Open Championship: 10 players to watch at the final major of 2024, including Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is ready to take on Royal Troon. When speaking to the media on Tuesday, he said his training has been a lot better. That translates to hitting the ball better, which favors him as he makes his way through the property. Woods is a three-time Open Champion and will easily be attracting the galleries throughout the week.

Related: Where Tiger Woods’ 2000 Open Championship performance stands among the best in tournament history

Tony Finau is an underrated sleeper this week. He is in the group of the best players in the world but does not have the betting odds like the favorites this week. Opening at +4000, Finau has the length on top his improved game over the last couple of months. That makes him a player to watch, especially on Sunday, in hopes of getting his first major win.

Also read: Open Championship odds: Favorites, long shots and sleepers in 2024

On the other side of the spectrum, there is Dustin Johnson. At 40 years old, Johnson’s only exemption into the Open Championship this year was because of his October 2020 Masters win. That means he will have this year and next unless he can win to play the Open until he is 55. Johnson is a two-time major champion, a former World No. 1 and finished inside the top 10 in two of his last three starts at the Open. However, those came in 2021 and 2022. He has missed the cut in three of the last four majors with only a T43 at the PGA Championship a couple of months ago.

Related: How to earn an exemption to play the 2024 Open Championship?

The reigning Open Championship winner is ready to take on Royal Troon. Brian Harman returned the Claret Jug to the R&A in hopes of getting it back on Sunday. Haramn will be attempting to become the first back-to-back winner since Padraig harringotn in 2008-09. The crowds will be following him around as he tees it up alongside Viktor Hovland and Sahith Theegala for the first two days.  

Related: Open Championship TV schedule & parings: When the best players are teeing off on Thursday and Friday

Robert MacIntyre is looking to continue to hot streak heading into the Open Championship. MacIntyre has two wins in his last five starts, including last week’s Scottish Open on home soil. In a span of two months, MacIntyre went from not being sure if he will make the FedEx Cup Playoff to nearly locking himself into the Tour Championship. In his first season on the PGA Tour, he is hoping to continue to finish strong.

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From this year’s Scottish Open to last year’s, we go to Rory McIlroy. He got back on track at the Scottish Open after taking a two-week hiatus, which included switching phone numbers. This came after his loss at the U.S. Open. Now, he is solely focused on the Open Championship and figuring out how to get major win No. 5. Since his last major win at the 2014 Open Championship, McIlroy has four runners-up, 11 top fives and 20 top 10s, but no wins.  

Also read: Where Rory McIlroy’s 2014 Open Championship win stands among the list of past champions dating back to 1860

We go to another Scottish Open past champion in Xander Schauffele, who won in 2022. This week marks Schauffele’s first Open Championship as a major champion. It is also Schauffele’s first time seeing Royal Troon. However, he is doing his best to prepare. Despite going through these Open Championship courses for the first time, he has yet to miss a cut. In six Open Championships starts, Schauffele has finished no worse than 41^st, which came in 2019 at Royal Portrush. He also holds the active PGA Tour record of 51 consecutive made cuts, which dates back to the 2022 Masters.

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Collin Morikawa is a past champion of the Open in 2021. He became the first player to win the Open in their debut since Ben Curtis in 2003 at Royal St. George’s. Morikawa, who also won at Royal St. George’s a few years ago, has had a great 2024 major season. He finished T3 at the Masters, T4 at the PGA Championship and T14 at the U.S. Open. Now he is trying to get his second Claret Jug and third major victory.

Also read: Where Collin Morikawa stands in the latest world golf rankings entering the Open

Trying to be the first player to win the Open Championship in their debut since Morikawa is Ludvig Aberg, who has also had a good major resume this year. Despite missing the cut at the PGA Championship, Aberg was the Masters runner-up and finished T12 at the U.S. Open. Finishing in eighth place at the Players Championship adds to the fact that the 24-year-old is ready to breakout.

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Scottie Scheffler has done a lot of things over the last few years to have the prominence he has earned. Scheffler became the first player in Players Championship history to win back-to-back. He became world No. 1. He has won two green jackets. He’s won six times already in 2024, making Tiger Woods’ and Vijay Singh’s 9-win seasons in 2000 and 2004, respectively, a possibility. However, Scheffler has yet to win a Claret Jug. With the way he has been playing this season, a second major seems likely, but Scheffler has to execute over 72 holes if he wants to do that. He would become the first player to reach seven victories in a season since Woods in 2007.  

Also read: Who is competing alongside Scottie Scheffler at the 2024 Olympics?