What makes The Open so special? How do players qualify? Who could impress this week at Royal Liverpool? We get you up to speed ahead of the final men's major of the year, live on Sky Sports.
What is The Open?
Knowing that is a solid start! The Open is the last of the four men's majors held annually and takes place every July, with the Championship the oldest tournament in golf and dating back to 1860.
Back then, only eight players competed over three rounds on a 12-hole course at Prestwick Golf Club. There was no monetary reward for winning, just a "Challenge Belt" made from red Moroccan leather, with the trophy that is played for today - the Claret Jug - not becoming part of the contest until 1873.
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It would be another 19 years before the tournament became a 72-hole contest, although at that stage it was still limited to a two-day event. Now, some 156 players from across the globe appear in a four-day tournament that is one of the biggest in the sporting calendar.
What makes it so special?
Well, apart from its history and the association with the Old Course at St Andrews, called the Home of Golf, it's the style of golf courses used that makes this major different from any other.
Every edition has been hosted on a UK-based links course, which is a venue on the coastline and where the elements play a key role in the challenge presented to the players, with The Open also the only men's major held outside the USA.
This year's venue at Royal Liverpool is one of 14 used in the tournament's history and one of 10 currently part of the rotation, with the major switching venues every year to take it to a different course.
Royal Liverpool last hosted The Open in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won for the first of back-to-back major titles, while Tiger Woods lifted the Claret Jug when the contest was held there in 2006.
St Andrews has hosted more than any other venue, most recently for The 150th edition last year, while Royal Troon in Scotland, Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland and Royal Birkdale in Southport will host the next three editions.
Can anyone play in The Open?
The top of the leaderboard will likely be dominated by the star names of the sport, although the beauty of this event is - like the name suggests - it is open for anyone to enter.
Providing you have a handicap of 0.4 or lower (maybe in our dreams) and have the £150 entry fee, you can enter regional qualifying and begin the ambitious goal of trying to qualify for a major championship.
Nearly 2,000 players did just that in 2023, where budding amateurs mixed it alongside professional players across 15 courses, with 117 of them going onto Final Qualifying the following week.
Final Qualifying brings in more professionals and established golfers, with 288 players split across four venues. There were a total of 19 qualification spots up for grabs this year, distributed for the lowest scores around each course.
No player was able to produce a fairytale journey through both stages to qualify for The Open this year, but many have in the past and more will be likely to do so in the future.
Who else gets to play?
If you've won The Open before then you're welcome back every year until you're 60, although not everybody decides to compete, while those who finished in the top 10 in 2022 get to come back for another go 12 months later.
Those in the top 50 in the world at the time of the cut-off near the end of May get to play, as do those who ended the Race to Dubai or FedExCup seasons last year inside the top 30. There are also exemptions for those who have won majors during the past five years.
There are places available to winners of the biggest amateur events and those who top the order of merits across a variety of tours, while the Open Qualifying Series - which includes Final Qualifying - offers a minimum of 50 places for high performances in certain tournaments across the world.
Throw in a few other exemption categories, including spaces for those performing well this season on the PGA Tour and DP World Tours, and you're left with an international field full of world-class players.
But how did LIV players qualify?
There are no set qualification places available for those who joined the Saudi-backed circuit, although there's nothing stopping LIV players from earning their spot in the field through one of the exemption categories.
Defending champion Cameron Smith gets to return after last year's win at St Andrews, with eight of the 16-strong LIV contingent in the field at Royal Liverpool as either previous winners of The Open or as a winner of a major in the last five years.
Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel was one of three LIV players to earn their spots through Final Qualifying, where the likes of Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell missed out, while others have got in by either staying in the world's top 50 or for their performances before moving to LIV.
Who is likely to contend?
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler has been in ridiculous form this season, while Jon Rahm has already won four times in 2023 - including that dominant victory at The Masters.
The stars could be aligning for a fairy-tale win for McIlroy, given his impressive streak of results in recent weeks and his return to a venue where he won nine years ago, with the Northern Irishman looking to go one better than his runner-up finish at the US Open last month.
It would be little surprise to see Smith defend his title, with the Australian coming in fresh off a win at the LIV Golf event in London, while fellow LIV player Koepka also likely to impress after winning the PGA Championship earlier this year.
Rickie Fowler and Viktor Hovland have both won on the PGA Tour over the past few weeks so are primed to contend again, with Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick among the homegrown players looking to become the first English winner of The Open in 31 years.
How much does a player earn?
The total prize money up for grabs this year is a record $16.5m (£12.7m), with the winner receiving $3m (£2.3m) for the first time in the tournament's history.
Those finishing in the top three will earn at least $1m, while just getting in the top 30 guarantees a six-figure payout and simply making the cut is worth at least $37k to a player.
Remarkably, it's the lowest prize purse on offer from any of the four men's majors, plus a lower amount than the PGA Tour put up for any of their elevated events and LIV Golf have as the fund for any of their 54-hole contests.
Still, a heck of a lot of money and a great opportunity for a player to enjoy a life-changing payday.
Why else is this week important?
LIV players are still unavailable to compete on the PGA Tour, so this will likely be the last event of the year where you will get to see the world's best golfers from across all tours compete against each other.
Those on the Saudi circuit can secure a return to next year's contest at Royal Troon with a top-10 finish, while a strong performance can give them some much-needed world ranking points to help them qualify for the other majors in 2023.
This week's result could help determine who plays in the Ryder Cup this September, with huge qualification points on offer for both teams. There are only a few weeks left of the qualification campaign, meaning those who impress will enhance their chances of playing in Rome.
There are also huge amounts of FedExCup points on offer, the season-long rankings for the PGA Tour, with just two events after this week for players to secure a top-70 spot and qualify for the season-ending FedExCup Playoffs.
When is The Open live on Sky Sports?
Sky Sports will have round-the-clock coverage from The Open, with 80 hours of live programming across the tournament week and a host of extra programming available to enjoy.
Wall-to-wall coverage will begin from 6.30am for the first two tournament days on Thursday July 20 and Friday July 21, ahead of the opening tee shot at 6.35am, with the action live until 9pm for each of the opening two rounds.
Day three coverage begins at 9am and runs through until after the action is finished, with early play live on the red button as 'Saturday at The Open' offers updates from the course alongside shot centre challenges, special guests, fun features and much more, while the same offering stars from 8am for Sunday's final round.
There is also lots of extra coverage available throughout each day via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, along with Sky Q and Sky Glass, with Featured Groups and Featured Hole feeds available to enjoy as the world's best players tackle Royal Liverpool.
Watch The 151st Open throughout the week exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday July 20 from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf.