Rory McIlroy will be roared on in his homeland as the 153rd British Open gets underway at Royal Portrush on Thursday as world number one Scottie Scheffler seeks his first Claret Jug.The world number three has not won a tournament since lifting the Claret Jug a year ago and has not even managed a top-five finish in 12 tournaments this year.

The crowds following Rory McIlroy for three days at Royal Portrush have been enormous, a reminder of the expectations. On banners and flags and buntings of grandstands there are images of the claret jug,

Let’s take a look at my top three matchup bets for this week’s action.

A two-story mural depicting a precocious Rory McIlroy in 2012 has seen such better days that you can barely tell it is the Grand Slam golfer anymore

The simplest one is to wager on the in-form golfers, a list led by Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. McIlroy may get the nod over Scheffler in some circles this week because he's playing on home soil at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

However, Scheffler has also never had a bad performance with top 25s in each of his four British Open starts, ahead of the Open Championship 2025. His solid, but not exceptional, performances have done little to deter him per sportsbooks,

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was a fountain of introspection Tuesday at his news conference entering the 2025 British Open, calling golf "an unsatisfying venture" and admitting that he often wrestles with motivation.

Rory McIlroy is returning to the iconic course 60 miles from his home, this time with a Masters green jacket. Lowry is in good form. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler seems as powerful as ever. And now Jon Rahm is playing at an elite level again in time for a tough links test.