Pro golf week ahead: Closing out a thrilling major championship season with the Open at Troon

Does golf deserve another scintillating major championship?

That’s what the sport has gotten so far this season as the three majors to this point have featured marquee winners with subplots on and off the course.

Scottie Scheffler won the Masters by four shots at Augusta National but it was a follow-up hit to his 2022 Masters title and marked the first time since Tiger Woods in 2001 that a pro won The Players and the Masters in the same year.

Xander Schauffele won his first major — long overdue — when he out-dueled Bryson DeChambeau by one shot in a birdie-fest at Valhalla. Schauffele broke the major championship scoring record at 21-under 267.

And a month later, DeChambeau overcame that close call to beat Rory McIlroy by one shot in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, taking advantage of two missed short putts by McIlroy down the stretch and a superb 55-yard bunker shot at the last to set up a winning par.

Are we that lucky this week with the Open Championship at Troon? Or will it be a repeat of Brian Harman’s six-shot victory last year at Royal Liverpool in which the left-hander from St. Simons Island, Ga., sucked the drama out after a second-round 65?

PGA Tour: Returning to Troon for the Open

Event: Open Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland.

What’s the purse? $17 million ($3.1 million and 750 FedEx Cup points to the winner).

Who won last year? Harman turned it into a runaway at Royal Liverpool, opening rounds of 67-65 and beating four players tied for second by six shots, Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Sepp Straka and Tom Kim.

How to watch on TV: Peacock (Thursday-Friday, 1:30-4 a.m.); USA (Thursday-Friday, 4 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday, 5-7 a.m.; Sunday, 4-7 p.m.); NBC (Saturday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.).

Area players entered: Harris English, Ben Griffin, Harman, Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson, J.T. Poston, Cameron Smith, Davis Thompson.

Notable: Henrik Stenson set the major championship record at 20-under par when he won the last time the Open was at Troon, in 2016. … Past Open champions Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Tiger Woods, Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson are also in the field. … After this week there are only two more FedEx Cup regular-season events left, the 3M Championship and the Wyndham Championship.

Event: Barracuda Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Tahoe Mountain Club, Trucklee, Calif.

What’s the purse? $4 million ($720,000 and 300 FedEx Cup points to the winner.

Who won last year? Akshay Bhatia birdied the final hole in regulation on a 15-foot putt to tie Patrick Rodgers, then won with a par on the first playoff hole for his first Tour title.

How to watch on TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Saturday, 5-8 p.m.; Sunday, 6-9 p.m.).

Area players entered: Tyson Alexander, Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Keith Mitchell, Raul Pereda, Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, Jimmy Stanger, Tim Wilkinson, Carl Yuan.

Notable: The format is Stableford Points, with 8 for a double-eagle, 5 for an eagle, 2 for a birdie, 0 for a par, -1 for a bogey and –3 for a double bogey or higher. … Camilo Villegas, Rodgers, Cameron Champ and Nick Dunlap lead the field. … Ian Gilligan, the University of Florida’s No. 1 player last season, is playing on a sponsor invitation.

LPGA Tour: International players dominate Ohio stop

Event: Dana Open, Thursday-Sunday, Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, Ohio.

What’s the purse?  $1.75 million ($262,500 to the winner).

Who won last year? Linn Grant of Sweden shot 62 in the third round and went on to beat Allisen Corpuz by three shots.

How to watch on TV: Peacock (Thursday-Friday, 12-3 p.m.; Saturday, 2-5 p.m.); Golf Channel (Sunday, 1-2 p.m.); CBS (Sunday, 2-4 p.m.).

Area players entered: Auston Kim.

Notable: Lexi Thompson leads the field. … Players from eight countries have won the tournament in the last eight years. The average winning score in that span is 18-under.

Korn Ferry Tour:  Last year was a battle of twins

Event: Price Cutter Charity Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Highland Springs Country Club, Springfield, Mo.

What’s the purse? $1 million ($180,000 to the winner).

Who won last year? Pierceson Coody shot 63 in the first round and went to beat four players by two shots. The list tied for second included his twin brother Parker.

How to watch on TV: The tournament is not televised.

Area players entered: Chris Baker, Fred Biondi, Chandler Blanchett, Dillon Board, Jonathan Byrd, Cody Blick, Ricky Castillo, Brett Drewitt, Nick Gabrelcik, Joey Garber, Tano Goya, Evan Harmeling, Russell Knox, Doc Redman, Julian Suri, Danny Walker, Thomas Walsh.

Notable: Byrd and Knox lead a contingent of six past PGA Tour winners in the field. Also playing are Tommy Gainey, Austin Cook, Sean O’Hair and Kevin Stadler.

What are the (golf) odds?

• Open Championship: Scheffler is +450 by Hard Rock Bet to win his second major of the season. He is followed by McIlroy (+750), Ludvig Aberg and DeChambeau (both at +1200), Schauffele (+1400) and Morikawa (+1600).

• Barracuda Championship: Mitchell and Erik Van Rooyne are co-favorites by Hard Rock at +1750. Michael Thorbjornsen, Sam Stevens and Taylor…