Streeter Lecka/Getty Images The 2018 British Open kicks off on Thursday as the world's best golfers go in search of the third major of the season at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland. Jordan Spieth claimed victory in 2017 at Royal Birkdale to pick up his third major win. He is one of the favourites for victory at the 147th edition of the tournament. However, the oddsmakers have Dustin Johnson leading the way as he bids to win the Open Championship for the first time in his career. Here's a look at the updated odds, courtesy of OddsShark.com. Dustin Johnson 12-1 Justin Rose 16-1 Rickie Fowler 16-1 Rory McIlroy 16-1 Jordan Spieth 20-1 Video Play Button Videos you might like Jon Rahm 20-1 Tommy Fleetwood 20-1 Justin Thomas 22-1 Brooks Koepka 22-1 Tiger Woods 22-1 Henrik Stenson 28-1 World No. 1 Johnson is yet to claim the Claret Jug but has spoken about how much he would enjoy winning the trophy. "I'd love to add my name to the Claret Jug," he told Today's Golfer. "It's a tournament I'd love to win. I'd be on there forever, and it's one of our four big tournaments, and I feel like I have a great chance of being able to do that. If you look at the American winners, they're all good players and all good putters." The 34-year-old has a mixed record at the tournament and will also have to avoid a collapse similar to the one he suffered at the 2018 U.S. Open. Johnson went into the weekend four strokes clear at the top of the leaderboard but had to settle for a third-place finish. Rory McIlroy is also among the favourites, and he is a player who knows all about winning the British Open after landing it in 2014. However, he has not won a major since and has struggled this year. He managed fifth at the 2018 Masters but failed to make the cut at the Players Championship and at Shinnecock Hills. The Northern Irishman has offered his view ahead of The Open: Spieth is also one to watch, as he defends the title he won at Royal Birkdale. The American has had a disappointing season by his standards and was another player who missed the cut at the U.S. Open. However, that does not appear to have affected his confidence ahead of the tournament, per Steve Scott at The Courier. "I've no doubt I'm capable of coming back and defending," he said. "I've proved to myself I can go from two missed cuts to winning the week after in previous years." Carnoustie has a reputation for being one of the most brutal courses on the PGA Tour due to its imposing bunkers and challenging final four holes. Its fearsome reputation means the world's best will need to be at the top of their game to clinch the title.<doc-sep>GOLF'S biggest and best Major is back in town just in time for the summer heatwave. But how do you pick a winner from a 156-strong field at tough Carnoustie? And can the Europeans finally win a big one back from the Americans, who hold all four of the game's top trophies? 4 Rory McIlroy could capture his second Open championship this week in Carnoustie Credit: Getty Here, SunSport's men on the ground have picked out their top tips for the week. Check out the best odds supplied to back a winner and raise a glass as they raise the Claret Jug. Who is your favourite to win the Open? David Facey: Rickie Fowler - 18/1 Shown himself to be a links specialist and due a Major. 4 Rickie Fowler has his eyes on the Claret Jug Credit: Getty Latest golf news Pictured TIGER TALK Woods tells bone cancer sufferer, 10, to 'stay strong' after posing on crutches SPACE CADET Bryson DeChambeau reveals bizarre encounters with UFOs in Texas garden WHAT A CHAM Funny moment Koepka shows disdain for golf rival Bryson's 'bulls***' on live TV KNEE KOEP Koepka says fan tried to bash surgically-repaired knee during Kiawah Island chaos Pictured PHIL'D OUT Mickelson's stunning body transformation thanks to fasting and 'special coffee' OLDEST CHAMP Who is Phil Mickelson's wife Amy, and how old is PGA Championship winner? Phil Thomas: Jon Rahm - 25/1 Won the Irish Open a couple of years ago in foul weather and is ready for a breakthrough in the big ones. Andy Dillon: Sergio Garcia - 30/1 Who can forget his play-off defeat to Padraig Harrington? Now a Masters champ and new dad, the time is right for redemption. Sam Morgan: Rory McIlroy - 20/1 Swing looks on-song this week and actually comes in a bit under the radar. Slower greens could help his up-and-down putting. Where should my money go for an outsider? DF: Thorbjorn Olesen - 100/1 PT: Eddie Pepperell - 175/1 4 Englands Eddie Pepperell could be the best home hope Credit: PA AD: Marc Leishman - 45/1 SM: Beau Hossler - 175/1 Who could be my each way banker? DF: Sergio Garcia - 30/1 PT: Patrick Reed - 40/1 4 Sergio Garcia lost the Open in a play-off to Padraig Harrington the last time it was held at Carnoustie Credit: AP AD: Justin Rose - 16/1 SM: Francesco Molinari - 33/1<doc-sep>WILD CARD Jordan Spieth … Even though he's the defending champion, he's competing at Carnoustie for the first time and in a field that has exhibited much better form as a whole than he has over the last three months. Consider that he's gone seven starts (since the back-door solo third at the Masters) without a top-20 finish. The drought includes a T41 at THE PLAYERS and a missed cut at the U.S. Open. When humming along as he has for the majority of his career, he should be a target on courses like this week's that rewards guile and moxie, but in a week that favors bombers when he arrives without his A-game, it'd be surprising if he contends. NOTE: The remaining 135 golfers in the field of 156 are segregated as seen below. Those who competed professionally last week are noted. Of the 26 golfers who finished inside the top 25 at the 2017 Open Championship, 19 played the week prior. Champion Jordan Spieth did not, but the majority proves that sharpening the skill set immediately in advance was of value. CHALLENGERS If you'd prefer, label them as the snubs from the Power Rankings. Each could appear and few would argue. Ranked in order of Rob's confidence (* - competed last week) *Ian Poulter Tony Finau *Russell Knox *Andy Sullivan Tiger Woods (2000/2005/2006 champ) Webb Simpson *Matthew Fitzpatrick *Charley Hoffman Keegan Bradley Xander Schauffele Henrik Stenson (2016 champ; nursing a sore elbow) *Rafa Cabrera Bello *Kiradech Aphibarnrat *Lee Westwood Kevin Na Adam Scott *Matt Kuchar *Ryan Moore Jimmy Walker Charl Schwartzel Brandt Snedeker *Louis Oosthuizen (2010 champ; withdrew during the first round of the Scottish Open with a sore right shoulder) SLEEPERS Because it's a major, loosen the restraints as to who qualifies as a Sleeper. Ignore current world ranking, distant victories in majors and recent inclusion in team competition. Ranked in order of Rob's confidence (* - competed last week; ^ - debutant) Thorbjørn Olesen *Ryan Fox Russell Henley Emiliano Grillo *Chris Wood *Peter Uihlein *Alexander Björk *Paul Dunne Anirban Lahiri *Thomas Pieters *Dylan Frittelli Byeong Hun An *^Matt Wallace *Matthew Southgate Jason Dufner *Julian Suri *^Jazz Janewattananond *Hao Tong Li *Nicolas Colsaerts *Grant Forrest QUESTION MARKS This cuts both ways. For golfers who have yet to scale to a position from which they can disappoint, they remain full of promise. On the other side of the ledger are talents, many of whom household names, who present negatively for any number of reasons. The doubt includes, but is not limited to, form upon arrival, course fit, history in majors, overall career trajectory and relative inexperience in the face of higher expectations. ARROW UP Ranked in order of Rob's confidence (* - competed last week; ^ - debutant) *^Luke List ^Patrick Cantlay *Eddie Pepperell Brian Harman *Danny Willett *Chesson Hadley *Brandon Stone *^Jorge Campillo Shane Lowry *^Austin Cook Bubba Watson ^Beau Hossler Stewart Cink Charles Howell III Gary Woodland *^Jess Dantorp Michael Hendry Retief Goosen *^Kelly Kraft *Matt Jones *^Andrew Landry ^Ryan Armour *^Bronson Burgoon Adam Hadwin Yuta Ikeda *^Gavin Green ^Shota Akiyoshi Tom Lewis Sang-Hyun Park ^Minchel Choi ^Abraham Ancer ^Danthai Boonma Shaun Norris Kodai Ichihara *^Michael Kim *Sung Kang Jason Kokrak *^Erik van Rooyen *Jack Senior ^Ryuko Tokimatsu ^Brady Schnell *^Ashton Turner ARROW DOWN Ranked in order of Rob's confidence (* - competed last week; ^ - debutant) *Ross Fisher Jhonattan Vegas Daniel Berger *Cameron Smith Kevin Kisner *Martin Kaymer *Kyle Stanley *Padraig Harrington *Bryson DeChambeau (withdrew during the opening round of the John Deere Classic with soreness in his right shoulder) *Si Woo Kim *George Coetzee Pat Perez *Kevin Chappell Brendan Steele *Chez Reavie Oliver Wilson ^Marcus Kinhult ^Cameron Davis ^Lucas Herbert *Scott Jamieson *^Jordan L. Smith *Ernie Els Satoshi Kodaira *Patton Kizzire *Jonas Blixt *Hideto Tanihara *^Shubhankar Sharma *Brett Rumford *Fabrizio Zanotti *Zander Lombard *Bernhard Langer *Alexander Levy ^James Robinson *Tom Lehman *Yusaku Miyazato Rhys Enoch Masanori Kobayashi ^Haraldur Magnus ^Marcus Armitage ^Masahiro Kawamura ^Sean Crocker ^Thomas Curtis *Mark Calcavecchia David Duval *Sandy Lyle *Todd Hamilton *Darren Clarke AMATEURS It's been only three years since Paul Dunne shared the 54-hole lead in The Open Championship at St. Andrews as an amateur. He'd eventually tumble to T30 with a final-round 78, which isn't bad, but consider that he didn't finish inside the top-three alternates. With red numbers in their finales, Jordan Niebrugge (T6), Ashley Chesters (T12) and Ollie Schniederjans (T12) stole the thunder. The aggregate success also was an anomaly. In 2014, 2016 and 2017 combined, only Alfie Plant made the cut at The Open. He finished T62 last year. In the two recent editions of the championship at Carnoustie, only one amateur survived the cut: Rory McIlroy (T42) in 2007. Ranked in order of Rob's confidence (with World Amateur Golf Ranking; ^ - debutant) ^Nicolai Hojgaard (9) ^Jovan Rebula (55) ^Lin Yuxin (141) ^Sam Locke (439) NOTE: Joaquin Niemann and Doc Redman forfeited exemptions into The Open Championship when each turned pro earlier this year. Neither requalified. Paul Lawrie (back, foot), Bernd Wiesberger (wrist) and John Daly (knee) withdrew due to injuries. You're unlikely to find someone under the age of 25 who has any memory of the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, so the youngest generation of golf fans can't comprehend the real-time emotion of Jean Van de Velde's meltdown on the final hole of regulation. For the rest of us, that still overshadows the fact that Van de Velde, Paul Lawrie and Justin Leonard completed regulation in a whopping 6-over 290. And while Lawrie had help en route to victory, even devotees of the sport might not know that he still owns the PGA TOUR record for the largest come-from-behind win. He was positioned 10 strokes back at the conclusion of 54 holes. There's no question that Carnoustie's reputation precedes itself. The scoring average on the par 71 in 1999 was 5.816 over par, which remains the highest in relation to par of all courses since records were first maintained in earnest in 1983. The second-easiest hole that week was the par-3 13th, which averaged 0.029 strokes over par.<doc-sep>Tournament History Organised by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (the R&A), the Open Championship is the third major of the year and it's the oldest of the four staged. Often referred to as the British Open, it's the only one of the four majors to be played outside of the USA. Willie Park won the inaugural tournament way back in 1860 and this will be the 147th edition. Venue Championship Course, Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. Course Details Par 71, 7,402 yards Hole averages in 2007 - 73.38 Carnoustie is one of the three courses used at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship each autumn (when it's played as a par 72) and it's been used for the Open Championship seven times previously (listed below). The last occasion was in 2007 when Padraig Harrington edged out Sergio Garcia in a playoff but it's best remembered as the venue where Jean Van De Velde lost the plot in 1999, when on the 72nd hole he blew a three-shot lead after finding the Barry Burn. Often referred to as Carnasty, Carnoustie is a long course with only two par fives. Out of Bounds is in play more often than at other Open venues and Carnoustie is famous for its treacherous pot bunkers. It's arguably the hardest venue on the Open roster. The course record of 63 was set last year by Tommy Fleetwood during the ADLC but that needs to be put into context. The course is set up as easily as it can be to aid the amateurs in the field for that event. There's no rough to speak off and the pin placements are as easy as they can make them. We'll see a very different set up this week and the word is, it's running even faster than Gullane (host of last week's Scottish Open) and that was like a road at times! Brandt Snedeker isn't the longest but he's just tweeted that he hit a drive on 18 over 400 yards in practice! Just hit one 427 on 18 @TheOpen .. Guys would be hitting it in the burn in front of green 450+.. Carnoustie is baked out but greens are pure.. Never seen an Open this firm.. Will be an awesome week if it stays like this.. pic.twitter.com/AUXyPGF4iu ? Brandt Snedeker (@BrandtSnedeker) July 14, 2018 Open winners at Carnoustie 1931 Tommy Armour +8 1937 Henry Cotton +6 1953 Ben Hogan -6 1968 Gary Player +1 1975 Tom Watson -9 (playoff) 1999 Paul Lawrie +6 (playoff) 2007 Padraig Harrington -7 (playoff) For more on the course, please see the course guide on The Open website here. Weather Forecast TV Coverage The live coverage on Sky starts as early as Monday with Live at The Open at 16:00 and the live coverage of the event itself starts at 6:30 on Thursday morning. Last Ten Winners 2017 - Jordan Spieth -12 2016 - Henrik Stenson -20 2015 - Zach Johnson -15 (playoff) 2014 - Rory McIlroy -17 2013 - Phil Mickelson -3 2012 - Ernie Els -7 2011 - Darren Clarke -5 2010 - Louis Oosthuizen -16 2009 - Stewart Cink -2 (playoff) 2008 - Padraig Harrington +3 What Will it Take to Win the Open Championship? Here's a quick look at the stats from the last 10 Opens and from the last two editions at Carnoustie. Average key stats for the last 10 Open winners Driving Accuracy - 30.4 Driving Distance - 28.8 G.I.R - 16.1 Scrambling - 19.2 Putting Average - 10.1 All Round - 7.3 Average key stats for the top-five at Carnoustie in 2007 Driving Accuracy - 41.6 Driving Distance - 20.6 G.I.R - 17.8 Scrambling - 9.8 Putting Average - 20.2 All Round - 10 Average key stats for the top-five at Carnoustie in 1999 Driving Accuracy - 37.4 Driving Distance - 51.4 G.I.R - 31.8 Scrambling - 4.8 Putting Average - 22.6 All Round - 18.8 Looking at the 10-year average rankings, no single stat stands out and the All Round stat has the lowest average ranking but if we dig a little deeper, and look to the more recent editions, Scrambling looks like the key stat. In 2011 and 2012, both Darren Clarke and Ernie Els won the title ranking 61st for Scrambling but the five winners since have ranked first, fourth, second, seventh and fourth. Padraig Harrington topped the Scrambling stats when he won at Carnoustie in 2007 and look at the average ranking of the top-five in 1999 - just 4.8! Scrambling is the key stat. The current Scrambling rankings on the PGA Tour are here, and the current European Tour Scrambling rankings are here. Is There an Angle In? With three very different approaches to Open Championship preparation getting the same glorious result, very recent history suggests what you did last week is fairly unimportant. Zach Johnson won the 2015 Open a week after finishing third in the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour, Henrik Stenson beat Phil Mickelson in that tremendous duel at Royal Troon, seven days after he'd finished 13th in the Scottish Open, and Spieth won 12 months ago having taken a three-week break following victory in the Travelers Championship. Play in the States, play in Scotland or take a break? All three preparations have paid dividends in the last three years but I'm in absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the best preparation is playing in the Scottish. The Scottish Open has been played on a links course since 2011 and it's proved to be a fabulous warm up event. Matt Kuchar, who finished fourth in the Scottish Open 12 months ago, came agonisingly close to winning the Open, trading at just 1.341/3 in-running, and seven of the top-ten at Birkdale last year had played at the Dundonald Links the week before. The first four home at Troon in 2016 had all played at Castle Stuart the week before and six of the last eight Open winners have now warmed-up in the Scottish Open.<doc-sep>
*EW Terms: 1/5 Odds | 8 Places Dave Tindall: Back Tiger Woods @ 30/1 Tiger has finished T7 (1999) and T12 (2007) in the two Opens he's played at Carnoustie. Not amazing by his own ridiculously high standards but enough to show that the course isn't his nemesis or anything. I'm particularly drawn to Tiger saying the burnt-out fairways this year remind him of St. Andrews in 2000 and Hoylake in 2006. Woods won both those two events, famously hitting just one driver in 2006 as he played for position and relied on his long irons. The three-time Open champion, who was fourth at the Quicken Loans on his last start, may not be the player he was but his numbers are still very impressive this season - 4th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 3rd for Strokes Gained: Around-The-Green. Tiger loves the creative test of an Open and his short game is strong enough to perform what his mind is telling him. There are plenty of great players who can get the better of him on long, American tracks these days but something different is required this week and this is the major where 40-somethings can still win (Stenson, Els, Clarke in the last seven editions; Zach Johnson was 39). The industry-high 30/1 makes definite appeal for what could be one of the great Open stories. Paul Krishnamurty: Back Henrik Stenson @ 25/1 When the Open was last held at Carnoustie, two world-class contenders with impeccable links and Open pedigree fought out the play-off. For my money, identifying those attributes are the key again because, of all the Open courses, this is arguably the toughest challenge. Among those boasting such credentials, Henrik Stenson looks the most reliable. Winner with a scoring record at Troon in 2016 - a fourth Open top-three finish - he's finished no worse than 11th in the last four majors and this is arguably a more favourable set-up than any of them. A fundamental challenge at Carnoustie, especially in these fast conditions, will be threading a way between the penal bunkers. Stenson's three-wood is ultra reliable in that respect, as demonstrated by outstanding driving accuracy and GIR stats dating back several years. Notably, he's also been scrambling well all year and that is usually the most important Open stat. Steve Rawlings: Back Patrick Reed @ 40/1 At just 27 and with only four Open Championships under his belt, Patrick Reed might not quite fit the perfect Open champion profile but what he lacks in age and links experience, he more than makes up with guts, determination and a will to win. Nicknamed Captain America, Reed is already famed for his fighting qualities at the Ryder Cup but he's so much more than just a match play specialist. With his bullish, confident manner, he's a bit of a maverick and he's not popular but he has every right to believe in himself. There were no tournament invites in the early days for Reed, he earned his PGA Tour card by playing well in events he had to Monday qualify for and he's outperformed everyone else's expectations at every step of his career since. The world laughed when he declared himself a top-five player after he'd won the WGC-Cadillac Championship in 2014 (his third PGA Tour title in eight months!) but he's getting there now. He's currently ranked number 12 and after his comfortable win at Augusta in April, he's now a major champion to boot. Reed's tied 23rd at the Scottish Open last week was the perfect warm-up and after finishing second at the US PGA Championship, first at the US Masters and fourth at the US Open, he's starting to look like a major championship specialist. He's a combined 17-under-par for those last three majors and that's nine strokes better than any other player on the planet. Since 1974, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Mark O'Meara, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods have all won the Open in the same year they won the Masters, and Reed looks a cracking each-way bet at 40/1 to join the club. Joe Dyer: Back Thorbjorn Olesen @ 100/1 The rest of the team are playing the big names this week so I am going to chance my arm with a 100/1 shot who may not be such long odds for quite a while.