‘Supreme athlete’ Dustin Johnson is the one to beat at British Open, says Jason Day

World No 1 Day full of admiration for American as Rory McIlroy is just delighted to be back in the field following his absence. Round 1 starts on Thursday.

Dustin Johnson of the United States taps a ball in the air with his club during a practice round ahead of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon on July 13, 2016 in Troon, Scotland. Stuart Franklin/Getty ImagesShow less

The last six British Opens held at Royal Troon have been won by Americans and Dustin Johnson, the most in-form player in golf, looks like he has all the credentials to make it seven in a row for the United States this weekend.

Not only did Johnson, 32, follow up his victory at last month’s US Open by capturing the prestigious WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title in Ohio, he also has a good record to boast about in the world’s oldest major.

Johnson has finished in the top 14 in four of his seven trips to the British Open and came within a whisker of landing the coveted Claret Jug in 2011 when he wound up in a tie for second place behind Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke.

“He has a lot of spotlight on him this week because he has won the last two events he’s played and they’ve been pretty big events,” world No 1 Jason Day told reporters on the windswept Ayrshire coastline on Wednesday.

“He’s typically played pretty well in the Open championship so he’s obviously going to be a very tough guy to beat.”

Johnson tees off on Thursday in the first round at 5.04pm (UAE time) alongside German Martin Kaymer and Scotsman Russell Knox.

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Johnson’s surge to second in the world rankings has come as a surprise to some in the golfing world.

His namesake Zach Johnson, however, believes it was always destined to happen.

“He’s a supreme athlete and it just so happens that his sport for all of us, unfortunately, is golf,” British Open title holder Zach said.

“Not many guys can do what he does.”

Day’s form has also been pretty spectacular, having triumphed seven times in the past 12 months to rise to the summit of the rankings.

The Australian suffered a near-miss last year when he ended up in a share of fourth place at St Andrews.

Winning a first British Open is clearly number one on Day’s list of immediate priorities but hanging on to top spot in the rankings comes a close second in his list of ambitions.

“I think the stress of being number one in the world is a motivating factor for me just because I don’t want to lose it,” he said. “It’s really important for me to make sure I stick to my processes and do all the hard work I can to try to stay there for as long as I can.”

Jordan Spieth won the US Masters and US Open in 2015 and will be expected to figure prominently on the Troon leaderboard as the action unfolds over the four days of competition.

Spieth, 22, however, has been the subject of intense scrutiny this week on matters away from the golf course following his decision on Monday to opt out of next month’s Rio Olympics due to health concerns.

With the benefit of hindsight, Spieth clearly would have made his announcement before Monday’s Games deadline.

“I wish I could have made it as early as possible, not only for myself but also for Olympic golf, USA Golf,” said the world number three.

“I certainly was not trying to wait until the last minute. I just couldn’t make a decision and ... I was very indecisive with it.”

The other member of the so-called “Big Four” of world golf, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, is pleased to be back at his home Open after being sidelined last year because of an injury he sustained while playing a friendly game of football.

“I guess it’s the start of a new chapter for me in the Open championship,” said the 2014 winner.

“It was very disappointing to miss last year but I’m determined not to miss any more for the foreseeable future and it’s great to be back and have another chance to win another Claret Jug,” added world number four McIlroy.

The year’s third major begins today with the action beginning at 9.35am UAE time with the opening trio to tee off being Colin Montgomerie, Marc Leishman and Luke Donald.

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