Alastair Grant/Associated Press

It's a chance for major redemption for many of the top pro golfers at the 2017 British Open. The tournament, which begins Thursday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, is the third men's golf major of the year and follows the U.S. Open in June, which saw many of the biggest names in the sport struggle mightily.

OddsShark's favorites for the British Open are Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth. Johnson missed the cut at the U.S. Open, while Spieth finished tied for the 35th at one over. The winner was Brooks Koepka at 16 under, which matched the record set by Rory McIlroy in 2011.

McIlroy, as well as the likes of Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson (last year's British Open winner) missed the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open. They will hope for better outcomes in England.

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Live streaming of the tournament will be available at TheOpen.com. Thursday's coverage on the Golf Channel begins at 1:30 a.m. ET and ends at 4 p.m. ET.

Thursday Weather

There is a mix of rain, wind and sunshine in the forecast, which means tee times could have a big impact on how golfers perform at this tournament.

Inclement weather interrupted the proceedings on the final practice day on Wednesday, per the Press Association's Andy Hampson:

Here is the GolfChannel.com's assessment of the conditions for the opening round:

"According to The Open weather forecast, Thursday should produce 'a damp start but soon brightening up for, or soon after the start of play with much fresher conditions arriving.'

"The afternoon should be clear with spells of sunshine then turn cloudier in the evening with a 30 percent chance of showers. Winds will gust up to 20-25 miles per hours and the maximum temperature will be 65 degrees."

It appears most of the players will escape stormy weather in the first round, but those teeing off early might have to deal with cool, damp conditions. In any case, mild temperatures will keep players fresh through a long round of golf.

Notable Thursday Tee Times

For a list of full tee times, head to PGA.com.

Henrik Stenson, Si-Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth 4:47 a.m. ET

Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas 4:58 a.m. ET

Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood 5:09 a.m. ET

Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia 8:04 a.m. ET

Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Paul Casey 8:26 a.m. ET

Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel 9:48 a.m. ET

Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood 9:59 a.m. ET

Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman 10:10 a.m. ET

While established names like McIlroy, Johnson and Speith will get their fair share of attention, less ubiquitous names could be the golfers to really follow during the British Open. One such player is Jon Rahm, who has soared from No. 137 in the World Golf Rankings at the start of 2017 to No. 7 heading into golf's third major.

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

The 22-year-old Spaniard has seven top-10 finishes on the year in the PGA Tour, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. While he missed the cut at the U.S. Open and the Memorial Tournament just before it, he dominated the competition to win the Irish Open on the European Tour earlier in July.

He has the second-best odds in the tournament according to OddsShark, tied with Rickie Fowler. Rahm also gets help from an unusual source. His mental coach of three years, Joseba del Carmen, is a former bomb-disposal expert, per GolfChannel.com's Ryan Lavner. In the high-pressure world of golf where concentration and precision are paramount, that's some good company.

Another golfer to watch is Tommy Fleetwood. He's a Southport native and all set to be a big fan favorite in this competition. According to Karen Crouse of the New York Times, Fleetwood used to sneak onto the Royal Birkdale to play as a youth, where he would "hit a shot or two during the members' cocktail hour." Now, the 26-year-old Englishman will be on the Royal Birkdale as one of the favorites to win the competition.

Dave Thompson/Associated Press

Fleetwood has shown plenty of consistency in recent months, finishing fourth at the U.S. Open, winning the HNA Open de France on July 2 and finishing 10th at the Irish Open. He will look to become the first Englishman to win The Open Championship since Nick Faldo in 1992.

Another relatively young player still looking for a maiden major is Fowler, who came oh-so-close at the U.S. Open only to end up finishing fifth. The result was Fowler's first strong finish at a major since his remarkable run in 2014, when he finished in the top five in all four men's golf majors.

Currently ranked 10th in the world, the 28-year-old Californian is excited to play at the Royal Birkdale, a course that he believes fits his skill set.

"It sets up good for someone who drives straight and putts well, and they're my two favourite clubs," he said, per the Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson.



Fowler and the other golfer's vying for the Claret Jug will have to use their entire toolkit to win this competition, with a talented field and potentially adverse conditions putting them to the test.