The claret jug. Champion Golfer of the Year. A $3.1 million payday. They’re all on the line Sunday at Royal Portrush as the final round of the 2025 British Open plays out in front of an exuberant crowd in Northern Ireland.
Needless to say, it won’t be hard to figure out who that crowd is rooting for. Just listen to the murmurs as Rory McIlroy does nearly anything on the course: walk, wave, breath. Unfortunately for those fans, the local boy sits six strokes off the lead. And it’s a lead held by the best player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, playing some of the best golf of his career.
Rory will need that crowd support to help push him on what will be a difficult challenge since Scheffler looks laser focused on winning a second major in 2025 and get three-quarters of the way to the career Grand Slam.
Indeed, it’s hard to imagine Scheffler falling back to the pack as he takes a four-shot lead into the final round. After six straight pars to start his third round, he kicked things into gear to finish with a four-under 67, his fourth career bogey-free round in a major.
Scheffler will play in the final twosome along with China’s Haotong Li, a longshot looking for surprise glory. McIlroy will be paired with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick in the penultimate group.
Sunday’s tee times have yet to be released; we’ll update this post when they become official.
Sunday’s tee times have yet to be released; we’ll update this post when they become official. Here are the expected twosomes for Sunday.
Riki Kawamoto Matti Schmid
Phil Mickelson Dean Burmester
Andrew Novak Sebastian Soderberg
Jacob Skov Olesen Shane Lowry
Viktor Hovland Antonie Rozner
Ryggs Johnston Adrien Saddier
Jordan Spieth Romain Langasque
Matthew Jordan Francesco Molinari
Justin Leonard Sergio Garcia
Sepp Straka Thomas Detry
Jason Kokrak Aaron Rai
Jhonattan Vegas Daniel Berger
Henrik Stenson Maverick McNealy
Jordan Smith Takumi Kanaya
Rickie Fowler Sam Burns
Jon Rahm Akshay Bhatia
Thriston Lawrence Jesper Svensson
Nathan Kimsey Bryson DeChambeau
Tony Finau Hideki Matsuyama
Tommy Fleetwood Justin Thomas
John Parry J.J. Spaun
Christiaan Bezuidenhout Keegan Bradley
Lucas Glover Marc Leishman
Dustin Johnson Sungjae Im
Lee Westwood Corey Conners
Justin Rose Harry Hall
Kristoffer Reitan Ludvig Aberg
Matt Wallace Oliver Lindell
Brian Harman Wyndham Clark
Robert MacIntyre Rasmus Hojgaard
Russell Henley Nicolai Hojgaard
Tyrrell Hatton Xander Schauffele
Chris Gotterup Harris English
Matt Fitzpatrick Rory McIlroy
Scottie Scheffler Haotong Li
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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
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MORE GOLF DIGEST BRITISH OPEN COVERAGE
British Open 101: Answering all your frequently asked questions
How to watch the British Open on TV and streaming
Tee times for the first and second rounds
Former gang member, convict is the most unlikely golfer in the 153rd Open
Power Rankings: Every player in the field at Royal Portrush
Video: Every hole at Royal Portrush
History of the claret jug: 153 years of triumphs, dents and lots of drinking
How does a golf course earn ‘Royal’ status?
10 shots tour pros need to succeed at links golf
The golf ball rollback: 3 outcomes that all appear a bit messy
The best British Opens, ranked
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
