THE LAST time Royal Liverpool Golf Club (GC) hosted The Open Championship, two of golf’s brightest young stars rose to the top. Rory McIlroy won his third major and Rickie Fowler tied for second.
Cut to present day, and Mr. McIlroy hasn’t won a major since The Open and the PGA Championship that summer of 2014, while Mr. Fowler has fought through career trials and tribulations while searching for his first.
Both in terrific form, McIlroy and Fowler will chase an elusive major breakthrough at The 151st Open, beginning Thursday in Hoylake, England.
Mr. McIlroy won the Scottish Open on Sunday for his second title of the season, and the Northern Irishman is certain to be a fan favorite on the British Isles. After finishing second to Wyndham Clark at the US Open last month, he has continued to show laser focus on his game, declining a pre-championship press conference before giving brief remarks to reporters.
Mr. Fowler kicked off the US Open with a 62, the lowest score in the championship’s history (Xander Schauffele matched it 20 minutes later), before fading to a T5 finish. Then he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier this month, his first victory of any kind in more than four years.
However, Royal Liverpool will play rather differently than it did when Mr. McIlroy and Mr. Fowler found success in 2014. Formerly a par 72, the course is now a par 71 as the 10th hole has been changed from a par 5 to a long par 4. — Reuters
