in years past but I think going forward he is going to have to be the toughest mentally to win one of these Open Championships.”
Brendon de Jonge says what Scottie Scheffler is an ‘absolute genius at’ heading into The Open
Scheffler certainly started his first round of the Scottish Open on a positive note, having carded a three-under 67.
And the American was also the name Brendon de Jonge offered up when sharing his verdict on success at Royal Portrush, saying: “I think Scottie is favorite any time he tees it up for that reason, he always finds a way and his mental toughness is second to none.
“He always finds a way regardless of how he plays to be there at the end. The guy is an absolute genius at finding a way.”
Scheffler boasts a superb three PGA Tour wins at this stage of the season, one of which arrived at the PGA Championship.
That success at Quail Hollow arrived in between impressive victories at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and the Memorial Tournament.
But whether or not he has what it takes to emerge victorious at The Open remains to be seen, with his T7 finish last year representing his best result at the event.
It was indeed his fellow American Xander Schauffele who came out on top last time out, securing a two-shot win at Royal Troon.
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