Former world number one Lee Westwood says his game is in good shape right now and his confidence is high heading into the Open championship at Royal Troon.

The 145th edition of the major tournament gets underway on Thursday with defending champion Zach Johnson a 51.00 chance to retain the title.

Recently crowned US Open winner Dustin Johnson, who recently pulled out of Olympic contention, is second-favourite at 9.00 to win back-to-back major trophies while Australian Jason Day is leading the market at 8.00.

One player who is desperate to end his long-awaited major wait is none other than Westwood, who finished tied second in the Masters at Augusta National back in April.

The 43-year-old always seems to be the bridesmaid when it comes to winning one of the ‘big four’ competitions after recording nine top-three finishes across his career.

Many doubt whether the Worksop-born star will ever taste success in a major, but recent performances have strengthened his claims. Westwood was tied 11th at the 100th Open de France last time out and he insists the mind-set is good heading into the event at Troon.

“I had a nice finish at the Masters and have been in contention pretty much every tournament since so I am pleased with the way things are going,” he said.

“I’m going to keep working on the same things and then build on that for the Open.”

Westwood is a 41.00 chance to win the trophy alongside Masters champion Danny Willett and two-time major winner Martin Kaymer. American and former world number one Jordan Spieth, who came very close to triumphing in the 2015 edition in what was an outstanding season, is a 10.00 shot.