Drama has not been in short supply off the course in recent times as men’s professional golf suffered a seismic split before an equally shocking possibility of peace.
On the course, in this year’s majors at least, that has not been the case as Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark won the Masters, US PGA and US Open respectively with relatively little final-round fuss.
All that could be about to change if the R&A get their way in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where changes made since Rory McIlroy’s victory in 2014 are intended to produce a dramatic climax to the year’s final major.
Most significantly, a new par-three – the 17th – has been created as part of a re-routing of the closing stretch which could play a large role in deciding who is left holding the Claret Jug on Sunday evening.
“One of the sentiments that was felt after 2006 and 2014 was that the course could do with more drama,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said.
“It was actually the club that came to us and said there was a lot of talk around flipping what was the 15th up on to the dunes. We came and looked at it and we thought, ‘Yeah, that could really add some drama’. There is a lot of jeopardy there.
“I think it fits well. It also enabled us to reconfigure the final bit around there. So the final four holes will be a 610-yard par five, 480-yard par four, 136-yard par three and a 620-yard par five.
“A lot of things could happen on that (stretch) and I think that drama will unfold come Sunday.”
A finish similar to Sunday’s Scottish Open would certainly be welcome, McIlroy defying strong winds to birdie the last two holes and defy home favourite Robert MacIntyre the title at the Renaissance Club.
It completed the ideal preparation for the world number two as he bids to end a major drought which stretches back to the 2014 US PGA, victory at Valhalla coming just seven days after winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Even the weather seems to have turned in McIlroy’s favour as a hot spell gave way to wetter conditions which have always suited his powerful game and high ball flight.
“I was expecting it to be more like 2006 when I was looking at it five, six weeks ago, and I was excited about that,” Slumbers added. “But every time I get excited about a nice brown golf course, mother nature comes in.
“But on the other side of it, the rough has come up. When it was brown the rough had burnt out and it was a different golf course. My worry is now what the forecast is for Saturday and Sunday. It’s going to be wet or it’s going to be very wet. We’ll see.”
With McIlroy cancelling his formal pre-tournament press conference for the second major running, it has fallen to other players to speak about his chances, with two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington asked if a return to Hoylake could be the missing link to major success.
“Yes, of course it could,” Harrington said. “He’s got to like the golf course. He’s got to be familiar with the course. Everything seems to be setting up nicely in terms of conditions and what we are expecting.
“And the other thing is that he can clearly win any week, so you have two things going for him.
“There’s no doubt that pretty much everybody will look at the leaderboard to see how he is getting on. He’s a person of interest.”
McIlroy boosts Race to Dubai hopes with early lead in DP World Tour Championship
Rory McIlroy made a dream start to the DP World Tour Championship, taking a share of the lead after the opening round in Dubai.
The Northern Irishman, a two-time winner at the event, holds a 1,758-point lead over Thriston Lawrence and needs to finish 11th or higher to guarantee top spot in the season-long standings for the third successive year.
He carded a five-under 67 in the first round, improving on his mixed results on the first nine to finish with six birdies and a lone bogey.
A brilliant long putt on the 17th topped off his impressive performance, giving him a share of the early advantage with Tyrrell Hatton, who held onto the lead by making par on the 18th.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his final round, McIlroy was asked if it bothered him that the media holds him to a higher standard during big events.
"Depends what day it is!" he said. "I think overall I have to take it as a compliment.
"It's a testament to the body of work that I've put in over the course of my 17 or 18-year career that I am held to such a high standard. And I want to live up to those standards too. It's not just everyone else. I fully expect to turn up to tournaments and have a chance to win every time. I'm under no illusions that I'm not going to win every time.
"But with how many chances I've given myself, especially this year, it feels like I probably should've won a couple of more times. But saying that, if I go on and have another three good days here and end the year with a win, I'll look back on 2024 pretty fondly.
"I thought I did well [on Thursday]. The golf course is playing a little bit tougher than it has done in previous years with how thick the rough is. I made some nice pars around the middle of the round when a couple of holes could have got away from me, and then I finished well with the birdies on 14 and 17."
Last week's Abu Dhabi Championship winner, Paul Waring, sits one shot back in third, while Billy Horschel and Adam Scott are among those to card a three-under 69.
Meanwhile, Lawrence, the only player who could catch McIlroy in the Race to Dubai, struggled on Thursday and sits six back after he finished one over on 73.
'I have to take care of myself' – McIlroy to play reduced schedule in 2025
Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will play a reduced schedule of 22 or 23 events in 2025, acknowledging he must take care of his body after a challenging year.
McIlroy endured a series of agonising near misses in 2024, most notably when losing to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open in June, when he made three bogeys in his last four holes to relinquish the lead.
While the Northern Irishman has not won a major crown since 2014, he is closing in on a sixth Race to Dubai crown, holding a lead of 1,785 points over Thriston Lawrence ahead of this week's DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
As McIlroy prepares for his 18th season as a professional, he has revealed his intention to skip a series of events, mostly those staged in the United States.
"If I can trim it down to 22 or 23, that will be good for me in the long run," McIlory said in an interview with BBC Sport.
"I have to remember I'm 35, I'm knocking on a little bit – I have the grey hairs to prove it.
"At 35, I've been on tour for 17 or 18 years, I'm not slowing down but I just have to take care of myself and my body a little bit more.
"I'm not going to miss these tournaments in the Middle East, I'm not going to miss Wentworth, the Irish Open or the Scottish Open.
"There were a few events I played in America this season that I don't typically play, and I think that's where I'm going to have to trim a little bit."
McIlroy has previously won the DP World Tour Championship on two occasions, beating Justin Rose by two strokes in 2012 and edging out Andy Sullivan in 2015.
Pain of U.S. Open defeat still 'stings', concedes McIlroy
Rory McIlroy said his heartbreaking loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open in June still "stings", after assessing his 2024 season.
McIlroy's campaign will come to an end in the Middle East this week, with the Northern Irishman closing in on a sixth Race to Dubai crown at the DP World Tour Championship.
He currently holds a lead of 1,785 points over Thriston Lawrence, and knows a top-11 finish on Sunday will guarantee him the season-long crown for the third year in a row.
Should McIlroy emerge victorious, it will also be his sixth Race to Dubai title and match Seve Ballesteros' total, just two away from record eight-time winner Colin Montgomerie.
But when reflecting on 2024, he said that after making three bogeys in his last four holes to lose the US Open to DeChambeau, the battle scars still remain.
"Incredibly consistent again. I've been really proud of that over the past few years," he said in Wednesday's pre-tournament press conference in Dubai.
"But then, at the same time, thinking about the ones that have got away.
"I should be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I'm not, so that stings and that's something that I've had to come to terms with. But at the same time, I've got plenty more opportunities in the future.
"But I really just tried to focus on the positives this year of consistently performing at the highest level. You know, still having three wins with an opportunity to get a fourth here this week, to win another Race to Dubai title.
"Did I achieve every goal I set myself this year? Probably not, but I still consider it a successful season."
McIlroy won once on the DP World Tour when he claimed the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
But he has also had four runner-up finishes, including the US Open, the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down and the BMW PGA.
Winning a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy and matching his father’s golfing hero, Ballesteros, still means a lot to him.
"I guess I am a little too young to remember a lot of Seve's career and things that he did. Seve is almost like, not a mythical character to me, but was just a little bit before my time," he said.
"But he was my dad's favourite player. The immense impact he had on European golf from a Ryder Cup and from what he did for the European Tour, he means a lot to the overall game of golf but specifically in this part of the world and on this tour.
"To draw level with him and to have a career that can somewhat stack up against his is very cool."
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