American Scottie Scheffler arrives at Royal Birkdale for the 154th Open Championship aiming to become the first player in 18 years to defend the title. He will face a baked course as he attempts to buck a long-standing British Open trend.
The title defense follows a rare weekend off for Scheffler, who missed the cut at last week's Scottish Open. This result ended a streak of 78 consecutive PGA Tour starts in which he had successfully made the cut.
Having missed his first cut in nearly four years, Scheffler had to figure out what to do with his unexpected free time. However, he is banking on the extra downtime paying dividends as he prepares for his defense at Royal Birkdale.