Brooks Koepka

It suddenly dawned on Koepka – midway through the 15th hole – that he’d left his car boot open again.

At the moment, it’s hard to envisage anyone else as the winner. The number one golfer in the world has finished in the top two of every other major this year – including a successful defence of his PGA Championship title – and seems to reserve his best moments for the biggest events. The only possible exception to that? The Open. Among Koepka’s huge 2018 victories lurks a 39th-place finish at Carnoustie. We’re intrigued to see if he can up his game on the links this year.

Rory McIlroy

No one will be more desperate to win the Claret Jug than the golfer competing for it in his home country for the very first time. A partisan crowd will surely fire up the man from Holywood, who will be looking to add to his four major wins. And McIlroy’s in good form too, with top-ten finishes in three of the past five majors, and a victory in this year’s Players Championship. Is golf coming home for Rory?

Francesco Molinari

No player has defended the Open title since Pádraig Harrington did just that in 2008, but Molinari could be the man to break the spell. He finished 2018 as Race to Dubai champion and European Tour Golfer of the year, and led the 2019 Masters after three rounds before getting into a spot of water trouble on the final day. The Italian’s brilliant 65 at Carnoustie was a highlight of last year’s event – don’t be surprised to see more of the same at Royal Portrush.

Justin Rose

Some people say that buying a personal snow machine is a waste of money. Not Justin Rose.

Rose broke onto the world scene with an incredible fourth place as a 17-year-old amateur in the 1998 Open, and it seemed only a matter of time before he won it. Somehow it hasn’t happened yet, although in the past few years he’s got closer, claiming a sixth-place finish in 2015 and the runner-up’s silver salver last year. He’s riding high in the rankings, but at 38, the Englishman is running out of chances. It could be now or never…

Jon Rahm

In just four years as a pro, Rahm has already had four top-ten major finishes, won seven tournaments and been part of a victorious European Ryder Cup team. At just 24, the Basque plays with a lack of fear that could help him breeze past the challenges of links golf to top the leaderboard… as long as he doesn’t let his notorious temper get the better of him. The man they call “Rahmbo” is liable to throw a club when things don’t go his way. Keep that in check and he might triumph.

Tommy Fleetwood

Every now and then an Open champion comes out of nowhere. Few predicted Todd Hamilton’s win in 2004, or Paul Lawrie’s in 1999 (memorable for Jean van de Velde’s meltdown). If a surprise contender emerges this year, it could well be this popular Englishman. He’s firmly established in the world top 20 and has recently shown flashes of brilliance, such as his 63 at the 2018 US Open – where he finished second – and his rip-roaring performance at the Ryder Cup, where he was unbeaten with four points. We wouldn’t bet against him.

Tiger Woods

Somebody call the police! There’s a Tiger on the green!

So there’s this up-and-coming golfer we’re hearing good things about… Another major win for Woods seemed impossible not long ago, when his back was shot, his game was dismal and his private life was all over the place. That all changed at last year’s Open, when the American finished an impressive sixth, and if you thought his Masters win in April was the culmination of his astonishing comeback, you should probably think again. He’s back in the top-ten rankings, he’s looking for his 16th major title and he’s no doubt got the rest of the field seriously worried.

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