Open Championship is proving to be the perfect preparation for Europe’s Ryder Cup plans. This week’s Open at Royal Portrush is the final major of the year but there’s more elite golf to

Rory McIlroy came close to finishing among the leaders in the first round of the Open, but the back nine proved it can be a tough challenge for anyone.

The Open 2025 hots up entering the weekend with Rory McIlroy hoping to use a feverish home crowd to contend for the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush. The Masters champion is in contention this time after missing the cut at the same Northern Irish venue six years ago,

It was a return six years in the making, and it was a return that perfectly encapsulated Rory McIlroy. Making the trek back to Royal Portrush for The Open Championship -- now as a career grand slam winner -- the Northern Irishman experienced a topsy-turvy day as the hard stuff came easy and the easy stuff came hard.

In 2019, the last time The Open Championship was played at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, native son Rory McIlroy missed the cut.

Rory McIlroy is competing at The Open Championship but Justin Rose has addressed the star's actions as a team-mate ahead of the Ryder Cup later this year

So here is our final major big board of the year, ranking the top 30 golfers in the field. This is not simply the 30 best golfers in a vacuum. These are the 30 golfers that our crack team of Gabby Herzig, Hugh Kellenberger and Brody Miller believe are best suited to win this week at Royal Portrush.

Rory McIlroy, who has experienced both joy and heartbreak at the Open Championship, needed his wife Erica Stoll following one especially tough moment at the 2022 event

The winner stands to earn a healthy cash reward despite The Open lagging behind the other three majors for prize money