Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England (7,312 yards, Par 72)

Network, Times: ESPN: Thursday 4 AM-3 PM ET/3 AM-2PM CT

Friday: 4 AM-3 PM ET; 3 AM/2 PM CT

Saturday: 7 AM-2:30 ET/6 AM-1:30 PM CT

Sunday: 6 AM-1:30 PM ET; 5 AM-12:30 PM CT.

Defending Champion: Philip Alfred Mickelson

Weather: Thursday: 75 Sunny, Wind, ESE 6 MPH; Friday: 77, 30% Isolated, wind SE 18 MPH; Saturday: 70, 90% rain, wind NE 8 MPH; Sunday: 69, partly cloudy, 10% rain, wind: WNW 10 MPH.

Key groups:

8:37 AM (Liverpool time)/ 3:37 AM ET/2:37 CT: Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler, Sergio

9:04 AM LT/4:04 ET/3:04 CT: Tiger, Angel Cabrera, Henrick Stenson

9:26 AM LT/ 4:26 AM ET/3:26 CT: Rory, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth

9:48 AM LT/ 4:48 AM ET/3:48 CT: Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen

1:38 PM LT/8:38 AM ET/7:38 CT: Martin Kaymer, Jason Day, Zach Johnson

2:05 PM LT/9:05 AM ET/8:05 CT: Phil, Ernie, Bubba

2:27 PM LT/ 9:27 AM ET/8:27 CT: Adam, Justin Rose, Duf 

Key holes:

No.1: 457 yard, Par 4:

It’s a dogleg left with plenty of bunkers affecting a players’ drive and his approach. The green is sloped severely. Par is a good score here.

No. 9: 198, Par 3:

The wind is often coming in from right to left on this hole and with an 18 MPH on Friday the hole will be very difficult for the players to birdie, let along par. There are two deep bunkers in front guarding the green and one in back. There is brush on the right and left. There may be a lot of up and down attempts on this hole to save par. Birdie would be a bonus.

No.14: 456 yards, Par 4

Called “arguably” the finest hole on the links, this hole is a pretty severe dogleg left. The big hitters may try to carry the bunkers on the left side of the fairway to have a short iron in, but it’s asking a lot. The green is small and there is trouble all around it.

No.18 560 yards, Par 5

Three shot hole for many players, particularly if they are hitting driving irons off the tee. Tiger Woods used mostly two irons and only one driver in winning here in 2006 with a score of -18. The course is greener and with the rain the roll may not be as good, so driver may be required. There are 82 bunkers on Royal Liverpool, which is hosting its 12th Open Championship, and there are plenty around this green. This is a dogleg right and the players will try to drive it to the dogleg. The second shot will be a layup for the shorter guys, but longer players may want to challenge the greens though there are deep bunkers in front and to each side. Could be pretty risky. This could add to some excellent drama come Sunday.

Contenders:

Phil:

Phil closed with a 65 last week at the Scottish Open to finish -8, tied for 11th, 8 strokes behind Justin Rose. But I like that. If you remember, Phil won the Scottish last year the week before capturing his first Open Championship at Muirifield. Phil has five majors to his credit. He’s now very confident on the Open courses after last year, his putter is starting to wake up and his work around the greens is the best in the business. At 44 years old, like Phil to be right there on Sunday.

Graeme McDowell:

Excellent driver of the ball and has an excellent short game to go along with it. Graeme just won the Alstom Open de France two weeks ago with a score of -5 at the France thing. If Graeme’s putter is clicking, the 34 year old could very easily win this thing.

Adam Scott:

Adam is just in a great place with his personal life and his golf game. He won at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in late May in Fort Worth which gave him titles in all four legs of Texas. He’s won the Shell Houston, the Valero Texas Open, the Byron Nelson and now the Crowne Plaza. That’s spectacular. He won in Australia twice last fall. He’s just on top of his game. Plus he got married to his longtime girlfriend about a month and half ago. Adam is a guy I can see winning multiple majors. He’s got the game and now the mentality. He’s a tremendous driver of the ball and he can really get hot with the putter. Adam finished second at the Open two years ago and third last year. Like his chances.

Brandt Snedeker:

Brandt has changed coaches from Todd Anderson to Butch Harmon, the best in the business. While Brandt had a good relationship with Anderson, he wants to win majors and Harmon can get him there. Brandt has been playing better lately with a tie for ninth in the U.S. and a good showing at the Quicken Loans at Congressional. where he finished T-21. Brandt looks like he’s hitting it pretty well off the tee. When his putter is on, he can putt with the best in the world. I see that happening this weekend for the 33 year old Sneds.

Sergio Garcia:

He’s played well at the Open, falling short in a playoff to Padraig Harrington in 2007, and he’s playing very well right now. Really like Sergio to do well. If he putts well, the 34 year old Spaniard could very well be the winner on Sunday.

Tiger just not there yet. I’m not sure when he will be, but it’s too soon for him to win another major. He’s still in the hunt for Jack’s record, but he’s got a lot of work to do. If any golfer can do it he can, but he’s got to get more competition in and stay healthy.

Projected winner:

 Adam Scott:

Adam, who turned 34 today, will  capture his second major on his way to what I expect to be multiple major titles.