British Open '24: How to watch the final round, the favorites and more about golf's oldest event

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.

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)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes pounded northern and southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 60 people, including almost two dozen children, according to local hospitals and health officials, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “no way” he would halt Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory before Hamas is defeated.

At least 50 people, including 22 children, were killed in the strikes around Jabaliya in northern Gaza, according to local hospitals and Gaza's Health Ministry. At least ten other people were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, the European Hospital reported.

The strikes came a day after Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage, a gesture that some thought could lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

But Netanyahu said Tuesday he would not halt Israel's war in Gaza — even if Hamas releases its hostages — dimming hopes for a truce.

The Israeli military refused to comment on the strikes, but had warned residents of Jabaliya to evacuate late Tuesday night due to militant infrastructure in the area, including rocket launchers.

In Jabaliya, rescue workers smashed through collapsed concrete slabs using hand tools, lit only by the light of cellphone cameras, to remove bodies of some of the children who were killed.

In comments released by Netanyahu’s office Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. ... It means destroying Hamas.”

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in a 2023 intrusion into southern Israel. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,800 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians.

Israel’s offensive has obliterated vast swathes of Gaza’s urban landscape and displaced 90% of the population, often multiple times.

The strikes came amid hopes that Trump's visit to the Middle East could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

International food security experts issued a stern warning earlier this week that the Gaza Strip will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn’t lift its blockade and stop its military campaign.

French President Emmanuel Macron strongly denounced Netanyahu’s decision to block aid from entering Gaza as “a disgrace” that has caused a major humanitarian crisis.

“I say it forcefully, what Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is doing today is unacceptable,” Macron said Tuesday evening on TF1 national television. “There’s no medicine. We can’t get the wounded out. Doctors can’t get in. What he’s doing is a disgrace. It’s a disgrace.”

Macron, who visited injured Palestinians in El Arish hospital in Egypt last month, called for the reopening of the Gaza border to humanitarian convoys. “Then, yes, we must fight to demilitarize Hamas, free the hostages and build a political solution,” he said.

Nearly half a million Palestinians are facing possible starvation, living at “catastrophic” levels of hunger, while 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises.

Israel has banned all food, shelter, medicine and any other goods from entering the Palestinian territory for the past 10 weeks, even as it carries out waves of airstrikes and ground operations.

Gaza’s population of around 2.3 million people relies almost entirely on outside aid to survive, because Israel’s 19-month-old military campaign has wiped away most capacity to produce food inside the territory.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled contributed from Cairo and Sylvie Corbet contributed from Paris.

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in an Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. According to local hospitals, 48 people were killed in the strikes, including 22 children. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in an Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. According to local hospitals, 48 people were killed in the strikes, including 22 children. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn children from their families who were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. According to local hospitals, the strikes killed 48 people, including 22 children. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians inspect the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. According to local hospitals, 48 people were killed in the strikes, including 22 children. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians mourn children from their families who were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. According to local hospitals, the strikes killed 48 people, including 22 children. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians evacuate patients from the European hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, after it was hit by an Israeli army airstrike, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. The Israeli military said it had carried out a strike targeting what it said was a Hamas "command and control center" located beneath the hospital. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)