The course: As early as 1894, the Royal St George's, in Sandwich a few miles south-east of London, hosted the British Open for the first time.

This is the 149th edition of The Open - and the 15th to be played at Royal St George's.

The last to win here was the Irishman Darren Clarke, 2011.

32,000 spectators on site

The setting: Up to 32,000 spectators are expected to follow the last men's majors of the year on site, but for the players there are still a lot of covid-19 restrictions.

Players must stay in approved hotels or in private accommodation in "bubbles" of up to four people, but they may not stay with other players.

Favorite: Jon Rahm actually lost his position as world number one to Dustin Johnson after last week's Scottish Open, but the Spaniard may well take it back immediately.

Rahm is the bookmakers' favorite for the victory and if the 26-year-old manages to win, he will be the first since Tiger Woods 2000 to take home the US Open and British Open in the same year.

Victory drought: Not since Nick Faldo won in 1992 has an Englishman taken home the classic British Open dent "The Claret Jug".

Paul Casey, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose are all well-known golfers who would like to put an end to the gloomy 29-year-old suite now.

Question mark: How well does Bryson DeChambeau's muscle golf fit on a links course?

And is he capable of adapting his game to the course?

DeChambeau is proven to hit far, but also high - and it is not always an advantage if it blows up on the English south coast.

Previously, DeChambeau, who won the US Open in crushing style last year, has been 51st in his three starts at the British Open.

Four Swedes

Champion: Irishman Shane Lowry has been reigning champion for two years since last year's British Open was canceled due to the corona pandemic.

There have been no more tournament victories for Lowry since the triumph at Royal Portrush.

The Swedes: Are four in number.

Henrik Stenson makes his 16th The Open, Alex Norén his tenth, Rikard Karlberg is for the third time and Marcus Kinhult for the second.

Norén can be seen as the biggest hope in advance, with good play in three straight The Open and good form.

Although Stenson's merits in The Open are impressive with a second place and two third places in addition to the historic victory in 2016.

The weather: Can often cause problems in the British Open.

Not infrequently, the draw for start times in the first days can play a big role, as the weather conditions can change quickly.

But this year's competition looks to be a pretty sunny story, without any extreme winds.

Start times: At 7.35 on Thursday, Swedish time, the competition begins when the all-English three-ball with Richard Bland, Andy Sullivan and Marcus Armitage hits the first hole.

Alex Norén (8.08), Marcus Kinhult (9.36), Henrik Stenson (16.32) follow later in the day before Rikard Karlberg (17.16) goes out in the 52nd and very last three-ball.