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Australia's golf stars have been afforded star billing at the final major of the year, with Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman all featuring in marquee groups for the first two rounds of the British Open at Royal Portrush.

Golf's oldest open championship returns to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1951 and Scott will be front and centre when he tees off with defending champion Francesco Molinari on Thursday and Friday.

Scott, who yearns to finally get his hands on the Claret Jug after a series of painful near misses in recent years, will be the first Australian out on Thursday.

The former Masters champion tees off at 9.58am local time (6.58pm AEST) alongside Molinari and American world No.6 Bryson De Chambeau.

Marc Leishman is also in a heavyweight grouping with 2017 Open champion Jordan Spieth and another former Masters winner, Brit Danny Willett.

Runner-up in 2015 after losing a playoff at St Andrews, Leishman boasts three top-six finishes in his past four Open starts, which have clearly caught the eye of R & A officials.

Day, whose best Open finish remains a tied fourth four years ago after falling a shot short of the three-man playoff won by Zach Johnson, hits off alongside world No.2 Dustin Johnson and another American ex-major champion in Keegan Bradley.

Tiger Woods tees off in the group immediately after Day's with fellow American Patrick Reed and English hope Matt Wallace.

Northern Ireland superstar Rory McIlroy is out just before midday local time with US Open champion Gary Woodland and Englishman Paul Casey.

World No.1 Brooks Koepka begins his quest for a fifth major championship in the afternoon wave with 2010 Open winner Louis Ousthuizen and Indian Shubhankar Sharma.

AUSTRALIAN TEE TIMES FOR FIRST ROUND OF THE BRITISH OPEN ON THURSDAY (all times AEST)

6.58pm: ADAM SCOTT, Francesco Molinari (ITA), Bryson De Chambeau (USA)

8.58pm: DIMITRIOS PAPADATOS, Joel Dahlmen (USA), Adri Arnaus (ESP)

9.20pm: JAKE MCLEOD, Eric Van Rooyen (RSA), Kurt Kitiyama (USA)

10.26pm: MARC LEISHMAN, Jordan Spieth (USA), Danny Willett (ENG)

10.37pm: CAMERON SMITH, Adam Hadwin (CAN), David Lipsky (USA)

11.59pm: JASON DAY, Dustin Johnson (USA), Keegan Bradley (USA)

OTHER NOTABLE GROUPINGS

7.09pm: Rory McIlroy (NIR), Gary Woodland (USA), Paul Casey (ENG)

10.04pm: Brooks Koepka (USA), Louis Ousthuizen (RSA), Shubhankar Sharma IND)

12.10am (Friday): Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed, Matt Wallace

Young Australian golfer Brett Coletta has endured a nerve-wracking, near-miss on the US secondary tour, finishing one stroke behind Argentina's Nelson Ledesma.

With a US PGA Tour card in his sights, Coletta started the final round of the TPC Colorado Championship tied for the lead with Ledesma and overcame a rough start to be level again at the 18th tee after a birdie on the 17th.

But Ledesma (70) triumphed at 15 under when he sunk a 20-foot birdie putt on the difficult final hole on the Heron Lakes course as his Aussie final group partner could only manage par for a 71.

"When the ball was about six feet away from the hole, I knew it was going in. I knew the tournament was mine," said 28-year-old Ledesma.

He wrapped up a US PGA Tour card for next season after securing his second win on the Korn Ferry Tour, formerly the web.com Tour, to move to fourth on the standings.

The top 25 at the end of the season get PGA Tour cards.

Coletta, 23, is much better placed to join Ledesma on the main tour after ending a run of six straight missed cuts and jumping from 66th to 25th on the standings.

The Victorian has won a professional tournament, but that was as an amateur at the Queensland Open in 2016 and he was also runner-up in the New South Wales Open that season.

As an amateur he was runner-up in the Asia Pacific Championship in the same year.

Adam Scott already has spent seven days at Royal Portrush, three of them with Darren Clarke, and the advice was invaluable to the end.

The pair stood off the 18th green Sunday as Scott listened intently to a British Open champion whose game was forged on these links.

How the course plays in different wind directions?

Whether it's worth hitting driver down the steep hill on the 17th?

No, this was where to spend the next few days away from the course, with the Bushmills Distillery the leading option.

"I've seen enough now," Scott said. "I feel ready."

What he saw was better than he imagined.

Royal Portrush hasn't hosted golf's oldest championship since 1951 and has a mystique except for the few who know it well.

Clarke is on that list, having made Portrush his adopted home.

Graeme McDowell is the only player who was raised in Portrush. Rory McIlroy is famous for the course record he set (61) at the North of Ireland Amateur when he was 16.

It's not usual for Scott to show up at the Open a full week ahead of time, as he did at Carnoustie a year ago.

"I was a bit surprised, my first look, at how demanding a golf course it is," Scott said.

"Sometimes on a links you can get away with wide shots. Here, you don't. It's so penal off the tee, no matter what you hit.

"If you start spraying it, there's going to be reloading a lot. If the wind doesn't blow, there will be less of that. It is a very, very strong golf course."

Scott said Clarke gave him more than he could have wanted.

He asked for a practice round, just to see how Clarke approached these links, and wound up playing three times with him.

"He's gone out of his way to spend way too much time with me," Scott said.

"I love watching how he plays the links he grew up on, to see what he thinks and how he navigates.

"He's been incredibly helpful. It's nice to have a good level of comfort to go play the tournament."

It was another day, another 62 on the PGA Tour as Jhonattan Vegas became the latest player to post the score en route to a one-stroke lead after the second round of the John Deere Classic on Friday (Saturday AEST).

It was the sixth round in succession in which someone has managed 62, a reflection not just of the quality of play on the tour but also relatively easy conditions.

The nine-under effort left Vegas a shot ahead of American Andrew Landry (65) at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

"A phenomenal round. I felt absolutely in control today. Hit my irons really well, something I've been missing all year. It's been a while since I had a good round like this," Venezuelan Vegas told Golf Channel after posting a 13-under 129 halfway total.

The highest placed Australian at the conclusion of the second day's play was Cameron Davis, who backed up his first round 66 with a one-under 70 round, sitting seven shots behind Vegas' total at six-under.

John Senden was the only other Australian to survive the cut after the second round, with his 71 leaving him at four-under. Compatriots Matt Jones (one-under), Curtis Luck, Steve Allan (both four-over) and Robert Allenby (seven-over) will all miss the weekend's play.

American Lucas Glover, a former U.S. Open champion, had an albatross at the par-five 10th, where he used a three-iron from 255 yards.

The feat helped Glover to a 64 that hoisted him within two shots of Vegas.

First round leader Roberto Diaz of Mexico, who had 62 on day one, double-bogeyed his final hole for a 73, plunging six shots off the pace.

The highest placed finisher in this tournament, who is not already exempt to next week's British Open, will punch the final ticket to Royal Portrush.

Vegas and Landry both have that opportunity.

Vegas, 34, a three-times PGA Tour winner, finished equal third at the prestigious Players Championship in March but has struggled recently, missing three cuts in his past four starts before this week.

Australian Su Oh sits seven shots behind South Korean Sei Young Kim, who shot a seven-under 64 to take a one-stroke second round lead over her compatriot Jeongeun Lee6 in the Marathon Classic.

Kim, who won her eighth tour title at the Mediheal in California earlier this year, had four straight birdies between the third and sixth holes, and also birdied the par-four 12th and 15th holes and the par-five 18th to get to 11-under 131 at Highland Meadows Golf Club.

"My play wasn't good the last two weeks," Kim said.

"I'm just trying to do my best this week. So, I'm very happy with the (better) result than I expected.

U.S. Women's Open champion Lee6 shot her second straight 66, having birdied two of the last three holes.

"It was pretty good," Lee6 said.

"The greens were not too soft, not too firm. It was so easy to play with my second shot in order to control my shots. Satisfied with it."

Oh backed up her solid 69 in the first round with the same score on day two, and sits at four-under. Conversely, fellow Australian Minjee Lee could not match her first round 69, scoring 72 and dropping to one-under, while their compatriot Robyn Choi (three-over) missed the cut.

Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Jennifer Kupcho were nine-under. Kupcho shot 66, Thompson 67, and Lewis 68, with Lewis playing alongside Kim the first two days.

Lewis won the last of her 12 LPGA Tour titles in 2017. She was born in nearby Toledo and has an endorsement deal with Marathon Oil.

Thompson is coming off a two-week break.

Kupcho is making her sixth tour start as a pro. The former Wake Forest star won the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur in April.

Australia's Cameron Davis fired an impressive five-under par 66 in the opening round of the PGA's John Deere Classic, but still finds himself some way off the lightning pace set by Roberto Diaz.

The Mexican player holed a 100-yard wedge shot for eagle at his first hole and never looked back as he blitzed the TPC Deere Run course in Silvis with a nine-under-par 62, to lead Americans Adam Long and Russell Henley by two.

The 32-year-old Diaz had seven birdies to go with the eagle in a flawless, bogey-free round.

"I just feel that everything clicked," Diaz said. "I've been playing pretty solid throughout the year. The driver has been awesome. I've been hitting a lot of fairways, and today I hit good numbers all day, and that helps."

Winless on the PGA Tour, Diaz tied for eighth at the Travelers Championship last month.

Long, who got his first career win earlier this season at the Desert Classic, had eight birdies - four on the front nine and four on the back nine.

Henley has missed the weekend cuts in his last four straight starts. But he highlighted an impressive birdie run by drilling a 55-foot putt on the par-3 7th hole.

"I don't think I've ever lost the belief that I can have a nice tournament," Henley said. "It's just a matter of a few bumps here and there."

Twenty-year-old rookie Matthew Wolff, who picked up his first career win at the 3M Open last week, opened with a 67.

Wolff, the youngest winner on the tour since Jordan Spieth won at Deere Run six years ago, hit 15 greens in regulation and played bogey-free.

"Having that PGA Tour card locked up is a lot of weight off of my shoulders," Wolff said. "Everything in my game feels really good right now."

Davis had five birdies to go with an eagle three at the par-5 second hole, but bogeyed the subsequent hole to end the round tied 10th.

Compatriot John Senden was a shot further behind and in a tie for 20th, while Steve Allan (two-under) and Matt Jones (even) were the next best Australians.

There is plenty of incentive for many in the field, including Davis and Henden, with the winner earning a berth at next week's British Open.

Australians Minjee Lee and Su Oh have made positive starts at the LPGA's Marathon Classic in Sylvania but need to lift quick to reel in the leaders.

Lee and Ok shot respectable two-under-par 69s in the first round, but find themselves five shots adrift of pacesetters Alena Sharp of Canada and South Korea's Youngin Chun at the Highlands Meadows Golf Club.

Oh had three birdies to go with a lone bogey while world No.3 Lee mixed four birdies with two bogeys.

Both are in a tie for 29th, three shots ahead of the only other Australian in the field Robyn Choi.

The 38-year-old Sharp, winless on the LPGA Tour, had eight birdies and a bogey.

"I played really well right from the first tee shot," Sharp said. "I felt really calm this morning coming into this event. I always love playing here. I have great housing."

The 19-year-old Chun, also seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, had a bogey-free round.

"I didn't know I shot 64 today," Chun said. "The funniest thing I finish par on the 18 and then I saw the leaderboard and there is a seven-under and I was like, 'Who is that?' I asked my dad. 'I think I shot six, right?' He said, 'No, you're seven.' So it was me."

American Stacy Lewis, who won the last of 12 LPGA Tour titles in 2017, is a shot behind the leaders with German Caroline Masson, Swede Jenny Haglund and Spain's Azahara Munoxz.

"It was awesome," Lewis said. "The biggest thing is I hit 18 greens today. I've been working on the ball-striking a lot, so just really nice to see some results. Got a few putts to fall there on our last few holes."

The Texan had seven birdies and a bogey.

"It's a golf course I'm not necessarily 100 per cent comfortable on," Lewis said. "I just had some really good golf shots today. Had some easy tap-in birdies. I haven't done that in the long time, in general."

Defending champion Jasmine Suwannapura opened with a 70.

Yealimi Noh, the 17-year-old from California who tied for sixth last week in Wisconsin in her LPGA Tour debut, had a 73.

Playing on a sponsor exemption after Monday qualifying last week, she had five birdies and seven bogeys.

HOW THE AUSTRALIANS RATE AT GOLF'S BRITISH OPEN

ADAM SCOTT (AUS)

Age: 38

World ranking: 17

US PGA Tour wins: 13

Best British Open result: 2 (2012)

Opens played: 19 (15 cuts made)

Odds: $36

Why he can win: Scott's world-class ball-striking is built for links golf. Scott held at least a share of the back-nine lead on Sunday in three British Opens from 2102 to 2015.

Why he might not: Pressure. A second major to go with his 2013 Masters title has proved elusive.

JASON DAY (AUS)

Age: 31

World ranking: 18

US PGA Tour wins: 12

Best in a major: Win (2015 PGA Championship)

Opens played: 8 (8 cuts made)

Best Masters: T4 (2015)

Odds: $41

Why he can win: Day's driving and iron play have improved out of sight and he is hitting more fairways and greens than ever.

Why he might not: Short game and putting woes. Usually in the top three putters on the US PGA Tour, Day currently ranks 35th.

MARC LEISHMAN (AUS)

Age: 35

World ranking: 23

US PGA Tour wins: 4

Best in a major: T2nd (2015 British Open)

Opens played: 8 (6 cuts made).

Best Open: T2 (2015)

Odds: $67

Why he can win: Leishman has a gift for flighting irons under the wind which is crucial in links golf at the Open.

Why he might not: Driving. The driver has been Leishman's weakness and finding fairways is critical at the Open.

CAMERON SMITH (AUS)

Age: 25

World ranking: 41

US PGA Tour wins: 1

Opens played: 2 (1 cut made)

Best Open: 78th (2018)

Odds: $201

Why he can win: Smith thrives on tough courses and brutal weather conditions, which are both common at the Open.

Why he might not: Inexperience and poor Open form. Smith has played just two Opens and only managed a 78th placing when making the cut.

JAKE MCLEOD (AUS)

Age: 24

World ranking: 190

Opens played: 0 (major debut)

Odds: $751

Why he can win: Low expectations and freedom. This is McLeod's major debut and he will fly under the radar.

Why he might not: Form. McLeod has missed seven cuts in his debut European Tour season this year.

DIMI PAPADATOS (AUS)

Age: 28

World ranking: 220

Opens played: 0 (major debut)

Odds: $751

Why he can win: Strong closer. Papadatos has won four pro events in three different countries.

Why he might not: Like McLeod, form. Papadatos has missed his past five cuts in a row on the European Tour and its secondary circuit.

Adam Scott has spent the past week studying every inch of British Open venue Royal Portrush in an effort to find the gear he has been missing in major contention recently.

Scott has been Australia's form player at the majors, giving himself varying chances to win the past five going back to last year's British Open.

Notably, the former world No.1 finished third at last year's US PGA Championship and shared the 36-hole lead at this year's Masters.

After top-eight results at the recent PGA Championship and US Open, Scott is desperate to add an elusive second major title to his 2013 Masters win.

"Every major lately I have needed that last piece of the puzzle and I want to put my finger on what that is ," Scott told AAP from the UK.

Scott's determination to avoid being a one-major wonder is the reason he arrived at Portrush last Friday - two weeks before the course hosts Northern Ireland's first British Open in 68 years.

The Queenslander typically arrives at Open venues weeks in advance, a ritual that has reaped rewards.

Scott contended in every Open between 2012 and 2015, holding at least a share of the back-nine lead on Sunday in three of those.

But he failed to win the Open's coveted Claret Jug.

"I had a run for four years when I felt I was going to win the thing. I'd like to get those feelings going again," Scott said.

"There is a huge level of comfort; since 2010 I've played links golf really well and I feel my formula has worked."

Scott's countryman Jason Day is also expecting to be a factor in Northern Ireland, having recently hired accomplished caddie Steve Williams.

Day has recorded just one top-10 from three events with Williams on the bag.

But his long-time coach, Colin Swatton, expects the pair to lift for what will be their second major together.

"The more events you play together, the more comfortable you become and I definitely think expectations will be raised for the Open," Swatton said.

Day has improved his ball-striking significantly, hitting 78 per cent of fairways and greens in regulation during last week's 3M Open in Minnesota.

But his usually world-class short game and putting have been poor and he will need to rediscover both to contend at the UK major.

"I'm optimistic Jason will contend," Swatton said. "If he gets on the favourable side of the draw, has a decent ball striking week and makes a few putts, then I'd expect him to be in the mix come Sunday."

Australia's contingent for the Open currently stands at a very lean six players.

But there are three British Open spots on offer at this week's Scottish Open and one available at the John Deere Classic in the US.

Joining Day and Scott at Portrush will be world No.23 Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, as well as Dimi Papadatos and Jake McLeod.

Papadatos and McLeod qualified for their major debuts courtesy of finishing in the top three at last year's Australian Open in Sydney, part of the British Open qualifying series.

Australian golfer Dimi Papadatos has hired Jason Day's former caddie Luke Reardon for his major debut at the upcoming British Open in Northern Ireland.

European Tour-based Papadatos, from New South Wales, is one of six Australians already guaranteed a place at Royal Portrush when the UK major returns to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1951.

This week, though, the European Tour's Scottish Open offers three more British Open spots, while in the US the John Deere Classic affords one.

Having missed the cut in his past five events in Europe, 28-year-old Papadatos will lean on former world No.1 Day's ex caddie Reardon when the 148th Open Championship starts July 18.

Reardon became available in June when Day hired Tiger Woods' former caddie, Steve Williams, full time.

Queensland native Reardon says big-hitting Papadatos - who has won professional tournaments in three countries - has a demeanour suited to golf's biggest stage.

"He's a very talented golfer," Reardon told AAP. "I think he has right mindset for a major; he doesn't get too excited or emotional. He's looking forward to giving his first major a crack."

Papadatos secured his major championship debut via last year's Australian Open, which is part of the British Open qualifying series, where he finished second at The Lakes in Sydney.

Reardon, Day's close mate since high school, was on Day's bag for four majors during their near two-year partnership.

He says that experience will benefit Papadatos, who is managed by former NRL star Braith Anasta's growing Searoo Sports agency.

"I can bring a level head to Dimi's bag, which is crucial at a major" said Reardon, who caddied for Day during his US PGA Tour win at last year's Wells Fargo event.

"I've also got some experience and knowledge of how golfers at the top go about their work.

"Obviously, Jason was world No.1 for 51 total weeks and he does things that work well for him. I learned a lot from him."

Day, craving a second major to go with his 2015 US PGA Championship, will arrive at Portrush for practice this weekend.

It will be his second major with Williams, the New Zealander who was on the bag for 13 of Woods' 15 major wins - as well as Australian Adam Scott's victory at the 2013 Masters at Augusta.

Joining Day and Papadatos at Portrush are countrymen Marc Leishman, Scott and Cameron Smith, as well as youngster Jake McLeod - whose Open berth came from winning the Australasian tour's order of merit.

However, 10 Australians are teeing up at the Scottish Open, while four are in action at the John Deere Classic, including former winner John Senden.