5 groups worth watching this week at the Open Championship

Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay and Matt Kuchar (3:21 p.m./10:20 a.m.)

Matt Kuchar’s best chance to win a major championship in his long career came at the Open Championship two years ago. Playing in the final pairing on Sunday with Jordan Spieth at Royal Birkdale, Kuchar took the lead on the back-nine and looked poised to lift the Claret Jug, especially after Spieth hit his tee shot at the 13th well right.

Spieth, though, recovered to save bogey then played the next four holes in five-under to steal the title from Kuchar. Now 41, Kuchar remains without a major on his stellar resume. Fortunately, he’s poised to end that drought this week at Royal Portrush.

Kuchar has been one of the most consistent players at the Open the past few years, ranking fifth in birdies made since 2014. He’s also 21-under in the majors since the start of 2017, the fourth-best score in that span. And if there is any major suited for a player of Kuchar’s experience to win, it’s the Open. The average age of Open champions this decade is the highest of any major. Four winners have been over the age of 40. Kuchar, already with two PGA Tour titles this season, can become the fifth this week.

Jon Rahm got in good preparation for the Open by winning the Irish Open two weeks ago. The talented but volatile Spaniard, however, has never been better than 59th in three prior appearances. He missed the cut at Carnoustie a year ago.

Patrick Cantlay has quickly become one of the top players on the PGA Tour this season. At the Masters in April, he took the lead on the back-nine on Sunday before falling back to ninth place. He also finished third at the PGA Championship and won his second PGA Tour title at the Memorial in June.