Rory McIlroy will be roared on in his homeland as the 153rd British Open gets underway at Royal Portrush on Thursday as world number one Scottie Scheffler seeks his first Claret Jug.The world number three has not won a tournament since lifting the Claret Jug a year ago and has not even managed a top-five finish in 12 tournaments this year.

The final major of the season is here. Follow along for live updates, scores, highlights and more from the first round of the 2025 British Open.

The last time the British Open came to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy missed the cut. Will he claim his second major of the year this time around?

The British Open returns to Royal Portrush this week as the world's top golfers descend on Northern Ireland, all with designs on winning the coveted the Claret Jug. Defending champion Xander Schauffele returns to defend his crown,

McIlroy, despite his uneven performances in the P.G.A. Championship and U.S. Open, will be among the favorites this week in his native country, as will Xander Schauffele, the defending champion, and Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world. Here are five other players to watch.

You wouldn't have necessarily picked Northern Ireland as the lab to create one of the greatest drivers of the golf ball of all time. But in retrospect it makes sense. Rory McIlroy's game doesn't resemble the stereotypical wind-formed,

Rory McIlroy is back at Royal Portrush and feeling plenty of love as the Masters champion. It's far different from when the British Open was last held in Northern Ireland.

In the lineage of golf courses, Royal Portrush isn't in the same stratosphere as St. Andrews or Augusta National or Pebble Beach. But to Rory McIlroy, it's special.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was a fountain of introspection Tuesday at his news conference entering the 2025 British Open, calling golf "an unsatisfying venture" and admitting that he often wrestles with motivation.