TROON, Scotland (AP) — Here's a look at the British Open going into the last round at Royal Troon. Golf's oldest championship is at this century-old links of Royal Troon for the 10th time. This is golf's final major championship of the year. Here's what you need to know:
Golf coverage in the United States comes on nearly six hours before the leaders tee off.
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Jon Rahm of Spain on the driving range as he prepares for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland putts on the putting green ahead of a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
The 2023 Open Champion Brian Harman of the United States speaks during a press conference at the media tent for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Wang Jeunghun of Korea walks on the 5th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Justin Thomas of the United States chips onto the 6th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tiger Woods of the United States chips onto the 6th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Max Homa of the United States tees off the 6th hole during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays of of a bunker on the 14th hole during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Justin Thomas of the United States plays out of a bunker on the 5th hole during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Ryosuke Kinoshita of Japan walks out of a bunker on the 13th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tiger Woods of the United States puts on the 10th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tiger Woods, center, watches US golfer Justin Thomas, right, during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
Tiger Woods during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
Tiger Woods during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
Tiger Woods during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
The final round starts on USA Network from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. EDT, and then shifts over to NBC Sports from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The R&A also has free streaming that provides coverage of a featured group, along with coverage of the famous “Postage Stamp” eighth hole at Royal Troon.
Billy Horschel has a one-shot lead over six players — PGA champion Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, Daniel Brown in his major champion debut, Russell Henley, Sam Burns and Thriston Lawrence. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was another shot back.
Burns and Lawrence each shot 65, Henley a 66. They had the advantage of playing most of their round before the weather turned nasty.
Horschel and rest felt like they were in a survival test because of steady rain and then wind into their faces on the brutal back nine of Royal Troon.
Of the contenders, Brown in the biggest surprise because he is playing his first major.
Scheffler started as the overwhelming favorite as the No. 1 player with six wins against the strongest fields this year. Going into the final round, BetMGM Sportsbook has him listed at +375 behind the new favorite, Xander Schauffele at +350.
Billy Horschel is listed at +450, followed by Justin Rose and Sam Burns at +800.
Daniel Brown is at +2000 and Shane Lowry is +2500.
The R&A has raised the prize fund to $17 million, up $500,000 from last year but still the lowest of the four major championships.
R&A CEO Martin Slumbers is not about to get into an arms race with the other majors.
First prize gets $3.1 million. Here's how the payout works for the rest of the top 10:
Second place: $1,759,000
Third place: $1,128,000
Fourth place: $876,000
Fifth place: $705,000
Sixth place: $611,000
Seventh place: $525,000
Eighth place: $442,500
Ninth place: $388,000
Tenth place: $350,600
Try your hand at more than 100 years of history in golf at the Open Championship.
“That’s the hardest nine holes I think you could ever play in golf right now." — Dustin Johnson.
“Look, there’s no doubt I’m going to go out there tomorrow thinking I can win the tournament, but it’s just hard right now. Ten minutes ago I had to putt for par on the 18th green, and I’m here talking to you guys now trying to figure out how I shot 77 in my own head.” — Shane Lowry.
“Something I’ve done this year is sort of manifest seeing myself holding the trophy before I go to sleep every night, envisioning myself holding that trophy on 18, walking out to the crowd and being congratulated as Open champion. That’s what I’m going to do again tonight, and hopefully that comes true tomorrow. If it doesn’t, then I’ll get back on the grind and work harder to get back in a position like this again.” — Billy Horschel.
— A win by Justin Rose would set the record for longest span between winning majors at 4,053 days. The record currently belongs to Julius Boros, who went 4,026 days between winning the 1952 U.S. Open and the 1963 U.S. Open.
— An American winning would give them a sweep of the majors for the first time since 1982 when Craig Stadler won the Masters, Tom Watson won the U.S. Open and British Open, and Raymond Floyd won the PGA Championship. So far this year, Scottie Scheffler has won the Masters, Xander Schauffele the PGA Championship and Bryson DeChambeau the U.S. Open.
— Daniel Brown or Justin Rose winning would make them the first player to win the British Open after going through 36-hole qualifying since Paul Lawrie in 1999.
Rory McIlroy goes another year without a major. What next?
In helps being on the good side of the draw
House for sale — in the middle of a championship course
A look back at the previous nine British Opens at Troon
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Jon Rahm of Spain on the driving range as he prepares for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland putts on the putting green ahead of a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
The 2023 Open Champion Brian Harman of the United States speaks during a press conference at the media tent for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Wang Jeunghun of Korea walks on the 5th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Justin Thomas of the United States chips onto the 6th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tiger Woods of the United States chips onto the 6th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Max Homa of the United States tees off the 6th hole during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays of of a bunker on the 14th hole during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Justin Thomas of the United States plays out of a bunker on the 5th hole during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Ryosuke Kinoshita of Japan walks out of a bunker on the 13th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tiger Woods of the United States puts on the 10th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Tiger Woods, center, watches US golfer Justin Thomas, right, during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
Tiger Woods during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
Tiger Woods during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
Tiger Woods during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
What's in a name change, after all?
The water bordered by the Southern United States, Mexico and Cuba will be critical to shipping lanes and vacationers whether it’s called the Gulf of Mexico, as it has been for four centuries, or the Gulf of America, as President Donald Trump ordered this week. North America’s highest mountain peak will still loom above Alaska whether it’s called Mt. Denali, as ordered by former President Barack Obama in 2015, or changed back to Mt. McKinley as Trump also decreed.
But Trump's territorial assertions, in line with his “America First” worldview, sparked a round of rethinking by mapmakers and teachers, snark on social media and sarcasm by at least one other world leader. And though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put the Trumpian “Gulf of America” on an official document and some other gulf-adjacent states were considering doing the same, it was not clear how many others would follow Trump's lead.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum joked that if Trump went ahead with the renaming, her country would rename North America “Mexican America.” On Tuesday, she toned it down: “For us and for the entire world it will continue to be called the Gulf of Mexico.”
Map lines are inherently political. After all, they're representations of the places that are important to human beings — and those priorities can be delicate and contentious, even more so in a globalized world.
There’s no agreed-upon scheme to name boundaries and features across the Earth.
“Denali” is the mountain's preferred name for Alaska Natives, while “McKinley" is a tribute to President William McKinley, designated in the late 19th century by a gold prospector. China sees Taiwan as its own territory, and the countries surrounding what the United States calls the South China Sea have multiple names for the same body of water.
The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century, although usage of “Gulf” and “Arabian Gulf” is dominant in many countries in the Middle East. The government of Iran — formerly Persia — threatened to sue Google in 2012 over the company’s decision not to label the body of water at all on its maps. Many Arab countries don’t recognize Israel and instead call it Palestine. And in many official releases, Israel calls the occupied West Bank by its biblical name, “Judea and Samaria.”
Americans and Mexicans diverge on what to call another key body of water, the river that forms the border between Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Americans call it the Rio Grande; Mexicans call it the Rio Bravo.
Trump's executive order — titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness” — concludes thusly: “It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes. The naming of our national treasures, including breathtaking natural wonders and historic works of art, should honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans in our Nation’s rich past.”
But what to call the gulf with the 3,700-mile coastline?
“It is, I suppose, an internationally recognized sea, but (to be honest), a situation like this has never come up before so I need to confirm the appropriate convention,” said Peter Bellerby, who said he was talking over the issue with the cartographers at his London company, Bellerby & Co. Globemakers. “If, for instance, he wanted to change the Atlantic Ocean to the American Ocean, we would probably just ignore it."
As of Wednesday night, map applications for Google and Apple still called the mountain and the gulf by their old names. Spokespersons for those platforms did not immediately respond to emailed questions.
A spokesperson for National Geographic, one of the most prominent map makers in the U.S., said this week that the company does not comment on individual cases and referred questions to a statement on its web site, which reads in part that it "strives to be apolitical, to consult multiple authoritative sources, and to make independent decisions based on extensive research.” National Geographic also has a policy of including explanatory notes for place names in dispute, citing as an example a body of water between Japan and the Korean peninsula, referred to as the Sea of Japan by the Japanese and the East Sea by Koreans.
In discussion on social media, one thread noted that the Sears Tower in Chicago was renamed the Willis Tower in 2009, though it's still commonly known by its original moniker. Pennsylvania's capital, Harrisburg, renamed its Market Street to Martin Luther King Boulevard and then switched back to Market Street several years later — with loud complaints both times. In 2017, New York's Tappan Zee Bridge was renamed for the late Gov. Mario Cuomo to great controversy. The new name appears on maps, but “no one calls it that,” noted another user.
“Are we going to start teaching this as the name of the body of water?” asked one Reddit poster on Tuesday.
“I guess you can tell students that SOME PEOPLE want to rename this body of water the Gulf of America, but everyone else in the world calls it the Gulf of Mexico,” came one answer. “Cover all your bases — they know the reality-based name, but also the wannabe name as well.”
Wrote another user: “I'll call it the Gulf of America when I'm forced to call the Tappan Zee the Mario Cuomo Bridge, which is to say never.”
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - Peter Bellerby, the founder of Bellerby & Co. Globemakers, holds a globe at a studio in London, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
FILE - A boat is seen on the Susitna River near Talkeetna, Alaska, on Sunday, June 13, 2021, with Denali in the background. Denali, the tallest mountain on the North American continent, is located about 60 miles northwest of Talkeetna. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
FILE - The water in the Gulf of Mexico appears bluer than usual off of East Beach, Saturday, June 24, 2023, in Galveston, Texas. (Jill Karnicki/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)