It promises to be the most interesting battle in golf as the careers of Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy play out thei transatlantic rivalry.Representing Europe is McIlroy. At 22 he has already won his first major after winning the US Open. He has also won on the PGA Tour and twice on the European Tour. Such success has seen his world ranking climb steadily to No.4 and yet, even more is expected from him.
Heading up the US challenge is Fowler. Like McIlroy he is 22, yet his CV does not contain the honours that McIlroy's does. Nevertheless, perhaps somewhat controversially, he beat McIlroy to land the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year title last year.
Together, the two poster boys are a marketing man's dream and no wonder they were partnered together during the two opening rounds of the Open championship.
There was nothing to separate them over the first two days, so they also partnered each other for the third round. This, however, was a different story.
While the majority of the pre-round focus was on McIlroy, he was unceremoniously upstaged by Fowler in the rain and windswept conditions.
Fowler, who is relatively inexperienced when it comes to links golf, played a sublime round of 68. In contrast, McIlroy signed for a disgruntled 74 that contained a double bogey seven at the 14th hole after slamming his driver out of bounds.
It means he faces an almost impossible task if he is to win back-to-back majors. However, as he pointed out, it has been done before.
He told a media briefing: "What did Paul Lawrie come back from when he won in 1999, 10? It's been done before, so I will just have to keep hope.
"It all depends on the conditions. If they are decent, then I could see myself going out and shooting five under and getting back in the hunt."
McIlroy was complimentary of his Ryder Cup opponent, while Fowler returned the compliment. He also shed some light on their friendship, yet insists there is no love lost in their competitive spirit.
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