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The Open: Tee times, Aussie hopefuls and when you can watch Tiger Woods

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The Open: Tee times, Aussie hopefuls and when you can watch Tiger Woods

The oldest major in golf is set for its 152nd edition, as the best players in the world descend on Scotland for one of the toughest tests in the game.

The Open Championship returns to Royal Troon for the first time since 2016, with six Australians comprised of a strong field filled with past champions and major winners hunting the Claret Jug.

Woods, Nicklaus, Norman, Mickelson and Ballesteros are some of the famous names to win the game’s only major on a links course, while Australian Cameron Smith also joins that small list of greats to call themselves an Open Champion.

Here is everything you need to know about this week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. You can click the links to go to the information you want.

Where is Royal Troon?

Royal Troon Golf Club is located in the town of Troon, in the Scottish area of South Ayrshire on the country’s western coast.

The club is roughly 50km south-west from the centre of Glasgow, the nearest major city to the golf course.

Royal Troon, like all Open Championships courses, is a links golf course. 

Links golf is the oldest style of golf, played in courses situated along the coastline with sandy soil underneath the grass. 

According to Golf.com, the term links comes from the Old English word hlinc, meaning “rising ground or ridge and refers to sandy area along coast”.

Royal Troon runs along Scotland’s south-west coastline by the Firth of Clyde, a body of water that is home of dozens of Scottish islands.

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What is Troon’s most famous hole?

Of all the mighty holes Royal Troon has to offer the golfing world, it is the course’s shortest hole that captures the bulk of attention.

The Par 3 eighth hole at Royal Troon is the shortest hole of any Open Championship course.

The hole’s length on average is about 112m (123 yards), but what it lacks in length it makes up for with beauty and danger. 

The green is guarded by four deep bunkers that have caught out many golfers over the years.

Troon also holds the longest hole of any Open Championship course.

Named Turnberry, the Par 5 sixth hole is a gargantuan 550m (601 yards) which requires an accurate tee shot to a narrow fairway protected by bunkers on either side.

Troon’s 11th hole, The Railway, is marked as the most difficult hole on the course. 

The Par 4 that runs parallel along a railway line is 441m (483 yards) and has danger at every shot from tee to green.

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Who are the past winners of the Open Championships at Troon?

  • 2016 — Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
  • 2004 — Todd Hamilton (United States)
  • 1997 — Justin Leonard (United States)
  • 1989 — Mark Calcavecchia (United States)
  • 1982 — Tom Watson (United States)
  • 1973 — Tom Weiskopf (United States)
  • 1962 — Arnold Palmer (United States)
  • 1950 — Bobby Locke (South Africa)
  • 1923 — Arthur Havers (England)

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Which Australians are contesting this year?

Cameron Smith

Golf — The 150th Open Championship — Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland, Britain — July 17, 2022 Australia’s Cameron Smith celebrates with the Claret Jug after winning The Open Championship.(Reuters: Phil Noble)

Best finish at the Open: Champion (2022)

Best finish at a major: 2022 Open Championship — Winner

Cameron Smith is the only Australian who has won the Claret Jug, securing a famous win at St Andrews in 2022.

Smith currently sits seventh on the players leaderboard in the LIV Golf league, with a pair of second place finishes this season.

The Queenslander is one of the best putters in world golf, a valuable asset in any tournament — let alone a major. 

While he may not be in the same form he had in 2022, Smith is a proven champion who will have his sights set on another Open Championship crown.

Adam Scott

Golfer Adam Scott, wearing sunglasses, sweater and cap, in his follow-through after driving a golf ball
Golf — The 151st Open Championship — Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, Britain — July 21, 2023 Australia’s Adam Scott tees off on the 5th hole during the second round.(Reuters: Phil Noble)

Best finish at the Open: Runner-up (2012)

Best finish at a major: 2013 US Masters — Winner

Adam Scott has not won on the PGA Tour in four years, but came agonisingly close last weekend. 

The 43-year-old finished second at the Scottish Open, losing out to Scotsman Robert MacIntyre who birdied the 72nd hole to win the tournament. 

Despite the disappointment of falling short of a breakthrough win, it is a welcome return to form for Scott who historically has performed well at Open Championships. 

His best finish was in 2012 when he finished second, but held a four shot lead with four holes to play. Scott would bogey each of the final four holes to lose by one stroke to South African Ernie Els.

Jason Day

Golfer Jason Day, in the rain at the Open Championship, hitting an iron from the fairway, watching the ball in flight
Golf — The 151st Open Championship — Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, Britain — July 23, 2023 Australia’s Jason Day watches his shot off the 4th tee during the final round.(Reuters: Phil Noble)

Best finish at the Open: Runner-up (2023)

Best finish at a major: 2015 PGA Championship — Winner

Former world number one Jason Day has started to find his best golf over the past two years.

After struggling with a back issue for a few seasons, Day’s victory at the 2023 Byron Nelson, followed by a tie for second at the Open Championship, signified the Queenslander was near his best again. 

Day has not won on the PGA Tour in 2024, but he has enjoyed four top 10 finishes and will fancy his chances after a great performance at the Open last year.

Min Woo Lee

Golfer Min Woo Lee, wearing a white cap, crouches on the green, holding a golf ball in his hand, lining up his putt
Golf — The 151st Open Championship — Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, Britain — July 22, 2023 Australia’s Min Woo Lee lines up a putt on the 4th green during the third round.(Reuters: Phil Noble)

Best finish at the Open: 21st (2022)

Best finish at a major: 2023 US Open — Fifth

Min Woo Lee’s rise up the world of golf has continued in 2024, reaching a career high world number 31 this year.

The West Australian has achieved six top-10 finishes since earning a PGA Tour card in 2023.

Lee has three career wins on the European Tour, including the 2021 Scottish Open on the links course of The Renaissance Club.

Lee is one of the longest drivers of the ball in on the PGA Tour this season, but at times has struggled with his approaches to the putting surface.

Elvis Smylie

Golfer Elvis Smylie in his follow through after hitting an iron shot during the Australian PGA Championship.
Elvis Smylie plays a shot during round 1 of the 2023 Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane, Thursday, November 23, 2023.(AAP: Jono Searle)

Best finish at the Open: N/A

Best finish at a major: N/A

Elvis Smylie makes his major championship debut this weekend at Royal Troon. 

The Queenslander, who is the son of former Australian mixed-doubles tennis Wimbledon and US Open Champion Elizabeth Smylie, earned his spot in the draw through qualifying.

The 22-year-old has achieved three runners-up finishes on the Australasian Tour and has competed in European Tour events.

Jasper Stubbs

Jasper Stubbs, of Australia, watches his tee shot after hitting an iron during a tournament
Jasper Stubbs, of Australia, watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Augusta, Ga.(AP: George Walker IV)

Best finish at the Open: N/A

Best finish at a major: 2024 US Masters — Missed Cut

Amateur Jasper Stubbs’s fantastic year continues with his maiden appearance at the Open Championship.

Stubbs played his first major championship this year when competed in the US Masters. 

The 22-year-old earned his spot at both majors after winning the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last October at Royal Melbourne. 

Making it to the weekend at Royal Troon would be a terrific achievement for the up-and-coming Australian.

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Who is the defending Open champion?

American golfer Brian Harman is the defending Open Champion.

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