A star was born in 1976 at Royal Birkdale. Seve Ballesteros was unable to press home his 54-hole advantage due to a combination of a Sunday 74 and Johnny Miller’s surge. Still, the swashbuckling style of the 19‑year‑old Spaniard captured hearts and minds. Ballesteros played golf – and successfully – from all parts of the famous links.

The 50th anniversary of Ballesteros’s emergence comes with an uncanny parallel: back at Birkdale, the grass is parched again. Firm, fiery, unpredictable Opens are the finest. Stand by, then, for a sporting feast over four days on the Sefton coast. Less green and pleasant land, more yellow brick road. Away from putting surfaces which have been lashed with water, the impact of a heatwave is laid bare.

This major will surely be defined by course condition. Rory McIlroy paid a scouting visit to Birkdale weeks ago, where he discovered penal rough and a premium on keeping the ball on the short grass.

By the time the Masters champion returned on Monday, those already treacherous areas had been baked to a crisp. While in theory this allows players to spray their shots with abandon, concrete-like surfaces will render it fiendishly difficult to control the ball.

Nine years ago here, Branden Grace plotted and spun his way around the course for a major record round of 62. The contrast in environment as the Open makes its return to Birkdale could not be more stark. Think golf in a pinball machine.

Tiger Woods’s victory at Hoylake in 2006 arrived in circumstances such as this. Eleven days before Woods lifted the Claret Jug for a third and surely final time, the emerging McIlroy shot 61 at Royal Portrush. As a grand slam winner, McIlroy can rightly claim to have passed almost every examination in this sport.

What is missing – if that term can reasonably apply to one so eminent – is major glory on a scorched course. McIlroy came agonisingly close at the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst. A year earlier, he was edged aside in the same tournament at a burnt Los Angeles Country Club. McIlroy is dangerous when there is a professional itch to scratch.

“It is as linksy as links gets,” said McIlroy of Birkdale. “I think I can play the course a little more aggressively than I could, so I’m excited by that possibility but it’s a great test.” Opens of this ilk typically reward the best players rather than delivering freak champions.

This tournament will inevitably be about how everything and everyone behaves: golf balls, golfers, golf fans. A code of conduct has existed since the start of the year at majors in an attempt to limit or remove temper tantrums inside the ropes that have become all-too common.

Patience will be a virtue at the 154th Open, because of wild bounces that are a world away from the target golf of regular tours. The Ryder Cup, Players Championship and US Open are among US-based events that have been overshadowed by unruly spectators.

The R&A has warned there will be consequences for similar at Birkdale. While pre-empting a scenario that may not arrive feels silly, 300,000 attendees and the temptation to hydrate heavily brings obvious dangers. The belief that European golfers were unfairly treated by galleries at last year’s Ryder Cup could very audibly rebound on Bryson DeChambeau, et al.

Chuntering from competitors is to be expected. The new 15th hole, a brutal par three given a certain wind and tee position, has fuelled grumbles early in tournament week. Any such controversy would be a pity. Birkdale has rightly made its name while an Open site as a fair test that rewards elite players.

Jordan Spieth won here in extraordinary circumstances in 2017. Padraig Harrington’s triumph of 2008 was just as dramatic. Add in the fact that Miller, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer and Peter Thomson feature on the list of Birkdale Open winners and the picture is clear.

Home hopes rest on Tommy Fleetwood, a son of Southport. Fleetwood’s widespread popularity is such that victory would resonate way, way beyond this parish. Matt Fitzpatrick’s prospects are stronger than his fellow Englishman. The experience of Justin Rose should prove hugely valuable.

Yet this is, as ever, a difficult competition to predict. Scottie Scheffler’s form has been inadequate by his own lofty standards. Could a Claret Jug defence inspire the world No 1? His iron control – even at recently reduced levels – means he should of course be part of the conversation. So, too, should Xander Schauffele and, if suitably recovered from back problems, Collin Morikawa.

Jon Rahm is constantly trying to summon the spirit of Seve. Irked to miss the cut at the US Open, he has looked in very decent fettle during warm-up days, and damned the 15th with faint praise. “If I remember correctly with the wind we’ve had in the past, it’s probably going to be some sort of left-to-right wind,” he explained.

“So it’s going to play very, very difficult for sure in that regard. That’s from the back tee, at least 240-odd yards to the middle. If you’re on the up tee, it’ll be a little bit easier. Still, a very tricky hole. They’ve clearly wanted to make the golf course harder and they’ve done that.”

This was no picnic to begin with. Harrington’s success was at three over par.

There are quirks at Birkdale. Legend depicts its historically sniffy approach to footballers, even highly esteemed ones, who sought to join. In 2026, one section of the professional’s shop has apparel that only members can buy or wear. Odd places, golf clubs. As a golf course, this one takes some beating. The present make-up of the playing surface only adds to the appeal.