The world’s best golfers have made the trip across the pond and find themselves on Scotland’s East Coast in the town of Carnoustie for The Open Championship – golf’s most historic major. This will be the eighth time The Open Championship has been played at Carnoustie, with the first being in 1934 and the most recent coming in 2007. Read along for all you need to know before play gets started Thursday morning!

The Course

The Carnoustie Championship Course is regarded by most to be the most difficult course in the Open rotation. However, as players prepare to tackle this links beast, they are seeing Carnoustie like never-before after an abnormally dry summer in Scotland has left most of the course in a light shade of brown, playing extremely firm and fast. Now of course each year we, the fans, look forward to a different brand of golf at The Open, bump and runs, slower greens and mother nature at her worst, but the abnormally dry conditions at Carnoustie have even the world’s best golfers scrambling to figure out how to navigate this year’s unusual Open. Just how firm and fast is Carnoustie playing you ask? Tiger Woods was quoted saying that the “fairways are faster than the greens right now” – something tour pro’s and fans alike are not used to seeing.

Nevertheless, each player will play the same golf course and on said golf course, there are some gruesome holes, including the closing stretch from 15 through 18.

Hole 15 – 472 yards – Par 4 – “Lucky Slap”

This longish par-4 plays into the prevailing wind, making it a true brute, often leaving players with 200 yards plus into the green. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that this green is guarded by a large mound, leaving players with a blind shot as they approach the green.

Hole 16 – 245 yards – Par 3 – “Barry Burn”

Another long hole that plays into the prevailing wind, leaving many players to hit long irons and even woods into this green that is guarded by deep pot bunkers short of the green.

Hole 17 – 460 yards – Par 4 – “Island”

This par-4 features a pair of meandering creeks that create an island landing zone that forces players to be deadly accurate off the tee. On approach this green, like many others is protected by pot bunkers and fescue.

Hole 18 – 499 yards – Par 4 – “Home”

The site of the biggest collapse in Open Championship history and maybe in the history of major golf, as in 1999 Jean Van de Velde needed just a double bogey to capture the Claret Jug, but he ultimately had to make a daunting 7-footer for triple bogey to get into a playoff. This par-4 is long, plays into the prevailing wind, features out of bounds up the entire left side and beyond the green, and not to mention this will be the 72 and (possibly) deciding hole of a major championship.

The Field

With it being a major championship, you can expect all the biggest names in golf to be there, from JT to Rory, DJ and of course Tiger, who returns to the Open after a 2-year hiatus. Scroll down to read more about the big names in Nick’s picks but stay right here if you want to learn a little bit more about some of the cool stories in this week’s field;

Sandy Lyle

Suiting up in his 43 consecutive Open Championship, Sandy won’t be at the top of anyone’s projection board but the Scotsman will certainly draw loads of support from the home crowd as he plays in what may be his final Open.

Jovan Rebula

Making his Open Championship debut by way of winning last month’s British Amateur Championship, Rebula is the nephew of past Open champ Ernie Els. The Auburn standout will hope to make the cut and celebrate his 21st birthday in style by playing Sunday at The Open.

Sergio Garcia

You may remember back in 2007 at Carnoustie when Sergio all but handed The Open Championship to Irishman Padraig Harrington. Should Garcia be in the mix come Sunday at Carnoustie, you can believe his demons from the past may peak their head out down the stretch.

Adam Hadwin

The only Canuck in the field, Hadwin is playing in his second Open Championship after missing the cut at last year’s Championship. Hadwin has had a solid year making 16 of 17 cuts to go along with three top 10’s and seven top 25’s. However, Hadwin has not finished in the top-40 since May and his mid-iron play has been poor, which is sign for trouble at Carnoustie. It looks like Canada will have to keep waiting for its first Claret Jug winner.

Tiger Woods

Give the Big Cat some press here because, spoiler, he isn’t getting any love in Nick’s picks. Plagued by an inability to hit fairways this year, Tiger will be in tough this week with the course playing extremely firm and fast – making accuracy off the tee that much more important. The one saving grace for Tiger that may have him around on the weekend will be the ability to hit less than driver all week if he wants.

Nick’s Picks

Marc Leishman (40-1)

The big Australian has been a force in recent Open Championships, racking up 3 top 6 finishes in the last 4 Open’s. A well-known ball striker, with an ability to control his ball flight and a terrific short game, Leishman provides betters with great odds, especially for someone with his pedigree.

Tommy Fleetwood (20-1)

One story line that has gained a lot of traction heading into this week’s Open is Fleetwood holding the course record at Carnoustie, after he shot a blistering 63 in the Dunhill Links Championship. The gritty Englishman has been a staple in big tournaments over the past year and I would expect nothing less this week.

Brooks Koepka (20-1)

The back-to-back US Open Champ has the chance to do something impressive this week and pick up his third major before the age of 28. Koepka has made it well-known that he plans to take advantage of his length this week, taking an aggressive approach and hitting a lot of drivers. If he can keep it straight, Koepka’s length off the tee makes him a favourite.

Russell Knox (66-1)

Coming on the heels of his Irish Open Victory just a couple weeks ago, Knox has been putting up an impressive season on the Euro Tour and gets to Carnoustie as one of the hottest players on the planet. The Scotsman will have support that is second to none this week at Carnoustie and could just be the first Scottish golfer to win the Open since 1999