Top five groups for the 2023 British Open

Rory McIlroy (Ed Balaun, Wikimedia Commons)

The fourth and final major of the 2023 golf season takes place on Thursday from Royal Liverpool in England. Here are the top five pairings in this fascinating field.

5) Victor Hovland/Tony Finau/Justin Thomas

In this group we have the world number five in Viktor Hovland of Norway, world number 16 Tony Finau of Salt Lake City, Utah, and two-time major champion and world number 20 Justin Thomas of Louisville, Kentucky. Hovland won the Memorial this year, and Finau won the Mexico Open. Thomas’s two major titles have come at the PGA Championship, where he won in 2017 and 2022.

4) Patrick Cantlay/Brooks Koepka/Hideki Matsuyama

Here we have Cantlay of Long Beach, California, the world number four, Koepka, of West Palm Beach, Florida, the five-time major champion, and Matsuyama of Matsuyama, Japan, the 2021 Masters champion. Koepka’s majors came at the 2017 and 2018 United States Open, and the 2018, 2019, and 2023 PGA Championship.

3) Scottie Scheffler/ Tommy Fleetwood/Adam Scott

There are two Masters champions in this group. They are Adam Scott of Adelaide, Australia, who won in 2013, and world number one Scottie Scheffler of Ridgewood, New Jersey, who won in 2022. They are joined by Fleetwood of Southport, England, who is 21st in the world.

2) Cameron Smith/Xander Schauffele/Wyndham Clark

Here we have two major champions and an Olympic gold medalist. Smith of Brisbane, Australia won the 2022 British Open, Clark of Denver, Colorado won the 2023 United States Open, and Schauffele of San Diego, California won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.

1) Rory McIlroy/ Jon Rahm/Justin Rose

This elite group has four-time major champion and world number two Rory McIlroy of Holywood, Northern Ireland, 2021 United States Open champion, 2023 Masters champion, and world number three Jon Rahm of Barrika, Spain, and Rose of London, England won the 2013 United States Open, and gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Rose meanwhile won on the PGA Tour earlier this year at Pebble Beach. McIlroy’s major titles came at the 2011 United States Open, 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship, and 2014 British Open. McIlroy is the favourite heading into Liverpool, after winning the Scottish Open last week.

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