The Open 2021 news - When do Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth play? Tee times, odds

Updated 14/07/2021 at 11:35 GMT

US Open champion Jon Rahm has been installed as 9/1 favourite to claim the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George's which begins on Thursday morning in Kent. Spain's world number two is out alongside defending champion Shane Lowry and 2010 winner Louis Oosthuizen at 9:58am with his Ryder Cup colleague Rory McIlroy starting his quest in the afternoon at 3:21pm.

Jon Rahm is chasing a US and British Open double at Sandwich.

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The 149th Open Championship – the final golf major of the year – begins on Thursday morning at Royal St George's in Kent with Spain's Jon Rahm chasing a unique double.

World number two Rahm is bidding to become only the seventh man in the history of golf to lift the US Open and British Open in the same calendar year.

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Only Bobby Jones (1926, 1930), Gene Sarazen (1932), Ben Hogan (1953), Lee Trevino (1971), Tom Watson (1982) and Tiger Woods (2000) have managed to complete the double in the same season.

It has been achieved only four times in the past 87 years, but Rahm is certainly in form at Sandwich having finished a respectable seventh at last week's Scottish Open – two strokes behind winner Min Woo Lee of Australia – following his maiden major victory in last month's US Open at Torrey Pines.

"It would be pretty incredible to win both Opens in one year. It would be amazing," he said.

"I did have a sense of relief after winning the first major. I felt like for the better part of five years, all I heard is major, major, major just because I was playing good golf, as if it was easy to win a major championship.

The fact that you are expected to win one means nothing, but you're playing good golf, so a bit of relief in that sense, but it doesn't really change. There's still the next one to win, so I still come with the same level of excitement obviously and willingness to win.

"I'm more focused on how it would be pretty incredible to be able to win The Open. Nobody after Seve (Ballesteros) has been able to do it, so to give Spain that, that would be pretty unique, as well."

Shane Lowry celebrates with the Claret Jug in 2019.

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Rahm starts out as the 9/1 pre-tournament favourite and plays alongside defending champion Shane Lowry and 2010 winner Louis Oosthuizen in the first two rounds. They begin their respective bids at 9:58am on Thursday morning.

Four-times major winner Brooks Koepka tees off at 8:03am alongside Jason Kokrak and Garrick Higgo with 2017 Open champion Jordan Spieth out at 9:25am with fellow American Bryson DeChambeau and South Africa's Branden Grace.

2014 Open winner Rory McIlroy has been handed an afternoon slot on the opening day and begins his quest at 3:21pm alongside Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith, two players who have not enjoyed the best of relationships in recent times following the 2019 President's Cup in Melbourne.

US PGA champion Phil Mickelson is also out in the afternoon playing alongside Tyrrell Hatton and Kevin Kisner at 2:48pm.

World number one Dustin Johnson will hope to make a fast start when he tees off at 10:20 in a group containing Will Zalatoris and 2013 US Open winner Justin Rose.