The year was 2019. After a 68-year gap, the R&A took the Open back to Royal Portrush. The influence of major winners from Northern Ireland such as Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell was viewed as crucial in the decision.

So here is our final major big board of the year, ranking the top 30 golfers in the field. This is not simply the 30 best golfers in a vacuum. These are the 30 golfers that our crack team of Gabby Herzig, Hugh Kellenberger and Brody Miller believe are best suited to win this week at Royal Portrush.

The field also includes 49 of the world's top 50 players, from Scottie Scheffler to Rory McIlroy, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, 16 past winners, and 19 top players from the Liv Golf, the Arab Super League.

Rory McIlroy grew up in Holywood, Northern Ireland, and learned to play golf at Holywood Golf Club. I visited and took the "McIlroy Tour."

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The moment that surprised Rory McIlroy the most when he played the 2019 Britidh Open at Royal Portrush—the first Open held in his home country of Northern Ireland since 1951—was the ovation on the first tee.

A two-story mural depicting a precocious Rory McIlroy in 2012 has seen such better days that you can barely tell it is the Grand Slam golfer anymore

The 1st hole at Royal Portrush ruined Rory McIlroy's chances at the 2019 Open Championship, and here's what makes it such a devilish start to the tournament

Rory McIlroy is hoping to "bookend" the season with a victory at The Open, which would see him claim the first and last major title of the year