GULLANE -- Two dozen cameras were in position Monday morning to capture the first big moment of this British Open, only they werent anywhere near the golf course. They waited in the driveway as a silver station wagon pulled through the gate and stopped in front of the clubhouse at Muirfield. Ernie Els climbed out of the back seat holding the shiny claret jug he won last year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, and he promptly handed it over to Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson. "Thank you," Dawson told him. "Youve been a great champion." Now its up to the 43-year-old South African to reclaim the silver prize, and that doesnt figure to be easy. Els won last month in Germany. He won the last time the Open was played at Muirfield in 2002. He has more top 10s in the British Open than any other major. But he has this piece of history working against him -- the last major champion in his 40s to successfully defend his title was Old Tom Morris, and that was 151 years ago. The Big Easy is not a betting man, but he was asked to pick someone to wager a pound on at Muirfield. "Id have to look at the odds, wouldnt I?" he said, trying to buy time. "Maybe a long shot. I like to go for the long shots." Thats what he might have been considered last year at Royal Lytham. He was winless on a major tour in two years, failed to qualify for the Masters for the first time in nearly two decades and was No. 40 in the world. But he was close to flawless on the back nine and was the recipient of a shocking collapse by Adam Scott, who made bogey on his last four holes to finish one shot behind. Back to the wager. He was asked who should be considered in the pole position. "To name one, Im going to have to name 20," Els said. "Thats how close it is. I dont know. A guy who likes the layout. A guy who likes the bounces. Im not sure." That was a good start. There is nothing like links golf, with its humps and mounds along the fairways, a landscape framed by tall grass and dotted with pot bunkers. It can be played in the air when the grass is green during wet summers, or played on the ground when the course is crusty and yellow, which is the case this year at Muirfield. Els remembers his first experience with links golf, and he loved it right away. "The sound is different. The divot into the fairways are different. The whole experience is different than anything else around the world," Els said. "So its something youre either going to really like or youre not going to like. I was fortunate enough that I really fell in love with it." A long shot? Maybe someone like Jordan Spieth, the 19-year-old Texan who was headed toward another top finish on the PGA Tour until he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the last hole at the John Deere Classic, got into a playoff when Zach Johnson made bogey on the 18th, and won on the fifth extra hole. Next thing he knew, Spieth was on a charter flight to Scotland for his first British Open. He has experience with links golf, having played the Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen in 2011. And for those who believe experience is required, Ben Curtis won in 2003 in his first major championship, let alone his first time playing links golf. Curtis reunited this week with Andy Sutton, the local caddie he hired at Royal St. Georges. Sutton was told of an American player looking for a caddie 10 years ago and had never heard of Curtis. Not to worry. A lot of Americans had never heard of him, either. Tiger Woods is always a favourite, and he has the best odds this week, even though he hasnt won the claret jug since Hoylake in 2006. Els is well aware of the quality of champions Muirfield tends to produce, from Harry Vardon and James Braid to Walter Hagen and Henry Cotton, from Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to Lee Trevino and Tom Watson, along with Nick Faldo and Els. And yes, he believes the course has something to do with that. "Its just a wonderful design," Els said. "The par 3s are unbelievable. The par 5s have been changed a little bit -- theyre longer. Each and every hole is a little bit different. Theres left-to-right, right-to-left, and it all happens out there. Every links shot that you can imagine, youre going to play it this week." Els returned to Muirfield a few weeks ago, and he played a quiet nine holes Sunday evening. He remembers much about Muirfield, a course where he tied for fifth in his professional debut in 1992 and won a decade later. And there are some shots he is trying to forget, such as the double bogey on the 16th hole that nearly cost him a chance at having his name on that claret jug. Els had to make birdie on the par-5 17th and close with a par just to get into a four-man playoff over four holes, and he won in the first sudden-death moment in Open history over Thomas Levet on the fifth hole. Even then, Els hit into a bunker on the 18th and had to save par for the win. He certainly is not ruling himself out this week, not after the victory in Germany and his tie for fourth in the U.S. Open. Els might not win as much as he used to, but he plays the hard courses well. And with a forecast for dry weather and strong wind, this might be hard. The claret jug is the oldest trophy in golf, first awarded in 1873. Els took it around the world over the last year, as he did after winning in 2002. The jug stayed outside London the last two weeks, cleaned and buffed so it was shiny when he handed it back to the R&A. Adidas NHL Jerseys 2020 . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Cheap NHL Jerseys From China . 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In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. HScott Motorsports, which fielded two Sprint Cup cars during the 2016 season, has suspended operations and will not compete in NASCAR in 2017.The team did not have any drivers nor sponsors lined up for next season. Driver Clint Bowyer, who finished 27th in the standings, had signed a one-year deal in September 2015 as a stop-gap before heading to Stewart-Haas Racing to replace Tony Stewart in 2017.Michael Annett, who has the Pilot Flying J sponsorship, finished 36th in the standings and opted to take that sponsor to JR Motorsports and compete in the Xfinity Series next year.Team owner Harry Scott formed the team after purchasing Phoenix Racing from James Finch in 2013. Scott had fielded two Cup cars the last two seasons.Over the past several months I considered a number of options for moving forward with the team, Scott said in a statement. Regrettably there are no viable sponsor/driver options immediately available to allow the team to participate in 2017.One thing I learned about NASCAR is that it is a people business. I will forever be grateful to the men and women who worked tirelessly to make HScott Motorsports successful.Scott had leased a charter from Premium Motorsports owner Jay Robinson for Annetts No. 46 car in 2016. That charter was returned to Premium, who thenn sold it to Furniture Row Racing, which is adding a car for rookie Erik Jones next season.ddddddddddddPremium then bought the single charter Scott owned for the No. 15 car of Bowyer.Owners of the 36 charters carry a guaranteed starting spot -- and more guaranteed revenue than noncharter cars -- for every Sprint Cup race, where the field is a maximum 40 cars. A charter owner can lease a charter for one year but then must use it or sell it. Charter teams also get extra money based on their performance over the last three years, and any charter team that finishes among the bottom three teams for three consecutive years can have its charter revoked.That makes the charter of the No. 15 car for Bowyer -- the one Premium now has -- slightly more valuable than the charter of the No. 46 car it sold to Furniture Row. Not only did the No. 15 car have a better performance, the No. 46 car was among the bottom three charter teams in 2016, the first year of the charter system.I love this sport and being part of it, Scott said. I invested in NASCAR because I truly believe it represents the best racing competition in the world and the best people in all sports. ' ' '