Tiger Woods and U.S. Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick will feature in a headline threesome in the opening two rounds at the 150th Open Championship.

In what could be his last Open at St Andrews, where two of his three Claret Jug triumphs have come, Woods will tee it up alongside Fitzpatrick, fresh from his maiden major triumph at Brookline.

The pair will be joined by Max Homa and head out at 14:59 BST (local time), long after Scotland's Paul Lawrie has had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot at 06:35.

Reigning champion Collin Morikawa is in another group sure to draw a big following, with four-time major winner Rory McIlroy and the in-form Xander Schauffele for company.

World number one Scottie Scheffler goes out at 13:26 alongside Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton, while Jon Rahm is also an afternoon starter in a group that includes 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year Jordan Spieth.

Conditions appear favourable on the Fife coast, with the fairways firm and receptive greens, although wind speeds may cause some problems at various points across the four days of competition. 

Rory McIlroy described winning The Open Championship at St Andrews as "the holy grail" of golf.

The 150th edition of the sport's oldest major is taking place at the home of golf this week, with McIlroy eyeing a second Claret Jug after his triumph in 2014.

McIlroy was unable to defend his title the following year – the last time it was staged at the Old Course – after suffering a knee injury while playing football.

And the Northern Irishman acknowledged that winning this landmark event at the most famous course in the world would represent an extra special achievement.

On Monday, Jack Nicklaus recalled Bobby Jones' remark that "a golfer's resume is not complete unless he's won at St Andrews", a notion that was put to McIlroy, who replied: "I don't know if a golfer's career isn't complete if you don't, but I think it's the holy grail of our sport.

"Not a lot of people are going to get that opportunity to achieve that, but that's what winning an Open at St Andrews is. It's one of the highest achievements that you can have in golf.

"There's a lot of great players that have won Opens and maybe not won Opens at St Andrews, so I think it's unfair to say that a golfer's career isn't complete without that.

"But it's certainly up there with one of the greatest things you can do in our game."

McIlroy still just needs a Masters win to complete the sweep of golf's majors and was asked if a green jacket was at this stage more desirable than prevailing at St Andrews, but he was quick to point out it did not have to be one or the other.

"I guess it's both," he said. "Obviously I'd love to win both. And I'll be greedy and say that I'll take both."

All eyes in the golfing world will be trained on St Andrews this week as The Open returns for its 150th championship.

The final major of a year of fracture for the sport will bring the biggest names together once more, but who is best placed to take home the Claret Jug?

Five Stats Perform writers have their say ahead of the tournament...

LIV AND LET LIVE? OOSTHUIZEN IS A ST ANDREWS MASTER – Pete Hanson

Is it time to live and let live (or rather LIV and let live)? The proverb is defined as being able to "tolerate the opinions and behaviour of others so that they will similarly tolerate your own", but in the instance of the LIV defectors it is increasingly difficult to accept the decision for jumping ship as anything other than a nauseating money grab. That being said, looking at this through a purely sporting lens, LIV players who have qualified for The Open are allowed to play this weekend and Louis Oosthuizen knows a thing or two about St Andrews. The South African romped to a seven-shot win at the home of golf in 2010 and only lost in a three-man play-off to Zach Johnson at the same venue five years later. He was also leading through three rounds at Royal St George's a year ago before a final round one over coupled with a Collin Morikawa masterclass saw him end up tied for third.

RORY WINNING POPULARITY CONTESTS AND NOW SEEKS ST ANDREWS SUCCESS – Ben Spratt

If the LIV breakaway has made villains of a number of star names, Rory McIlroy is the PGA Tour's hero. With news of each defector, McIlroy has stood firm in his opposition to the Saudi-backed series – all the while stringing together a superb run of form, finishing in the top 20 in each of his past seven entries and the top 10 in each of the first three majors of the year. Rory is a very real contender this week, and there could hardly be a more popular winner. He has unfinished business at St Andrews, too, having tied for third in 2010 and then missed the 2015 event – where he would have been the defending champion – through injury.

RED-HOT SCHAUFFELE IS THE MAN TO BEAT – Russell Greaves

Fresh from his victory at the Scottish Open – where other putative Open contenders floundered – Xander Schauffele is certainly one to watch. Last week's victory at the Renaissance Club, which came despite a two-over-par opening round, came hot on the heels of his triumph at the Travelers Championship, sending the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist to St Andrews as a man in form. The American has also been in the mix at golf's oldest major before, finishing tied second at Carnoustie in 2018, where a final-round 74 ended his hopes of a maiden major. That search will continue this week for the 28-year-old, with the Claret Jug firmly in his sights. 

MORE MORIKAWA MAGIC INCOMING? – Patric Ridge

Morikawa enjoyed a sensational 2021, triumphing at Royal St George's to claim his second major title aged just 24 and becoming the first player to win on his Open debut since 2003. Yet 2022 has so far failed to yield the same success for the defending champion. He went into the weekend with the lead at last month's U.S. Open, only for a wobble on the Saturday to prove costly. After recovering with a fourth-round 65 to finish tied for fifth, Morikawa said he had learned to "just go play golf", although that approach did not serve him particularly well at the Scottish Open, where he failed to make the cut. If he manages to find the composure that deserted him during that dismal third round in Boston, however, then the world number eight cannot be overlooked as a serious contender once again.

CANTLAY CAN COME GOOD ON THE MAJOR STAGE – John Skilbeck

As the rumour mill links him with an LIV Golf switch, Patrick Cantlay is keeping his focus on the course. The American had a win alongside Schauffele in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April and has achieved four top-fives and two top-15 finishes in his past seven events, including a tie for fourth at the Scottish Open. The elephant in the room is that Cantlay has mostly flunked the majors this year, tying for 39th at The Masters, missing the cut at the US PGA Championship and trailing home in a share of 14th at the U.S. Open. However, the 30-year-old is not fourth in the world rankings for nothing; his time is surely coming. Florida-based Cantlay ranks in the top five for birdie (or better) percentage on the PGA Tour when finding the fairway off the tee this year but is outside the top 70 when driving into the rough, so accuracy from the tee will likely determine his fate.

Trey Mullinax sunk a clutch birdie putt on the final hole to secure his first PGA Tour victory, winning the Barbasol Championship by one stroke.

Mullinax, who only has one top-20 finish this season back in October at the Sanderson Farms Championship, was in fine form all week, shooting rounds of 65, 65, 67 and finishing with a six-under 66 to post a score of 25 under for the tournament.

In his last final trip around the Keene Trace Golf Club's Champions course, the American shot five birdies and two bogeys on an action-packed front-nine, and then went bogey-free down the back.

In one of the final groupings of the day, Mullinax and playing partner Kevin Streelman were tied for the lead, two strokes clear of the chasing field, heading onto the final hole. 

Both played strong approach shots, but while Streelman's putt narrowly missed, Mullinax's attempt from the edge of the green found the hole for the win.

Speaking to The Golf Channel after the win Mullinax talked about the nerves on the final hole, calling the opportunity "what we dream about".

"Me and Jules, my caddy, all week were trying to commit to everything we were doing in the process," he said.

"No matter what Kevin did with his tee-shot, it didn't change what I was going to do, we just really tried to stay focused. I stayed focused for 72 holes.

"I missed a couple of opportunities with my putter, but I just told myself 'keep putting, you've been putting great' – and I've been hitting my irons beautifully all week. 

"That was definitely the strongest point of my game this week – we had a pretty comfortable number (from the 18th fairway), we worked on it at the range and we knew we would have that shot a few times, and I hit a great shot at the right time.

"I said when we were walking up the 18th fairway 'this is what we dream about' – an opportunity to hole a putt for the win."

Streelman was the only other player to finish with four rounds of 67 or better, finishing outright second at 24 under.

Mark Hubbard was alone in third at 22 under, who shot a 65 for Sunday's round of the day, with Germany's Hurly Long the top international performer in outright fourth with a score of 21 under.

Vince Whaley rounded out the top-five at 20 under, Canada's Adam Svensson was one further back alone in sixth, and Michael Kim was outright seventh with 18 under, with a number of players finishing tied for eighth at 17 under.

Xander Schauffele warmed up for The Open Championship in superb fashion after securing back-to-back tournament wins with a one-stroke triumph at the Scottish Open.

The American, who overcame a two-over first round on Thursday to bulldoze his way through the pack, shot an even 70 to hold on for victory at seven under for the week at the Renaissance Club.

Following victory at the Travelers Championship last time out, it means the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist is in supreme form as he heads into the final major of the year at St Andrews.

Schauffele is yet to win one of golf's biggest prizes, having previously posted career-best T2 finishes at The Open at Carnoustie in 2018 and then a year later at Augusta for the Masters.

His performance proved just enough to keep Kurt Kitayama at bay after the 29-year-old shot a four-under 66 to sit one stroke behind Schauffele, taking second outright.

Kitayama had appeared poised to pip Schauffele at one stage, when the overnight leader carded three bogeys over four holes heading into the turn.

But golf's form man recovered his composure and even a further bogey at the 18th could not deny him – Kitayama's momentum also crucially slowing down the stretch.

Kitayama at least had the consolation of qualifying for The Open through his finish, as did Jamie Donaldson and Brandon Wu (both T6).

Jordan Spieth was back at T10 after a disappointing 72, having been in position to challenge Schauffele after Saturday's third round.

Two of Jamaica's promising junior golfers are in Scotland for the three-day R&A Junior Open which tees off on Monday at the Monifieth Golf Links. Sixty-five countries including Jamaica were invited to field two representatives - a girl and one boy - at the tournament which is held every two years.

Mattea Issa and Ryan Lue, both 15, were invited to play in the tournament after posting the lowest scores at Jamaica's national junior trials held in April at the Caymanas Golf Course.  The invitees had to be in the 12-16 age group.

The pair will be in a field of 110 golfers who are expected to attend Sunday's opening ceremony after the practice round earlier in the day.

The top 80 golfers who make the cut after round two on Tuesday will move on to the final round on Wednesday.

Alison Reid, Jamaica’s team manager to the recently held 34th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship and convener for junior golf in Jamaica, has accompanied Issa and Lue to Scotland.  She expects that the golfers will give a good account of themselves.

Tiger Woods played a full 18 holes on Sunday at St Andrews as he prepared for the 150th Open next week.

Woods has not played since withdrawing after the third round of the PGA Championship in May. That was his second appearance since suffering multiple leg injuries in a car accident in February 2021. His first tournament back was The Masters in April.

Woods chose not to play in the U.S. Open last month because he had his sights set on St Andrews, where he won two of his three Open championships in 2000 and 2005.

"I had some issues with my leg, and it would have put this tournament in jeopardy, and so there's no reason to do that," Woods said.

"This is a pretty historic Open that we are going to be playing," he said. "I'm lucky enough to be part of the past champions that have won there and want to play there again, and I don't know when they are ever going to go back while I'm still able to play at a high level.

"I want to be able to give it at least one more run at a high level."

Max McGreevy holds a one-stroke lead at the Barbasol Championship, sitting on 17-under after a rain-interrrupted Saturday caused havoc during the third round.

Heavy rain in Kentucky has meant tournament organisers at Keen Trace have had to work around the conditions, and it only continued on Saturday, with staff even trying to empty the puddle-filled bunkers with buckets at one stage.

The final groups only started their rounds at 7:20pm local time, but were only able to get through three holes before darkness suspended play again.

Leading at the start of the day's play, Matti Schmid sits one stroke from McGreevy, and Adam Svensson moved level with him following a birdie on the par-three second hole.

Ricardo Gouveia remained a further stroke back on 15-under while Sean O'Hair took advantage of the softer conditions, moving to 14-under after three birdies in the opening four holes.

O'Hair is tied with Kevin Streelman and Trey Mulinax, with third-round play scheduled to resume on Sunday morning.

Xander Schauffele moved 18 holes away from successive tournament wins after snatching the lead with another excellent round at the Scottish Open.

Schauffele, who went into moving day four shots off the pace set by American compatriot Cameron Tringale, followed up his second-round 65 with a four-under 66 to move to seven under through 54 holes at The Renaissance Club.

It would have been even better for Schauffele, who prevailed last time out at the Travelers Championship, if not for successive bogeys at 17 and 18 to end the round.

But his two-over 72 on Thursday must now feel like a distant memory, with Schauffele going into the final 18 holes with a two-stroke lead over Rafa Cabrera Bello, who is in prime position to qualify for the Open Championship at St Andrews next week as the highest-placed player yet to clinch a spot in the final major of the year.

By contrast, Tringale endured a day to forget with a four-over 74 that dropped him back to three under.

It appeared as if he would strengthen his chances of victory when he eagled the par-five third. However, he did not make another gain the rest of the way, carding six bogeys.

Jordan Spieth perhaps looms as Schauffele's most ominous challenger. The 2015 Open champion began the day seven strokes back but closed to just three off the pace following a 66 that included eagles at the 10th and the par-four 15th hole.

Spieth sat in a group of three players on four under, with Ryan Palmer – also in the mix for a place at The Open – and Jordan Smith also firmly in contention. Smith had a hole-in-one on the 17th on Friday and went close to doing the same on Saturday, another fine tee shot leaving him with a tap-in for birdie.

Alex Smalley would be the third and final Open qualifier as it stands after a 67 took him to three under, putting him alongside Tringale and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

Adam Svensson followed up his terrific 10-under opening round in solid fashion, finishing Friday with a five-under 67 to sit at 15 under, two strokes clear of the chasing pack.

After posting two birdies and two eagles on the four par-fives in his first trip around the course, Svensson came back to earth with one birdie and three pars, but a string of three birdies from four holes on his front-nine left him in a strong position.

While he is the leader going into the weekend, it remains to be seen if he will be the 36-hole leader as a lengthy five-hour rain delay wreaked havoc. It meant a number of contenders were forced to head off the course at the end of the day with plenty of holes remaining due to poor lighting.

In outright second place at 13 under is American Trey Mullinax, who had six birdies and seven pars through his first 13 holes on Friday before having to call it a day. He will resume at 8:30am, with a chance to begin the third round right up with Svensson if he can finish the way he started.

There is a seven-man logjam for third place at 12 under, and only three of those players – Mark Hubbard, Robin Roussel and Brandon Hagy – have made it through their full 36 holes.

Tom Lewis still has four holes to play, Jonathan Byrd has five holes to play, Matti Schmid has eight holes remaining and Max McGreevy had only made it through nine.

Hagy and Byrd were the standouts from that group on Friday, with Hagy posting a 10-under 62 for the round of the day, while Byrd had seven birdies across a nine-hole stretch and is yet to record a bogey.

Jordan Spieth categorically rejected speculation surrounding a possible switch to LIV Golf.

Reports from Golf Monthly claimed Spieth was negotiating with the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway series.

However, Spieth took to Twitter to clear up any uncertainty. 

"Because of false reporting today, I feel the need to comment. Let me be clear, any reports that I am contemplating competing anywhere other than the PGA Tour are categorically untrue," Spieth's post read.  

"I am NOT in discussions with LIV. I have been quoted on the record for months that I fully support the PGA Tour and have never considered any alternatives.  

"My goal has not changed since I began playing golf—to win PGA TOUR events and major Championships, and to compete against the best players in the world. Those who truly know me, know what is most important to me."

The emphatic denial of the reports comes hours after Golf Monthly published a statement by Spieth's agent, Jay Danzi.  

"Jordan is not in discussions with LIV and is fully supportive of and happy on the PGA Tour," the statement said.  

The same report that mentioned Spieth also listed Cam Smith, Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama as players who were considering talks with LIV Golf.