BRING ON BIRKDALE

ROYAL BIRKDALE welcomes 156 of the world’s best golfers for the 146th Open Championship this week – all dreaming of getting their hands on one of sport’s most iconic trophies.

Anyone who tees it up on Thursday could get their hands on the Claret Jug and become the Champion Golfer of the Year by Sunday night.

Favourites Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia will be looking to add to their Major hauls.

But this could be the time for Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Jon Rahm or Rickie Fowler to land one of golf’s big four events for the first time.

When The Open last rolled into Birkdale nine years ago, Padraig Harrington became the first European to win the event there.

Legends of the game like Lee Trevino, Johnny Millar, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson have also triumphed on the Southport links.

The test facing the best players in the world this week measures an eye-watering 7,156 yards.

Anyone who can get close to 280 – level par – over four rounds will think that they have a sniff of a chance. Irishman Harrington – who was three over par when he won in 2008 – loves playing the course.

Ahead of his return he said: “I think everybody likes Birkdale.

“It’s a solid golf course. There’s no trickery about it.

“A lot of times, links can be very tricky. Luck can come into it a lot.

“The fairways and greens are pretty flat. It’s all there in front of you and I think people appreciate that.

“If you want to still be strong on Sunday, you’ve got to take it easy from Thursday onwards.” DON’T RULE OUT CLARET JUG NO.3: See Pages 2-3