Top Storylines and How To Watch the British Open 2024 at Royal Troon
Golf’s fourth and final major of the year will take place over the pond at Royal Troon in Scotland. Here’s how to watch the action and what you should know going into a great test at Hoylake.
The 152nd playing of The Open Championship (aka The British Open) is heading back to Scotland, the birthplace of golf. Royal Troon will be the canvas for 158 players this week vying to become ‘The Champion Golfer of the Year.’ The last time the course hosted The Open was in 2016, and it yielded one of the most electric duels in Major Championship history, when Henrik Stenson outlasted Phil Mickelson. Stenson finished 20-under par, with Mickelson finishing three shots back. Those two golfers boat-raced the field, with third place (JB Holmes), finishing a whopping 14 shots behind Stenson. So what will this edition of The Open at Troon bring?
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To watch the the 2024 British Open on Sling, you’ll need Sling Blue. That way you can watch the action on USA Network and NBC in select markets. If you are not in a market with NBC, then Peacock will be your friend during the weekend when coverage swaps to NBC. Watching golf over the pond is always different, but golf’s final major is sure to bring drama. Here is The Open Championship Streaming Schedule, and a couple storylines to watch. Use the link at the bottom of this page to subscribe to Sling Blue.
The Open Championship TV Schedule
All times Eastern
Thursday, July 18
1:30am - 4am: Peacock (streaming)
4am - 3pm: USA Network
3pm - 4:14pm: Peacock (streaming)
Friday, July 19
1:30am - 4am: Peacock (streaming)
4am - 3pm: USA Network
3pm - 4:14pm: Peacock (streaming)
Saturday, July 20
5am - 7am: USA Network
7am - 3pm: NBC and Peacock (Select markets on Sling or stream on Peacock)
Sunday, July 21
4am - 7am: USA Network
7am - 2pm: NBC (Select markets on Sling or stream on Peacock)
Royal Troon
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As we mentioned at the top, the last time The Open was at Royal Troon it was the scene of an epic battle between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson. The time before that? 2004, when when Todd Hamilton outlasted Ernie Els in a playoff. So, this course has had a knack for creating some theater. It’s situated on the western coast of Scotland, which may not have the notoriety the east has, but is home to plenty of illustrious golf courses. Royal Troon features three different experiences. The first six holes play quite easy; that's where players will need to take advantage of their opportunities to rack up birdies. The second six holes feature a total change in the landscape, as you wind through sandy dunes. Then the last six is where we'll see big boy golf, with long holes and zero cover from the wind.
The par-3 eighth hole, also known as ‘The Postage Stamp’ will get all the attention this week. It play 123-yards, the shortest hole on The Open Rota, but it has plenty of bite. Tiger Woods said in his Tuesday press conference, “It’s a very simple hole, just hit the ball on the green. Green good. Missed green bad. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. You don’t need a 240-yard par 3 for it to be hard.” Tiger would know: He triple-bogeyed the hole back in 1997 to take him out of contention of The Open. Overall, it should be a good test for the players, but the weather will decide how low the scores are. Forecasts seem to be windy with some rain, but we’ll see which waves get a good draw and which get the short end of the stick.
Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau
Scottie Scheffler was a nonfactor at the US Open in June. Going into the tournament, he was a heavy favorite but he struggled to get momentum as he barely made the cut and finished T41, his worst result since October 2022. The performance didn’t linger. Seven days later, Scottie won the Travelers Championship in a playoff over Tom Kim. It’s been about four weeks since that victory, but Scheffler once again heads into The Open as a heavy favorite. Scottie's record over the pond hasn’t been the best; he’s finished T21 and T23 in his last two appearances, with a modest T8 in 2021. This year’s US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has a similar record in The Open. In his five appearances, he has two missed cuts, a T60, two T33’s and also a modest T8. These are the two most talked-about players in the world right now, so it will be interesting to see how they perform at a tournament that hasn’t been their strong suit. The other most talked-about player is…
Rory McIlroy Returns
38 and counting. That’s how many major championships Rory McIlroy has played since he last lifted a major trophy. It’s been a long ten years, but McIlroy continues to knock on the door and seems to have gotten closer and closer these last two seasons. The British Open two years ago at St. Andrews and the last two US Opens were all tournaments McIlroy could have won. But this last loss at Pinehurst was the first one where the ‘c’ word was actually at play. McIlroy missed two putts under four feet on the 16th and 18th holes, resulting in two bogies to lose the tournament by one stroke. Since then, Rory took time off and then returned last week at the Genisis Scottish Open, where he had a solid week finishing T4. Rory’s record at The Open is spectacular. Aside from a bumpy 2019 and 2021, the Northern Irishman's other six appearances include four top 5s, a T6 and a win. It will be must-watch TV to see if Rory has moved on from the US Open at a venue that should certainly fit his eye.
The Open Championship Odds
Via DraftKings as of July 15
Scottie Scheffler +450
Rory McIlroy +750
Xander Schauffele +1100
Ludvig Aberg +1400
Bryson DeChambeau +1600
Collin Morikawa +1600
Jon Rahm +2200
Tyrell Hatton +2500
Viktor Hovland +2800
Brooks Koepka +3000
Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Shane Lowey, Robert MacIntyre, Patrick Cantlay +4000
Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Hideki Matsuyama +4500
Adam Scott, Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala +5500