When the British Open was last played at Royal Troon, age-old records were shattered.
Henrik Stenson set the Open Championship record for best combined score by shooting a 264 (20-under) in the 2016 event.
That score barely bettered Phil Mickelson, who also set the single-round British Open record by shooting 63 in the opening round.
The final-round duel between the two was as epic as any in major championship history.
“The quality of the golf was pretty much mind-blowing,’’ said Jim “Bones’’ Mackay, who caddied for Mickelson and is now an NBC on-course commentator. “Both those guys were absolutely incredible. I remember the crowds, just the buzz around the place, the electric atmosphere was something I never saw again.
“I’ll tell you a little story. I think on the 13th tee on Sunday, Phil had just made a 25- or 30-footer for par on 12, and I was the last guy off the tee. I had grabbed some water, and an R&A official came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Would you mind telling both the players that we’re concerned about their position on the golf course and they need to hurry up a little bit.’
“I said, ‘Sir, this is so amazing what’s going on out here right now, I’m not saying a word to anybody about anything. I just want to watch this play out.’ It was just golf at its absolute highest level.’’
Mickelson is 54 now and playing on LIV Golf, as is Stenson. Both will be in the field this week, but neither lands anywhere near the top of the list of most compelling storylines.
Among them include how Rory McIlroy will bounce back from letting the U.S. Open slip through his grasp last month at Pinehurst No. 2.
Also at the forefront is Bryson DeChambeau, who won that U.S. Open that McIlroy lost. DeChambeau, now a two-time major championship winner, is the most interesting player in golf right now.
He finished tied for eighth at the Masters and was runner-up at the PGA. What does he have in store for an encore in the British?
DeChambeau’s popularity shouldn’t overshadow the year Scottie Scheffler is having.
Scheffler, because of his low-key public persona, doesn’t create the kind of buzz players like DeChambeau and McIlroy do, but the man has won six times this year and has a Tiger Woods-like stranglehold on the No. 1 world ranking.
“It starts and stops with Scottie Scheffler,’’ NBC lead commentator Dan Hicks said. “Even though his U.S. Open wasn’t as Scheffler-esque as we’ve become accustomed to [he finished tied for 41st], I think he’s still the gold standard.’’
Somewhat overlooked is Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship and has elevated his ranking to No. 3 in the world.
Schauffele finished tied for eighth at the Memorial, tied for seventh at the U.S. Open and tied for 13th at the Travelers since his win at Valhalla.
Another player easy to overlook this week is the defending champion, Brian Harman — who hasn’t won since his out-of-the-blue, six-shot victory last year at Royal Liverpool.
Another question entering the week is what Woods might do?
He missed the cut at the U.S. Open and PGA, and finished last among the 60 players who made the cut at the Masters.
This will be his final tournament of the season, the last time we likely see Woods play until he plays the father-son event in Florida and his own Hero World Challenge, both in December.
What about Jon Rahm, who’s been the most surprising player who jumped to LIV Golf and fell off the radar?
Rahm was ranked No. 2 in the world when he left for LIV and has barely been heard from since, completely losing his mojo.
He’s yet to win a LIV event and hasn’t fared well in the majors.
He finished 45th at the Masters, missed the cut at the PGA and had to withdraw from the U.S. Open with a foot injury.
“I’ve talked to Jon a little bit, [and] obviously he’s very disappointed with his major championship performance,’’ said European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. “The first two were certainly not up to his standard. Then obviously the unfortunate timing of the injury (at the U.S. Open). I think it’s a big week for him. I’m sure it has been a massive focus for him to try and get his game to a level where he’s going to be back in contention at a major. Yeah, I think there’s a little bit of pressure on that, and we’ll see how he deals with it.’’
Asked this week before the LIV event in Spain where he would “rate’’ his game at the moment, Rahm said, “Maybe six to a seven out of 10, if I had to say.’’
“But the year is not over. [There’s] still a lot to play for. It would not be unheard of to see a player finish strong and change that to maybe a nine out of 10.’’