A run at The Open Championship would perform double duty for Keegan Bradley.

• After shooting a second-round 67 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland on Friday, Bradley moved to 3-under 139 for the tournament. Among the early wave of golfers, fellow American Brian Harman stood in the lead at 8-under.

  Bradley, 39, has one major win to his credit -- the 2011 PGA Championship. A strong finish at The Open could propel him to his best result ever there, topping his T15 in 2013.

  But it also could take out of his hands the decision as to whether, as captain of the 2025 United States Ryder Cup team, he adds himself to the squad. A win, unquestionably, would put him in the ranks of the top six American golfers -- all of whom receive automatic spots on the Ryder Cup team that will face the European squad in September at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. Then, he'd need to maintain that position the rest of the season and through the playoffs.

  He currently stands No. 9 on the Ryder Cup points list.

  Bradley is trying to separate his two hats -- Ryder Cup captain and tour competitor -- at Royal Portrush.

  "I've said this a million times, but I really can just be a player when I'm inside the ropes," he said. "It's the only time I can sort of not be the captain. When I'm inside the ropes with a card in my pocket, I really can just focus on playing, and then when I leave here, I'll be the captain again. It's impossible for me not to be. When I'm around the guys or talking to my vice captains or whatever that is or planning for Bethpage. But when I'm inside those ropes and I don't have my phone on, I'm a player, and that's a big help."

  Those vice captains will be a big help when it comes to ultimately picking that 12-player team. He likely will turn to Tiger Woods, too, who has "been one of the most helpful people that I've had" during the Ryder Cup process, he said.

  Bradley and his brain trust "have a plan," he said. "We have a 'for instance' that could happen. That can obviously change during the week. You've got to see how each player is playing. But we're learning as we go just like everybody else."

  Bradley said he's watching the leaderboard this weekend, both as a captain and an opponent. As a captain, he's watching the Americans who are doing well. As a competitor, he's keeping track of the full field.

  Speaking after his Friday round, Bradley the player was happy.

  "That was fun. Played really, really well. I've been playing so poorly here over the last couple years," he said. "It feels nice to put a nice round together, nice two days together. I played nice yesterday as well. But what a fun day."

  He has missed the cut at The Open in each of his past five appearances. What makes 2025 different?

  "Just playing a lot better. I've really struggled on the greens over here the last handful of years," he said. "I've struggled on slower greens, had a better game plan and had to feel a longer stroke and made a lot more putts, but also driving the ball well, which is huge."

  His Friday round consisted on an eagle on the par-5 second hole and two birdies on the back nine.

  "I really am proud of that," he said of the bogey-free round. "Like I said, I've struggled here, so to be in contention, to have played the way I did today means a lot. I never know what I'm going to get when I come over here, so this is a nice bonus."

  --Field Level Media

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

• There is no danger of that happening at the 2025 edition of The Open.

  McIlroy shot a 2-under round of 69 on Friday, leaving him at 3-under 139 for the tournament after 36 holes. Brian Harman, with his second-round 65, was in the lead at 8-under among players in the early wave of play.

  "Another solid day," said McIlroy, owner of a career grand slam, after his round. "A couple under, improved a little bit on yesterday, hit it in play a little bit more off the tee, which was nice to have some looks out of the fairway and into some of these greens."

  "I feel like I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead, but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend," he said.

  McIlroy, 36, played the front nine at even par -- two birdies, two bogeys -- but made up some ground with birdies at holes 12 and 14.

  He stood tied for 10th among the early golfers and sees the opening to climb up the leaderboard.

  "I didn't have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited for that," he said. "I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run."

  McIlroy said he's excited by the second chance to try to win The Open in front of home fans after the disappointment of 2019.

  "I've been somewhat close to my best over the first two days in little bits here and there. I'm going to need to have it all under control and have it sort of all firing over the weekend to make a run," he said.

  "Yeah, it's incredible to play in front of these fans. ... It was 20 years ago that I played the North of Ireland here, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I'd be coming back as a grand slam champion with the support of a nation behind me trying to win an Open Championship.

  "I count myself very grateful and very lucky that I'm in this position."

  --Field Level Media

Talk about your impressive turnarounds.

• Bryson DeChambeau answered a disastrous 7-over-par 78 during the first round of the Open Championship on Thursday with a sizzling 6-under-par 65 Friday at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

  The simple math is DeChambeau was 13 strokes better than the previous day, even though the two-time U.S. Open champion said he attacked the course the same way in both rounds.

  "I've played the same as I did yesterday. That's links golf for you. I executed pretty much the same shots as I did yesterday. I didn't feel like I played any different," DeChambeau said. "Today they just kind of went more my way. My wedges were just a fraction better and that was really it. Made a couple more putts. Just really felt like I was rolling it well today. There wasn't much different. That's why links golf is the way links golf is."

  While DeChambeau admitted that he wanted to go home after his two double bogeys and three bogeys marred his first-round performance, he said he came to the golf course with a different attitude on Friday.

  "I woke up this morning and I said, you know what, I can't give up," DeChambeau said. "My dad always told me never to give up, just got to keep going, and that's what I did today. I was proud of the way I fought back, really persevered through some emotionally difficult moments, and to hold myself together and not get (angry) and slam clubs and throw things and all that like I wanted to, like I was very proud of myself."

  He should be. DeChambeau collected seven birdies against one bogey on Friday to stand at plus-1 for the tournament, accomplishing that on a day filled with challenging weather.

  DeChambeau, who is No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking, has struggled mightily at The Open Championship. He recorded his only top-10 finish at the event in 2022; however he has missed the cut three times and tied for 33rd, 51st and 60th place.

  "In order to be a complete golfer you've got to win over here. That's something I've struggled to do," DeChambeau said. "I've played well at times when it's dry and greens are more consistent. ... But when it gets as chaotic as this, with the wind going every which way, flipping on 18 completely, you have to be a complete golfer that pivots on demand."

  --Field Level Media

Ben Kohles withdrew after the first round of the Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour announced Friday.

• The tour did not give a reason for his withdrawal at the event, being played at the Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee, Calif.

  After his Thursday round, Kohles stood at minus-4 in the event, which uses the modified Stableford scoring system. Leader Ben Martin was at plus-16 entering play Friday.

  Kohles, 35, has one Top 10 finish in 19 events this season, standing T8 at the ISCO Championship last week.

  He has four wins on the Korn Ferry Tour but still is searching for his first win on the PGA Tour after 103 events.

  --Field Level Media

Rickie Fowler took early advantage of his spot in the final major of the year by carding a 2-under par 69 after the first round of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush on Thursday.

• Fowler offset three bogeys with five birdies, including going 2 under over his final four holes to sit in a tie for 10th place after 18 holes during a rainy and extremely slow round.

  "I think just not trying to get too cute or try and do too much, play a little bit conservative," Fowler said when asked how he deals with different conditions throughout a round at The Open. "Bogeys are OK at times. You can get yourself into trouble pretty quickly out there if you maybe try and do too much."

  Fowler, 36, earned his way to Northern Ireland this week with a top-10 finish at the Memorial. He then opted not to come over early for the Scottish Open, deciding instead to play in the John Deere Classic, where he tied for 18th.

  Once a regular around the first page of major leaderboards, just being in attendance is no longer a given for the world's 110th-ranked player. Fowler did not earn a spot at the Masters or U.S. Open this year and missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

  However, he has enjoyed some of his best major success at The Open. Among Fowler's 13 previous starts was a tie for second at Royal Liverpool in 2014 and a tie for fifth at Royal St. George's in 2011.

  "I love playing over here. It's a style of golf I love to play," he said. "I know I can compete in any style of golf, but especially this."

  Fowler tied for sixth the last time The Open was held at Royal Portrush, carding a 66 on Saturday before struggling to a final-round 74. Still, it's a course he feels very comfortable on -- something he plans to take advantage of over the next three days.

  "It's a tricky golf course, depending on where the wind's at and what kind of weather we have," he said. "You have to think your way around it and hit -- execute still but also know when you can maybe play on the aggressive side or when you need to kind of play conservative or just stay smart and take what the course gives you.

  "Definitely nice to get off to a solid start because you can take yourself out of the tournament pretty quickly Thursday with a poor round."

  --Field Level Media

Marc Leishman battled difficult conditions to card a 2-over 73 during his first round at The Open Championship in three years, but he admitted frustration with the pace-of-play at Royal Portrush on Thursday.

• The Australian also made a thinly-veiled reference to the quicker rounds he regularly plays during LIV Golf's three-day events.

  "Felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours," Leishman told reporters after his round. "We've been on the course for three hours through eight holes. That was tough to deal with, especially coming from somewhere where we play in under 4 1/2 every week.

  Leishman should have more control over the length of his round on Friday, when he tees off in the first group of the day along with Stewart Cink and Italy's Matteo Manassero. Leishman will have one eye on the cut line on Friday as he also tries to close the gap between himself and the leaders.

  His card on Thursday included three birdies against five bogeys, including a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole.

  "You got to deal with all that sort of stuff, and I felt like I dealt with it decently well. Just got a little frustrated there," he said. "I thought I was playing really good and not getting anything out of it, but the conditions were tough. Hopefully just get a good one going in the morning."

  This is Leishman's first trip to The Open since 2022, having qualified for his 12th appearance at the Australian PGA Championship in December. While he has a best finish at the event of a T5 at Royal Liverpool in 2014, Leishman has missed the cut in each of his past three appearances at the event -- a streak that began at Royal Portrush in 2019.

  "Unfortunately, pissed off at that on the last. That's golf," he said. "Try to fight back tomorrow."

  --Field Level Media

Honesty always has been in Scottie Scheffler's bag, as the headlines before the start of The Open underscored, and he was wringing truth once more Thursday after firing a 3-under par at Royal Portrush.

• Scheffler's rainy round of 68 was among the morning-wave best in Northern Ireland thanks to a composed finish despite hitting only three fairways.

  "I actually thought I drove it pretty good. I don't know what you guys are seeing. When it's raining sideways, it's actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway. Thank you guys all for pointing that out," Scheffler said at the end of Thursday's 18.

  Scheffler credited his putting with keeping him on the first page of the leaderboard after failing to gain strokes on the greens in the Scottish Open last week. Scheffler was a touch testy when pressed for what made his short stick more magical on Thursday than it was last week.

  "Different greens, different surface. These greens, it's just different," Scheffler said. "I don't know how you want me to elaborate on that."

  Wayward tee shots were to blame for Scheffler's bogeys on Thursday on a pair of par 4s at No. 9 and No. 11.

  He closed with a collective five on the par-3 16th and the par-4 17th plus a clutch putt to par No. 18 and said the greens at Portrush were "definitely smoother" than the surface in Scotland.

  "Putting is one of those deals where, especially when there's a little bit of activity on the greens, you can hit a lot of good putts that don't go in," Scheffler said. "I'm trying to do my best to be perfect every week, but some weeks the putts just aren't going in, and did a good job battling last week to finish top 10."

  Scheffler stuck to his guns when asked Thursday to revisit much-discussed comments about how meaningful and gratifying victories can be relative to the amount of time, effort and sacrifice it takes to take home a trophy.

  "I think I try to be as honest as I can with y'all, with the stuff that I'm willing to kind of say. At times I feel like maybe I should be a little less honest. Maybe I shouldn't have said the stuff I said yesterday because now I'm going to get asked about it more," he said. "But really it's just a matter of perspective, and I've had some players come up to me and say that they feel and think the same things. If anybody has disagreed with me, they haven't said it to my face yet, so I don't know what the reaction would be. But overall just glad to be out playing golf and competing again."

  --Field Level Media

Jon Rahm downplayed a terse interaction with a fan during the first round of The Open Championship on Thursday.

• The Spaniard was playing the par-4 10th hole at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland when he sent his approach shot into the right rough. He immediately turned to a spectator who had made a whistling noise during Rahm's backswing.

  "Really? Whistling? Right, great time," Rahm said. "Right on my backswing. Very smart, whoever it was."

  Rahm would go on to bogey the hole along with the following one. The LIV Golf star did manage a birdie on the 14th and finished with a 1-under 70. After the round, he credited the noise made by the fan as unfortunate timing and his ensuing reaction to frustration.

  "I mean, if I were to paint a picture, you have the hardest tee shot on the course, raining, into the wind off the left, it's enough," Rahm told reporters. "I know they're not doing it on purpose. It just seemed like somebody trying to get a hold of someone for whatever it is. It was bad timing.

  "I think I just used the moment to let out any tension I had in me. Really that's not -- it is what it is. To be honest, it probably didn't affect as much as I made it sound like. It was a bad swing as well. Just a difficult hole.

  "I mean, it's frustrating, but it is what it is. It's an everyday thing in golf."

  Rahm, 30, is coming off a runner-up finish at LIV's event in Andalucia, Spain, last week. His best previous finish at The Open was a tie for second two years ago, and Rahm tied for seventh at the U.S. Open last month following a T8 at the PGA Championship and a T14 at the Masters.

  The two-time major champion is seeking to complete a third leg of the career Grand Slam this week. He has wins at the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open to his credit.

  "There's just a few things that would make this one so special. Not only getting to three majors, being the second Spanish player (along with) Seve (Ballesteros) to win an Open and being the only one to three different majors, that would be -- yeah, makes it very, very special, on top of everything that already is."

  --Field Level Media

Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson carded a 1-under 70 on Thursday for his best opening round at the Open Championship since 2016.

• The 55-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer sparked his vintage performance by holing out for par from a bunker on the third hole, finishing his round at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland with three birdies and two bogeys.

  "Yeah, that was a crazy one," Mickelson said of his effort at the par-3 third hole, where his tee shot found the greenside bunker and his first attempt to get out failed. His third shot landed right of the flagstick and spun into the hole.

  "It was really one of maybe two poor shots I hit, I felt," he said. "That bunker shot that buried in the lip, and then to make it, it was obviously a lot of luck. It was crazy. I was just trying to save bogey, and I got lucky and it went in."

  Mickelson won his lone Open Championship in 2013 at Muirfield in Scotland to go with three Masters wins and two triumphs at the PGA Championship, including a turn-back-the-clock victory in 2021.

  "I think winning The Open in 2013 was the greatest accomplishment in my career because I had to learn a style of golf that I didn't grow up playing," Mickelson said. "Now I've come to really love it, enjoy it, and I seem to play well in some of the adverse conditions."

  Mickelson played in an early group with South Africa's Daniel van Tonder and Australia's Ryan Peake and managed to dodge the worst of the weather conditions on Thursday.

  "We had a pretty good break before the rain came in," he said. "It came in just the last couple holes. Our group had a pretty good break, I thought."

  Now competing with LIV Golf, Mickelson missed the cut at each of this year's first three majors. He tied for 60th at the Open last year at Royal Troon, making the cut for the first time since 2018. His Open resume dates back to 1991 and also includes runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2011 and a third-place run in 2004.

  "I played really well, and I had an opportunity," he said. "Like I really enjoy playing these conditions and playing this tournament. It's just a lot of fun."

  --Field Level Media

R&A chief executive Mark Darbon confirmed Wednesday he recently had a "really good discussion" with Eric Trump about hosting a future Open Championship at Turnberry, owned by U.S. President Donald Trump.

• The course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, owned by Trump's organization since 2014, has hosted the Open four times but not since 2009.

  "It's a somewhat hypothetical question in that unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back," Darbon told reporters at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, site of this week's 153rd Open.

  Darbon said he met with Trump's son, Eric, and representatives from Turnberry "a couple of months ago." Logistical issues include the fact that only 120,000 spectators attended the last Open at Turnberry, compared to the 280,000 expected this week and the 250,000 at Royal Troon in Scotland in 2024.

  "We had a really good discussion," Darbon said. "I think they understand clearly where we're coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have so we've got a good dialogue with them."

  Meeting with a member of the Trump family continues the thaw in what had become a testy relationship between the R&A and the current occupant of the White House.

  After Trump's supporters stormed the United States Capitol in January 2021, then-R&A boss Martin Slumbers said there were no plans to restore Turnberry to the Open rotation "in the foreseeable future."

  "We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances," Slumbers said at the time.

  That stance has softened since Trump's election to a second term in November. Darbon, who replaced Slumbers in July 2024, said in April that he "would love" to see the tournament return to Turnberry.

  "I think we've been extremely clear on our position in respect of Turnberry," Darbon said Wednesday. "We love the golf course but we've got some big logistical challenges there. You see the scale of their setup here and we've got some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure around Turnberry.

  "We've explicitly not taken it out of our pool of venues but we'd need to address those logistical challenges should we return."

  Darbon also said the R&A has had an ongoing dialogue with the UK government about staging a major at a Trump-owned property.

  "We've spoken to them specifically about Turnberry and I think they've made it clear that the decision around where we take our championship rests with us," he said.

  --Field Level Media

J.J. Spaun never expected to become a major champion.

• Then he won the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in June and has had to adjust to life playing above the radar on the PGA Tour.

  When he tees off Thursday at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, he'll be playing in a marquee group with defending Open winner Xander Schauffele and two-time major champion Jon Rahm.

  The company he keeps on the course is moving one direction, but the 34-year-old Spaun insists he's just the same guy he was before the career-changing victory at Oakmont. That's a player who isn't focusing on winning as much as he is on learning and getting better.

  "This is my first Open, so get a proper links test. Just excited to make my debut here at such a beautiful venue," the native Californian said.

  "I think initially it will just be learning to play different shots," he continued. "You kind of want to play everything airborne in America, pick your number, try to fly it there, and hopefully it spins and stops near the hole.

  "But links golf requires a lot more creativity, imagination, so learning to flight shots better and trying to guess bounces correctly is going to be sort of the challenge this week."

  Spaun said he is getting more recognition, even just walking down the street, but he still considers himself to be a humble person who is managing his own expectations and those of others. His win at the U.S. Open was his second on the PGA Tour.

  "It's a big difference kind of having the spotlight on me now and expectations, but all I can do is just rely on the experiences that I've had, coming down the stretch at the U.S. Open, getting myself in the playoff at The Players.

  "I've had way bigger challenges, whether it's life or golf or losing my card. I've had other issues to go through than just being more in the spotlight. So I'm learning to embrace it, and I'm excited for the challenge it brings."

  The next spotlight for Spaun could come at the Ryder Cup in September at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. He currently is No. 3 in the Ryder Cup rankings, behind Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. The top six automatically qualify.

  "I don't think I've ever thought of being on the Ryder Cup or imagining myself on the Ryder Cup, but I've been hearing that a lot throughout the last few years. ... My caddie's (Mark Carens) always believed in me, even when I was ranked outside the top 100."

  "Here we are top 10 in the world," Spaun continued. "He always believed I could be on the Ryder Cup, and here we are looking pretty good for the Ryder Cup. It's just weird how you kind of hear -- you soak in those things that people tell you, and then it just sort of ends up happening. I think that has to do a lot with developing and believing it yourself."

  --Field Level Media

A two-time runner-up at The Open Championship, Justin Rose finished second at the Masters for the third time in his career with a playoff loss to Rory McIlroy in April.

• Instead of dwelling on another near miss at a major, Rose is ready to chase the title that means the most to him as an Englishman this week at the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

  "I'm ready to move on for sure because second is second place, isn't it?" he said Wednesday about his result at Augusta. "It's a tough loss. But at the same time, it's still more evidence that when I get things right, I'm still competitive and can still bring it. That's where I'm encouraged about, and obviously I've got to make sure those moments like this week and going forward I can try to be as focused as I can on the moment now."

  Rose, 44, has a long relationship with the Open, starting when he reached final qualifying as a 14-year-old to his breakthrough fourth-place showing at Royal Birkdale as an 18-year-old amateur in 1998.

  "Kind of got the juices flowing about playing in the Open and what it means to play in the Open, and obviously I've been dreaming about winning it way before then even," he said. "Obviously as a kid, on the putting green since I've been playing the game since probably age 8, I've been dreaming about winning the Open of course.

  "But it began to feel real from like 1995, and 1998 obviously was a fairy tale kind of story and ending to my amateur career, and really the next place from there was to go ahead and try to win it, obviously. I've been close a couple times, but it's an incredible tournament, like I said. As a British player, it's been the one that I've dreamed about winning and holed the putt many times in my mind."

  Rose tied for second behind Xander Schauffele at last year's Open at Royal Troon in Scotland.

  Rose, ranked No. 21 in the world, is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, thanks to a final round 63 Sunday. After his close call against McIlroy at the Masters, he missed the cuts at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

  Earlier this week, McIlroy said if he can't win this week on home soil in Northern Ireland that he wants Rose to lift the Claret Jug.

  Although disappointed by the result, Rose was happy for McIlroy to complete his career grand slam at Augusta.

  "When you lose (like) that, you can kind of walk out with your head held high and give your competitor a lot of props for that type of situation," said Rose, whose lone major win came at the 2013 U.S. Open.

  "But obviously you've got to look inward and understand how is there anything I could have done better in the moment? But really I hit two great shots into 18 myself, and the outcome was what it was."

  --Field Level Media

Wyndham Clark is banned from Oakmont Country Club because of the damage the 2023 U.S. Open champion inflicted in the locker room after missing the cut in the 2025 U.S. Open last month.

• Club president John Lynch informed members that Clark was banned from the property until further notice. In a letter published by Golf Digest, Lynch set forth a path to reconciliation. Clark must pay for all damage, make a charitable contribution and attend "anger management sessions or counseling."

  Clark, 31, apologized for his behavior one week later after he missed the cut at the third major championship of the season, going 74-74 (8 over par) through two rounds at the suburban Pittsburgh course.

  Clark shot a 6-under 64 in the first round of the Travelers Championship the following week and then discussed the matter.

  "Yeah, I mean, I've had a lot of highs and lows in my career, especially this year some lows," he said. "I made a mistake that I deeply regret. I'm very sorry for what happened."

  "But I'd also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA, and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that come up. I still want to try to make the Ryder Cup team. I still am on the outside looking in for the FedEx Cup. So I'm starting to move on and focus on those things."

  It was the second straight major where Clark had to apologize for aggressive behavior. At the PGA Championship in May, following a poor drive, Clark threw his driver toward the back of the tee box. It crashed into signage with a volunteer standing mere feet away, and the head of the club snapped off.

  The letter from Lynch to members reads: "Several of you have inquired about the situation involving Wyndham Clark and the steps being taken in response to his recent behavior. Following multiple discussions with the USGA and the OCC Board, a decision has been made that Mr. Clark will no longer be permitted on OCC property. This decision will remain in effect unless formally reconsidered and approved by the Board.

  "Reinstatement would be contingent upon Mr. Clark fulfilling a number of specific conditions, including full repayment for damages, a meaningful contribution to a charity of the Board's choosing, and the successful completion of counseling and/or anger management sessions.

  "Thank you for your understanding and continued support."

  --Field Level Media

Joel Dahmen confirmed that he has parted ways with longtime caddie Geno Bonnalie, splitting the pair that rose to stardom during the Netflix documentary series "Full Swing."

• Dahmen and Bonnalie grew up as childhood friends in Clarkston, Wash. and began working together on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2015. Bonnalie was on the bag when Dahmen won his lone PGA Tour event to date at the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship, but the 37-year-old has struggled with his form much of the past two years.

  After grinding to retain his PGA Tour card last fall, Dahmen has fallen to 172nd in the Official World Golf Ranking while missing 12 of 19 cuts in 2025. He set the 36-hole scoring record at Puntacana in April and entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, only to suffer a meltdown that included missing a 1-foot putt on the 17th hole and missing out on a playoff by one shot.

  Dahmen acknowledged at the time that "this one could take a while to get over," and he has not advanced to the weekend in seven of eight starts since. That includes at last week's Scottish Open, where he missed the cut by four shots.

  Dahmen sits 117th in the FedEx Cup standings, well outside of the top 70 who will qualify for the first leg of next month's playoffs. Only the top 100 players at the end of the year will retain full playing status for 2026.

  "We're still the best of friends and that will never change," Dahmen wrote in a post on X. "But we both know that a fresh perspective is sometimes needed and it's been a great run. I couldn't be more proud of what we have achieved together as guys from a small town in the middle of nowhere.

  "I am going to keep the main focus on the task at hand to end the year and put myself in position to make a run.

  "We are grateful for so much this game has given us. Lets finish strong."

  Dahmen is in the field for this week's opposite-field event at the Barracuda Championship, but has not revealed who will be on his bag. He joins a list of players who have changed caddies this year that includes world No. 6 Collin Morikawa and Max Homa, a six-time winner on tour who has tumbled to No. 101.

  No. 3 Xander Schauffele, who is in Northern Ireland this week to defend his title at The Open Championship, was asked about the "caddie carousel drama" of late and how his relationship with his own longtime caddie, Austin Kaiser.

  "I know I put myself in his shoes, and I want him to give me his honest advice," Schauffele said Tuesday. "I trust him. He played golf. He's a good player. When I ask him for his advice, tell me what you think -- and we know each other's tendencies when we play golf as well. He hits his putts harder than I do, so he's always on maybe a little bit lower read, things of that nature.

  "But I told him, ‘I won't ever fire you because you thought it was this and I thought it was that, and if I was right, that's not going to be the difference-maker.'

  "There's a lot of variables in golf. Austin is a great guy, a great caddie. He's one of my best friends. I think, if you can keep your caddie as a constant, it's an advantage."

  --Field Level Media

The public is divided when it comes to speculating who can upend the top two players in the world at The Open Championship this week.

• World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy, winners of the PGA Championship and Masters, respectively, are the clear pre-tournament favorites at all sportsbooks. They are widely followed by LIV Golf members Jon Rahm and Bryon DeChambeau, who are garnering plenty of betting interest as well.

  But who is the next J.J. Spaun, the surprise U.S. Open champion who paid off handsomely for the small percentage of the public who took a flier on the previously little-known American?

  Scheffler is the +450 favorite at DraftKings, where he leads the field with 11 percent of the total bets backing him to claim the third leg of the career grand slam this week. McIlroy, at +750, leads by a small margin with 11 percent of the total money backing him to Scheffler's 10 percent.

  Next is Rahm at 8 percent followed by Viktor Hovland (+3000), who has graced the final stages at several majors but has yet to claim one. He has been backed by 6 percent of the money, just ahead of Tommy Fleetwood (+2800), also at 6 percent. Fleetwood also has yet to win a major title, and just two starts ago came agonizingly short of claiming his first win on United States soil at the Travelers Championship.

  This has not yet been the breakout season many predicted for young Swede Ludvig Aberg, but that can change quickly with a win at Royal Portrush this week. Aberg is ranked ninth in the world coming off a T8 at the Scottish Open.

  He is +3000 at DraftKings despite missing the cut at the past two majors. Aberg also missed the cut at The Players, although he did finish seventh at the Masters. Sixth at DraftKings, Aberg is being backed by 4 percent of both the total money and bets placed on this week's winner.

  Aberg is also the third biggest liability for BetMGM, behind only Scheffler and McIlroy. He has been backed by 6.5 percent of the money, with Scheffler leading the way at 15.7 percent followed by McIlroy at 12.1 percent.

  All are among the top 10 pre-tournament favorites at both books. So, who has the best potential to produced a Spaun-like performance?

  Matt Fitzpatrick is a former U.S. Open champion himself, but has spent the better part of the past two years struggling with his form. Fitzgerald has found some reason to hope of late as he enters this week on the heels of a T8 and T4 in his past two starts, but still provides longshot odds of +5500 at DraftKings.

  Another interesting name is Marco Penge, the Englishman who rose 78 spots to No. 92 in the world with last week's T2 in Scotland. Since opening at +20000 at BetMGM, Penge saw his odds cut in half to +12500 despite garnering only 0.3 percent of the total money.

  The man few seem to be talking about is defending champion Xander Schauffele. He has waded through a winless season to date and has been backed by only 3.2 percent of the money at BetMGM. That's still more than at DraftKings, where Schauffele has been supported by only 3 percent of both the total bets and money at +2500.

  "If I can get myself in the mix is when I think I would have an advantage," Schauffele said Tuesday. "That's where my biggest edge would be. I can lean on experience at other points in time, but I think the most fun and the biggest advantage I would have is coming down the stretch if I can get close to that lead."

  --Field Level Media

Lottie Woad, the world's No. 1 amateur, announced Tuesday that she's turning pro, accepting invitations to the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.

• She earned her tour card over the weekend when she shot a final round 64 on Sunday to tie for third at the Evian Championship, a major.

  Woad, a 21-year-old from England, will forego her senior season at Florida State. She holds the Seminoles' record for career stroke average at 70.42.

  It didn't take her long to decide to accept pro status. After Sunday's round at the Evian Championship in France, she said she planned to ponder her future.

  "Just going to use next week at home with family and coaches to kind of discuss the options and then I'll decide after that," she said.

  "I've always wanted to play on the LPGA," she continued. "Whenever that is, it's going to be really fun and I just look forward to playing all the events."

  She now has LPGA Tour status for the rest of the 2025 season and the entire 2026 campaign. Her professional debut will come next week at the Women's Scottish Open. Then, she will take part in the season's final major, the Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales from July 31-Aug. 3.

  Woad won the Women's Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour two weeks ago.

  Her schedule has not been confirmed for the rest of the season.

  Woad is the first amateur to earn her tour card through the LPGA's LEAP program, which counts amateur achievements toward the card.

  Among those accomplishments was her victory at the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship.

  --Field Level Media

Bryson DeChambeau chuckled when he said it last year but there's no denying the difference between plan and execution when playing in challenging conditions that are typically par for the course in The Open Championship.

• DeChambeau missed the cut with 10 bogeys in 36 holes at the Open in 2024 at Royal Troon, where he made the comment he can do it when conditions are "warm and not windy." In 2023, he got in all four rounds but tied for 60th at 7-over.

  Of course, perfect isn't in the forecast for the first round of the 153rd Open Championship with temperatures at Northern Ireland's Royal Portrush expected to reach 70 degrees with rain and 18 mph wind gusts.

  DeChambeau, 31, has come to appreciate the Open challenges -- part mental, part physical and a double dose of balancing flammable emotions. He said Tuesday it's "pretty simple to talk about but sometimes difficult to execute" the perfect approach in this tournament.

  For starters this week, DeChambeau wants to keep it simple: avoid bunkers and putt better than ever.

  "Just try to be as strategic as possible and put the ball in a place where I can give myself good chances for birdie but also not give myself too many difficult places to play from is the goal," DeChambeau said.

  With a top-10 in the Open at St. Andrews in 2022 on his record, DeChambeau knows he can contend if he executes that plan. Recent performances on the LIV Golf circuit in windy conditions at Miami and at Real Club Valderrama in Andalucia last week add more confidence, but DeChambeau was quick to point out this week's conditions will be different.

  "Heavy wind is a great way to describe it. It's thick," DeChambeau said of the Northern Ireland gusts. "It just -- OK, I'm not going to say that. You know, it's one of those situations where you're in the environment and you go, 'All right, this feels like a 15-mile-an-hour wind.' And all of a sudden it plays like a 30-mile-an-hour wind, and you're like, what the heck? So I think that's the trick of it. If you grew up here, you play a lot of golf over here, you get quite comfortable and knowledgeable about that. I just need more reps in a sense.

  "Hopefully I've had enough reps to be able to do that. I played well in some windy conditions. Andalucia was a good test last week in the first few days. Played well. But again, the wind is different from there to here. We'll see how it goes this week. Hopefully it stays warm and my body stays warm."

  A big finish in Ireland, coupled with top fives at The Masters and PGA Championship, would likely solidify DeChambeau's spot on Keegan Bradley's roster for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

  DeChambeau said he's highly aware of the Ryder Cup decision -- he is currently ranked 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking -- but he is counting on the self-applied pressure to bring out his best this week.

  "I feel pressure every week to play good for not only Keegan but myself, and the people that I love online and everybody that's watching me. I absolutely feel pressure," he said.

  "I put enough pressure on myself already. For my country, for the game of golf, I do ... but I'm excited for the challenge. It makes me more excited. When I feel those nerves, I'm like, OK, let's go. It's like I'll walk through the fire rather than run away from it for me."

  --Field Level Media

The 153rd Open Championship begins at 1:35 a.m. ET Thursday morning at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

• Below are the scheduled pairings for the opening round and viewing options.

  Thursday's featured groups

  (All times ET)

  4:58 a.m. -- Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Jon Rahm

  5:09 a.m. -- Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

  9:48 a.m. -- Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose

  9:59 a.m. -- Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland

  10:10 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood

  First round tee times

  (All times ET; (a) amateur)

  1:35 a.m. -- Padraig Harrington, Nicolai Hojgaard, Tom McKibbin

  1:46 a.m. -- Louis Oosthuizen, Guido Migliozzi, K.J. Choi

  1:57 a.m. -- Cameron Smith, Marco Penge, Justin Hastings (a)

  2:08 a.m. -- Jason Day, Taylor Pendrith, Jacob Skov Olesen

  2:19 a.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Daniel van Tonder, Ryan Peake

  2:30 a.m. -- Max Greyserman, Byeong Hun An, Niklas Norgaard

  2:41 a.m. -- Jordan Smith, Haotong Li, Dustin Johnson

  2:52 a.m. -- Darren Clarke, Davis Riley, Lucas Herbert

  3:03 a.m. -- Kevin Yu, Julien Guerrier, Mikiya Akutsu

  3:14 a.m. -- Thomas Detry, Chris Gotterup, Lee Westwood

  3:25 a.m. -- Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young, Mackenzie Hughes

  3:36 a.m. -- Thorbjorn Olesen, Matthew Jordan, Filip Jakubcik (a)

  3:47 a.m. -- Henrik Stenson, Stephan Jaeger, Sebastian Soderberg

  4:03 a.m. -- Kristoffer Reitan, Martin Couvra, Adrien Saddier

  4:14 a.m. -- Takumi Kanaya, Justin Walters, Bryan Newman (a)

  4:25 a.m. -- Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick

  4:36 a.m. -- Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Akshay Bhatia

  4:47 a.m. -- Sam Burns, Aldrich Potgieter, Brooks Koepka

  4:58 a.m. -- Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Jon Rahm

  5:09 a.m. -- Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

  5:20 a.m. -- Corey Conners, Wyndham Clark, Tom Hoge

  5:31 a.m. -- Denny McCarthy, Nico Echavarria, Patrick Reed

  5:42 a.m. -- Matt Schmid, Ryggs Johnston, Richard Teder (a)

  5:53 a.m. -- Dylan Naidoo, Darren Fichardt, John Axelsen

  6:04 a.m. -- Justin Suh, Oliver Lindell, Jesper Sandborg

  6:15 a.m. -- Sadom Kaewkanjana, Riki Kawamoto, Sampson Zheng

  6:26 a.m. -- Stewart Cink, Matteo Manassero, Marc Leishman

  6:47 a.m. -- Francesco Molinari, Jesper Svensson, Connor Graham (a)

  6:58 a.m. -- Zach Johnson, Daniel Hillier, Daniel Brown

  7:09 a.m. -- Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Ethan Fang (a)

  7:20 a.m. -- Laurie Canter, Elvis Smylie, Sergio Garcia

  7:31 a.m. -- Andrew Novak, Matthieu Pavpn, Matt Wallace

  7:42 a.m. -- Davis Thompson, Dean Burmester, Rikuya Hoshino

  7:53 a.m. -- Si Woo Kim, Shugo Imahira, Sebastian Cave (a)

  8:04 a.m. -- Michael Kim, Bud Cauley, John Parry

  8:15 a.m. -- Matt McCarty, Shaun Norris, Angel Hidalgo

  8:26 a.m. -- Keegan Bradley, Sungjae Im, Daniel Berger

  8:37 a.m. -- Rasmus Hojgaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Romain Langasque

  8:48 a.m. -- Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala, Harry Hall

  9:04 a.m. -- Justin Leonard, Thriston Lawrence, Antoine Rozner

  9:15 a.m. -- J.T. Poston, Chris Kirk, Carlos Ortiz

  9:26 a.m. -- Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Joaquin Niemann

  9:37 a.m. -- Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee

  9:48 a.m. -- Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose

  9:59 a.m. -- Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland

  10:10 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood

  10:21 a.m. -- Harris English, Nick Taylor, Tony Finau

  10:32 a.m. -- Lucas Glover, Johnattan Vegas, Tom Kim

  10:43 a.m. -- Brian Campbell, John Catlin, Frazer Jones (a)

  10:54 a.m. -- Nathan Kimsey, Jason Kokrak, Cameron Adam (a)

  11:04 a.m. -- Daniel Young, Curtis Luck, Curtis Knipes

  11:16 a.m. -- Younghan Song, George Bloor, O.J. Farrell

  How to watch The Open Championship

  (All times ET)

  1:30-4 a.m.: Stream on Peacock

  4 a.m-3:30 p.m.: USA Network, NBC Sports app, Peacock, Fubo

  3:30-6 p.m.: Golf Channel

  --Field Level Media

Four birdies in his final eight holes swept Xander Schauffele to a two-shot victory in The Open Championship last year at Royal Troon in Scotland.

• The World No. 3 hopes to catch a similar wave as he attempts to defend the Claret Jug this week at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

  "There's typically a good wave and a bad wave in an Open Championship," Schauffele said Tuesday. "You just keep your fingers crossed that you're in the good wave and try and play well. If you're not, fight for your life and make the cut and then try and do something on the weekend."

  No golfer has won back-to-back Opens since Ireland's Padraig Harrington (2007-08) did it right after Tiger Woods (2005-06).

  Schauffele, 31, dealt with a rib injury earlier this year and has yet to win a tournament this season after collecting his first two major victories last year at the PGA Championship at Valhalla and the Open. He matched his best finish of the season last week with a T8 at the Genesis Scottish Open.

  Although he's had success with links-style golf, he admits he still has a lot to learn.

  "I think even from last week to this week, we actually have divots flying this week. Last week was ball mark-less and divot-less," Schauffele said.

  "Just learning how the ball reacts on certain grass, if it's going to jump or not, when you're sitting in like a fescue bush or weed, how that's going to come out, how much it's going to grab your club. There's so many things you still learn on the way.

  "More of it's just the mentality. I think, when you say links golf, it comes with weather, and when you play in bad weather, you have to have a good attitude."

  Schauffele played well at the first three majors this year, tying for eighth at the Masters, for 28th at the PGA and for 12th place at the U.S. Open.

  He tied for 41st the last time the Open was played at Royal Portrush in 2019.

  "Coming here, I feel like I'm trying to relearn this golf course, get comfortable with certain sight lines, some blind tee shots," he said.

  "I think, if I can get myself in the mix is when I think I would have an advantage. That's where my biggest edge would be. I can lean on experience at other points in time, but I think the most fun and the biggest advantage I would have is coming down the stretch if I can get close to that lead.

  Schauffele is paired with Spain's Jon Rahm and reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun for the first two rounds.

  --Field Level Media

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler isn't intimidated by playing links golf this week at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

• He doesn't care that he's the favorite and won't dwell on it if he doesn't walk away with his fourth major championship this week. Or if he does happen to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon.

  What really matters to him, what really fulfills him, he told reporters Tuesday, is doing the right thing for his family.

  "Every day when I wake up early to go put in the work, my wife thanks me for going out and working so hard. When I get home, I try and thank her every day for taking care of our son," Scheffler said. "That's why I talk about family being my priority because it really is. I'm blessed to be able to come out here and play golf, but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or my son, that's going to be the last day that I play out here for a living.

  "This is not the be all, end all. This is not the most important thing in my life. That's why I wrestle with, why is this so important to me? Because I'd much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. At the end of the day, that's what's more important to me."

  Scheffler has 16 PGA Tour wins, including three this season. He won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in May to go with his two Masters championships. And he appreciates those wins but still struggles with finding the lasting satisfaction in all of it.

  "That's something that I wrestle with on a daily basis," Scheffler said. "It's like showing up at the Masters every year; it's like why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win The Open Championship so badly? I don't know because, if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes."

  Still, the competitive fire is stirring in Scheffler, 29, this week at the Open, which begins Thursday. He practiced Monday at Royal Portrush and walked away with an assessment that many competitors -- especially his fellow Americans unaccustomed to the links -- probably don't share.

  "Golf course is good. It's in really good shape," he said. "Seems like a fun place to play."

  While others are worrying about trajectory and putting spin on the ball, Scheffler is less scientific in his approach to the links course.

  "I just try to have a picture of what type of shot I want to hit and match the club to that. There's not a lot of thought that goes into it for me; it's more just getting a picture of what I think is correct and making sure it's not too far off with my caddie Ted (Scott), and then we go from there and I try and hit the shot," he said.

  Scheffler has limited experience on the links courses but does not feel overmatched.

  "I think it fits my strengths because I like to do things very creatively, and I think out here you kind of have to," he said. "I think each year we come over, I start learning a bit more and more."

  He continued: "There's a lot of different shots you have to play. It's an interesting golf course, and from what I've seen, it seems to be really fun to play and very fair."

  And at this stage of his career, fun and family are everything for Scheffler. Even if the fun of winning doesn't stick with him very long.

  "If I come in second this week or if I finish dead last, no matter what happens, we're always on to the next week. That's one of the beautiful things about golf, and it's also one of the frustrating things because you can have such great accomplishments, but the show goes on. That's just how it is," he said.

  "It's great to win tournaments. It's a lot of fun. Sometimes the feeling only lasts about two minutes, it seems like, when you're celebrating, and then it's like, OK, now you've got to go do all this other stuff, which is great, but sometimes the feeling of winning only lasts a few seconds. It's pretty exciting and fun, but it just doesn't last that long."

  --Field Level Media

Jon Rahm knows it has been 37 years since a Spaniard won The Open Championship, when Seve Ballesteros lifted his third Claret Jug in 1988.

• Rahm has had several close calls, with ties for second in 2023, third in 2021 and seventh last year. He also finished T11 the last time it was played at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland in 2019.

  "I can't really give you an answer why (it has been so long)," Rahm said Tuesday as he prepares for the start of the 153rd Open on Thursday.

  "The way Seve played, it's a bit of a different way to play on links courses. I think one of the reasons he was so loved in Great Britain and Ireland, because I don't think anybody conceived that that was the way to play links golf -- just hit driver everywhere and somehow find a way to put it on the green and chip and putt. It was not normal, which is a testament to how good of a golfer he was."

  Countrymen Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia made strong runs at The Open Championship. Olazabal twice finished third and Garcia twice finished second.

  "I think Sergio and I are obviously more known for being ball strikers," Rahm said. "Ollie, besides the driver, everything else was outstanding, one of the best iron players ever. Incredible golf game, both Ollie and Sergio; it's just never easy to win an Open."

  Rahm, 30, returns to Royal Portrush in top form, having finished in the top 15 at all three majors so far and coming off a runner-up showing last week at the LIV Golf Andalucia event in his home country.

  Rahm played through blustery conditions at Real Club Valderrama and carded a 6-under 65 on Sunday to finish one stroke behind winner Talor Gooch.

  "We had quite a bit of wind, and that's always going to be a very hopeful week to get ready for (the Open)," Rahm said. "The other thing Valderrama does, it's challenging. Every golf shot you hit there, it's very little margin of error, so it does prep you mentally to get ready for a challenge that a major can be. Not to the fullest, but it's challenging enough to where you have to think about it quite a bit. With the wind obviously there's differences, but in those two aspects it helps."

  Rahm has enjoyed success in Ireland, including his first title on the European Tour at the Irish Open in 2017, which he won again two years later.

  "From what I've played in Ireland, I think maybe the designs -- or I really don't know how to explain it best, but it just seems they use the contours in different ways," the two-time major winner said. "All the courses seem to be in a way where there's a few more dunes."

  Rahm is paired with defending champion Xander Schauffele and reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun for the first two rounds.

  --Field Level Media

The PGA Tour plans to bring a tournament back to Trump National Doral near Miami in 2026, Sports Business Journal reported Monday.

• Per Sports Business Journal, a new tournament at Doral is expected to be scheduled for the week of April 27-May 3, in between the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (a team event) and the Truist Championship (a signature event). The title sponsor and tournament organizer are still unknown.

  The resort, purchased by the Trump Organization in 2012, hosted a PGA Tour event from 1962-2016 on its famed "Blue Monster" course. During Donald Trump's first run for president, the tour moved the WGC-Cadillac Championship from Doral to Mexico City, at a time when other golf governing bodies also attempted to distance themselves from the then-candidate.

  LIV Golf has played at Trump Doral for four straight years since its inception in 2022, but the course is not on the 2026 LIV schedule, leaving open the possibility that the PGA Tour could return.

  Trump has met with representatives from the PGA Tour and LIV, including Tiger Woods and PGA commissioner Jay Monahan, regarding the rival sides' attempt to merge. The PGA Tour returning to a Trump-owned property could be seen as an olive branch to the president, who has supported the Saudi-backed LIV circuit since its inception.

  Doral hosted the Doral Open from 1962-2006 before it became a permanent venue for the WGC-Cadillac Championship from 2007-16.

  --Field Level Media

The Open Championship prize pool will remain at $17 million this week, the first time in 13 years the R&A has not increased the purse.

• Sunday's winner at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland will earn $3.1 million, the same amount Xander Schauffele took home last year at Royal Troon in Scotland.

  The runner-up will earn $1.759 million with third place receiving $1.128 million.

  The U.S. Open's payout was unchanged this year, too, maintaining the same $21.5 million purse it had in 2024.

  The largest purse on the PGA Tour is $25 million for The Players Championship.

  --Field Level Media

England's Paul Waring announced Monday he will not participate in The Open Championship this week because of a shoulder injury.

• Davis Riley will replace Waring in the final major of the year that will start Thursday at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

  Waring, 40, is a two-time winner on the European Tour who finished tied for 19th at The Open in 2008. He has played in a major seven times, with five of them at The Open.

  Riley, a native of Mississippi, has two victories on the PGA Tour, the most recent at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May of last year. The 28-year-old will participate in all four major tournaments during the same calendar year for the first time.

  Riley finished tied for second at the PGA Championship in May. He missed the cut at The Open in 2023.

  Waring announced his withdrawal one day after four-time major winner Ernie Els did the same when Si Woo Kim of South Korea was added to the field.

  --Field Level Media

Missing the cut at the past two majors hasn't dimmed Shane Lowry's confidence as the Irishman returns to the scene of his greatest triumph this week.

• Lowry followed up a T42 at the Masters with early exits at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

  He won his lone major at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush -- site of this week's championship -- in Northern Ireland in 2019, finishing 15-under to defeat Englishman Tommy Fleetwood by a whopping six strokes.

  "I kind of pride myself on not missing cuts, especially in the big events. I feel like I can always get myself there or thereabouts in the big events and I have done over the last number of years," Lowry said Monday at Royal Portrush.

  "But I've been consistently quite good this year. I've given myself a couple of chances to win, which I'm very disappointed that I didn't, but we've got a few months left to kind of redeem myself and get a win on the board."

  Lowry, 38, who skipped last week's Genesis Scottish Open, is ranked No. 18 in the world and has four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. He tied for second at the Truist Championship in May and was second at Pebble Beach in February.

  "No matter how well you're playing the season, if you don't have a win beside your name at least once, you don't really class it as being very good," Lowry said. "Yeah, but my season has been going -- I've got a good FedExCup ranking (17th) at the minute and things have been going all right."

  Lowry said he'd "spent the last six years" trying to figure out why everything came together for him at Royal Portrush in 2019.

  "I'd been playing pretty solid, like really good golf the whole year," he said. "Then I came to a place that I knew and I loved, and it just all clicked. I was playing some of the best golf of my life."

  At last year's Open at Royal Troon, Lowry held the lead entering Saturday's round and finished sixth.

  Despite the disappointing results at the last two majors, Lowry said he feels like he is a better golfer now than he was six years ago.

  "But it doesn't mean I'm going to go out and win by seven this year instead of six. It's just golf; that's the way it is," he said.

  "I think, as a golfer, you always have to look at it as the glass is always half full. You can't look at it any other way. If you look at it any other way, you're going to be in trouble. So I try and look at it that way all the time."

  --Field Level Media