British Open ’24: How to watch, who are the favourites and find out more about golf’s oldest event

TROON, Scotland — Here’s a look at the British Open as it heads into the weekend at Royal Troon. Golf’s oldest championship returns to the century-old links at Royal Troon for the 10th time. This is the last major golf championship of the year. Here’s what you need to know:

How to watch

Golf coverage in the United States begins nearly six hours before the leaders tee off.

Round 3 begins on USA Network from 5:00-7:00 a.m. EDT and will then air on NBC Sports from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The R&A also offers free streaming coverage from a prominent group, along with coverage of the famous “Postage Stamp” eighth hole at Royal Troon.

Who should you keep an eye on?

Shane Lowry is the leader after 36 holes after rounds of 66-69 in a strong wind. Lowry won the Open at Royal Portrush in 2019 and he is a daunting player to catch in the wind with his strong iron play keeping the golf ball downwind.

Lowry reached the top by avoiding the problems at Troon.

Justin Rose and Daniel Brown are two strokes behind. They have two things in common. They are English. And they both had to qualify for 36 holes. The difference is that Rose is a former US Open champion and former world No. 1.

Brown is playing his first major.

The favorites

Scheffler started as the big favorite and number 1 with six wins against the strongest fields this year.

BetMGM in the UK has Lowry as the weekend favourite at 13-8, followed by Scheffler at 7-2 and Rose at 13-2.

PGA champion Xander Schauffele is 9-1 and Patrick Cantlay is 18-1. They are both six strokes behind heading into the third round.

The money

The R&A has increased the prize fund to $17 million, $500,000 more than last year but still the lowest of the four major championships.

R&A CEO Martin Slumbers has no plans to enter into an arms race with the other big companies.

The first prize gets $3.1 million. Here’s how the payout works for the rest of the top 10:

Second Place: $1,759,000

Third Place: $1,128,000

Fourth Place: $876,000

Fifth Place: $705,000

Sixth Place: $611,000

Seventh place: $525,000

Eighth Place: $442,500

Ninth place: $388,000

Tenth Place: $350,600

The British Open Quiz

Experience over 100 years of golf history at the Open Championship.

What they say

“I’d rather have a disappointing Sunday than go home on Friday.” — Rory McIlroy, devastated after losing a late lead to Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open. McIlroy was among those who missed the cut at Royal Troon.

“I’ve always loved playing major championships. I just wish I was sharper physically when I got to the majors. It tests you mentally, physically, emotionally, and I just wasn’t as sharp as I should have been. I was hoping I would find it somehow, but it never happened.” — Tiger Woods after missing the cut in a major for the third consecutive time.

“We’ve got enough problems with football. I can’t bring golf into it.” — England’s Justin Rose when told it was 32 years since an Englishman won the British Open. England’s last major football title was the 1966 World Cup. The Three Lions lost to Spain in Sunday’s European Championship final.

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