The Open preview, Birkdale, key stats, history, conditions, preparation, contenders and more

The final men's major of the year is upon us and we manage to carve out a big chunk of the hour talking about the Open: what kind of challenge Birkdale presents, what to expect, which stats to look at, whether the Scottish Open will be as good a guide as usual, whether missing it matters, the history of winners here, scoring, conditions, contenders and more. Of course, there's also time to reflect on Tom Kim's win in Scotland, Lucas Glover's late mistakes in the ISCO where Steven Fisk capitalised, the Evian, and... well, it turns out no time at all for the pretend major on the seniors' circuit. Highest Bidder is Open themed, as is Forgotten Golfer, as we build up to what will be a fantastic week.Get 15% off with TRUE by using code SLICED: truelinkswear.uk/Subscribe to our newsletter: tinyurl.com/sliced-newsletterEnter our DPWT fantasy league with code 8NYORX5G: fantasy.dpworldtour.com/leagues