Martin Dempster's Open preview

Transcript

00:00Hello, it's Martin Dempster, the Scotsman Golf Correspondent here, coming to you from

00:06Royal Portrush on the eve of the 153rd Open Championship. It's the second time the Claret

00:16Jug event has been held here on the County Antrim Coast. The event returning after a

00:23long absence in 2019 when Shane Lowry stormed to a six-shot success to land his maiden major victory.

00:36Rory McIlroy, who comes from about an hour away on the outskirts of Belfast, he suffered a

00:44disappointing miscut on that occasion. He's a man on a mission this week, appearing here in front of

00:49his home fans as a career Grand Slam winner, of course. Scott Scheffler, the world number one,

00:56he didn't even play in 2019. He wasn't really on the radar as a top player then, but he's come back

01:02here. He's here this time and given the way he's played over the last few years, he's probably going

01:09to be the man to beat this week. Justin Rose, who finished runner-up to Xander Shoffley at Troon 12

01:18months ago. He's going to be someone probably to keep an eye on. And of course, Bob McIntyre has come

01:26here on the back of a runner-up finish in the US Open at Oakmont on his major debut here in 2019.

01:34He finished joint sixth and he's used that as a springboard to become a top 20 player in the world.

01:42We've got four Scots in the field this week, with McIntyre being joined by hotel planner,

01:47tour professional Daniel Young and two amateurs, Conor Graham from Blair Gowrie and Cameron Adam

01:54from Royal Burgess in Edinburgh. And they'll be trying to keep the silver medal for the leading

01:59amateur in Scottish hands for the second year in a row after Nairn's Callum Scott claimed that prize

02:06at Troon 12 months ago. It looks as though we could be in for a disrupted opening day with heavy rain

02:16and potentially some thunderstorms in the forecast. To keep up to date with everything about the 153rd

02:22and open, log on to scotsman.com or buy the Scotsman.