The Open 2016: Where can I watch it, when does it start and what are the best odds?

Everything you need to know ahead of this weekend's Open Championship

Zach Johnson will be looking to defend his title (Getty)

The biggest week in the golfing calendar has finally returned.

This year’s Open, the 145th edition, will take place at Royal Troon in Ayrshire, Scotland, renowned for its famous Postage Stamp – the shortest hole in Open championship golf.

It’s the ninth time the Open will be gracing the storied golf course and the first time the competition returns to Troon since 2004 when Todd Hamilton emerged triumphant to raise the Claret Jug.

Last year’s victor, Zach Johnson, won the Championship in a 4-hole playoff and returns this year to defend his title.

But with two back-to-back victories to his name, including the US Open, Dustin Johnson is currently the man on everyone’s lips. Alongside joint-favourite Jason Day, these two are the men to beat.

It’s a different story for America’s Jordan Spieth and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.

Having dominated the world golf scene this time last year, America’s Spieth has faded somewhat. As for McIlroy, the former number one and four-time major winner has endured a frustratingly inconsistent season. The 27-year-old failed to defend his Open title at St Andrews last year due to injury and hasn’t picked up a major title since the 2014 PGA Championship.

But with so many contenders in the running, this year’s major should shape up to be one of the best in recent times.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Where can I watch The Open?

Sky Sports will be exclusively covering The Open for the first time in the competition’s history after the BBC opted to end its existing deal one year early.

Via the dedicated Sky Sports The Open channel, viewers will be able to watch every bit of action.

Their channel will run from 6.30am-9pm on the first two days, displaying the best shots from the best players as soon as they happen.

Then they will screen 12-hour sessions of live coverage over the weekend after the cut has been made. Saturday's coverage starts at 8am and 7.30am on Sunday.

The BBC will still provide some coverage. Highlights will be shown on BBC2 each night between 8pm-10pm.

Who to look out for?

Todd Hamilton upheld a long-standing tradition when he won the competition back in 2004 at Troon. Stretching back to 1962, every Open staged at the challenging Aryshire links since then has been won by an American player and the current form of Dustin Johnson suggests this run will continue.

The 32-year-old is in irresistible form having landed his first major victory at last month’s US Open. From there, the big hitter from South Carolina went on to clinch another win at the WGC Invitational in Akron Ohio and will be looking for a hat-trick.

Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, Johnson finally made it down the aisle last month and hasn’t looked back since.

World ranking: 2

Career earnings: £28.2m

Average drive distance: 312.5 yards

Driving accuracy: 56.80%

Greens in regulation: 67.86%

Average putts per round: 28.46

Man-of-the-moment Dustin Johnson (Getty)

The latest odds:

Jason Day 9/1 - Dustin Johnson 9/1

Rory McIlroy 11/1 - Jordan Spieth 12/1

Adam Scott 22/1 - Sergio Garcia 28/1

Branden Grace 30/1 - Henrik Stenson 30/1

Rickie Fowler 35/1 - Justin Rose 35/1

Phil Mickelson 45/1 - Lee Westwood 45/1

Shane Lowry 50/1 - Louis Oosthuizen 55/1

Top betting tip:

The safe bet would be McIlroy or Johnson, but where’s the fun in that? At 55/1, South African Louis Oosthuizen could provide some healthy-looking returns. The 33-year-old finished as runner-up last year, losing to Zach Johnson in a play-off, and won the title back in 2010. While both tournaments were held at St Andrews, these past experiences will bode well for the African. If Oesthuiezen can get his putting on track he could mount another respectable challenge for the Jug this week and even go the whole way.

Take a punt on our man Oosthuizen (Getty)

What’s so special about the course?

As mentioned, Royal Troon is home to the famous Postage Stamp – the shortest hole in Open championship gold at 123 yards. Tiger Woods’ 1997 Open title challenge was famously brought down by the hole with a triple bogey. More recently, it claimed Rory McIlroy as another victim after the Irishman took six attempts to get out from one of the hole’s bunkers during a practice round.

It's not just the golfers who have left their mark on the course either. During World War II, soldiers used the beach off the sixth hole for hand-grenade practice and many of the course’s bunkers were formed as a result of the explosions.

Postage Stamp (Online golf retailer www.golfbidder.co.uk)

Postage Stamp (Graphic by online golf retailer www.golfbidder.co.uk)

What times do the players start on each day?

First and second round: Thursday, July 14, and Friday, July 15

First group out: 6.35am Last group out: 4.16pm

Third round: Saturday,July 16

First group out: 7.35am Last group out: 3.16pm

Final round: Sunday, July 17

First group out: 7.05am Last group out: 2.46pm

Play is expected to finish between 8-8.30pm on Thursday and Friday, 7-7.30pm on Saturday, and 6.30-7pm on Sunday.

The Open tee-times (first and second round)

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, all times BST, (x) denotes amateurs)

Starting at hole 1

0635 Marc Leishman (Aus), Colin Montgomerie, Luke Donald

Colin Montgomerie will hit the first tee shot at The Open on Thursday morning (Getty)

0646 Steven Alker (Nzl), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Sang-hee Lee (Kor)

0657 Jeunghun Wang (Kor), Jon Rahm (Spa), Ryan Palmer (USA)

0708 Scott Gregory (a), Sandy Lyle, David Duval (USA)

0719 Richie Ramsay, Danny Lee (Nzl), Harris English (USA)

0730 Steven Bowditch (Aus), Alex Noren (Swe), Kevin Chappell (USA)

0741 Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Darren Clarke, Jim Furyk (USA)

0752 Justin Thomas (USA), David Lingmerth (Swe), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha)

0803 Patrick Reed (USA), Branden Grace (Rsa), Byeong-Hun An (Kor)

0814 Paul Lawrie, Brandt Snedeker (USA), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)

0825 Padraig Harrington, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Jamie Donaldson

Jamie Donaldson heads out at 0825 with Padraig Harrington and Louis Oosthuizen (Getty)

0836 Scott Piercy (USA), Paul Dunne, Jamie Lovemark (USA)

0847 Victor Dubuisson (Fra), Jimmy Walker (USA), Scott Hend (Aus)

0903 Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth (USA), Shane Lowry

0914 Ross Fisher, Steve Stricker (USA), Vijay Singh (Fij)

0925 Danny Willett, Rickie Fowler (USA), Jason Day (Aus)

0936 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson (USA)

0947 Gary Woodland (USA), James Morrison, Soomin Lee (Kor)

0958 Chris Kirk (USA), Smylie Kaufman (USA), George Coetzee (Rsa)

1009 Matthew Fitzpatrick, Billy Horschel (USA), Hideto Tanihara (Jpn)

1020 Matteo Manassero (Ita), Shugo Imahira (Jpn), Russell Henley (USA)

1031 Robert Rock, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn), William McGirt (USA)

Jordan Spieth plays with Justin Rose and Shane Lowry (Getty)

1042 Brendan Steele (USA), Richard Sterne (Rsa), Matt Jones (Aus)

1053 Patton Kizzire (USA), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Rod Pampling (Aus)

1104 Dave Coupland, Nathan Holman (Aus), Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha)

1115 Rikard Karlberg (Swe), Scott Fernandez (Spa), Haydn Porteous (Rsa)

1136 Kristoffer Broberg (Swe), Greg Chalmers (Aus), Clement Sordet (Fra)

1147 David Howell, Seung-Yul Noh (Kor), Tony Finau (USA)

1158 Jordan Niebrugge (USA), Nick Cullen (Aus), Robert Streb (USA)

1209 Stefano Mazzoli (a) (Ita), Ben Curtis (USA), John Daly (USA)

1220 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Kevin Kisner (USA), K.T. Kim (Kor)

Rory McIlroy heads out with Hideki Matsuyama and Bubba Watson at 0930 (Getty)

1231 Justin Leonard (USA), Todd Hamilton (USA), Mark Calcavecchia (USA)

1242 Lasse Jensen (Den), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Bill Haas (USA)

1253 Paul Casey, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Kevin Na (USA)

1304 Joost Luiten (Ned), Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Charley Hoffman (USA)

1315 Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar (USA), Andrew Johnson (USA)

1326 Phil Mickelson (USA), Lee Westwood, Ernie Els (Rsa)

1337 Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), James Hahn (USA), Andrew Sullivan

1348 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Ryan Moore (USA), Tommy Fleetwood

Phil Mickelson will feature with Lee Westwood and Ernie Els (Getty)

1404 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Dustin Johnson (USA), Russell Knox

1415 Zach Johnson (USA), Adam Scott (Aus), Henrik Stenson (Swe)

1426 Yusaku Miyazato (Jpn), Chris Wood, Mark O'Meara (USA)

1437 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Jason Dufner (USA), Marc Warren

1448 Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Keegan Bradley (USA)

1459 Webb Simpson (USA), Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Thomas Pieters (Bel)

1510 Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa), J.B. Holmes (USA), Brandon Stone (Rsa)

1521 Matthew Southgate, Marco Dawson (USA), Yosuke Tsukada (Jpn)

1532 Jack Senior, James Heath, Brian Gay (USA)

Sergio Garcia plays with Anirban Lahiri and Keegan Bradley (Getty)

1543 Fabian Gomez (Arg), Jim Herman (USA), Anthony Wall

1554 Paul Howard (Gbr), Daniel Summerhays (USA), Colt Knost (USA)

1605 Oskar Arvidsson (Swe), Harold Varner III (USA), Tyrrell Hatton

1616 Ryan Evans, Callum Shinkwin, Zander Lombard (Rsa)