all the more extraordinary is the it all the more extraordinary is the home hopes of some of the players. the likes of darren clarke who lives in the area. graeme mcdowell, who is from port rush. and northern ireland's potentially most successful ever golfer, rory mcilroy. having the open back in this country isa having the open back in this country is a massive thing for golf. it'll bea is a massive thing for golf. it'll be a massive thing for the country. sport has an unbelievable ability to bring people together. we all know at times this country needs that and this has the ability to do that. we will talk more about rory mcavoy ina we will talk more about rory mcavoy in a moment, but let me bring in andrew murray, a former european tour winner. a huge amount of

pressure on rory mcavoy this week. yes, i think there is an amount of pressure on him, there is bound to be. there is pressure on him wherever but especially here. he holds the course record. a number of yea rs holds the course record. a number of years ago he shot a 61 around these links, which is unbelievable, when he was about 19. great anticipation. the whole thing around the northern irish major championships they've had. and with padraig harrington in the mix, as well, flying the irish flag himself as a major winner. great anticipation. i've never been toa great anticipation. i've never been to a golf championship like this with so much anticipation before it. it's electric. we talked about the local hopes. brooks koepka, who comes as the number one, it would be a story if he was not there or thereabouts, and he's got a local link, as well. his caddie is from these parts, he played with rory in junior golf. he has been his caddy for a number of years as he embarked on his career on the tour. he's been

with him since then. obviously, world number one, the man on form, and arguably the man to beat, some might say. it just and arguably the man to beat, some might say. itjust depends on the quirkiness of the weather around here. what will it throw up? we just had a big storm, big high winds, what will it be? nobody knows, anything can happen. it can derail anybody‘s championship. it's about the luck of the draw and who plays well and manages their way around. what do you make of the course? they've spent a lot of money. they've spent a lot of money. they've added two new holes, it's very different, what you make of it? it's fantastic. it's one of the great major courses. the elevation changes make it very special. there isa changes make it very special. there is a big drop off on the 17th, there is a big drop off on the 17th, there isa is a big drop off on the 17th, there is a big drop off on the 17th, there is a big rise up to the 17th green. the elevation here is more than most championship courses. it's very different. a lot of players don't know it. the world's top players

don't really know what to expect. anything can happen. it is a wide open open. it is going to be fantastic. anticipation really building around portrush today. the opening shot off the tee, 6:35am tomorrow, darren clarke, northern irishman, former open winner, of course, with the honour of opening things tomorrow. i hope the weather is better for you tomorrow. thank you. england are 6—0 down in the ashes against australia after losing all three of the one day internationals, but they have the chance to get back in the competition — as the test match starts tomorrow in taunton. with australia as holders, england must win the test to keep their hopes of regaining the urn alive.henry moran is there for us — the test match is worth four points for a win, and the three t20s are worth two points each. it has been a wonderful few days for english cricket. the men's team

winning the world cup at that extraordinary day at lord's cricket ground. now attention turns to the women's side to see if they can turn things around in a women's ashes series which thus far has gone all the way of australia. no margin of error. they need to win. all three twe nty20s, error. they need to win. all three twenty20s, as well. it's about breaking it down session by session. there will be times when we need to be positive but there will also be times when we need to absorb pressure, play the game situation, and hopefully we can settle the match and get a win. probably doing the wrong thing if we went out for a draw, so we are going to go and try and win. we need to see what the conditions are like on what's happening in the game but we are excited about it. these opportunities don't come around very often. the group is pumped and good to go. ingram's defeat in canterbury was one of their worst ever, the

question for heather night's side is whether they can pick themselves up, perhaps be inspired by the efforts of the men's side, and make sure they get back into this series againstan they get back into this series against an australian side who, so far, have been better in all departments. —— england's defeat in canterbury. olympic champion diver jack laugher has secured team gb another place at the tokyo 2020 games by qualifying for the individual 3m springboard final at the world championships jofra archer wasn't considered but could still make the ashes squad. olympic champion diver jack laugher has secured team gb another place at the tokyo 2020 games by qualifying for the individual 3m springboard final at the world championships in south korea. it's the second berth he's claimed after he and dan goodfellow won the synchronised competition on saturday. with news of that and some of the other britons in action today — here's our olympic sports reporter nick hope.

this has been a successful host venue this has been a successful host venue for great britain so far with two diving medals already secured. there was also the price of several more over the next couple of days. —— with the promise. in terms of today's action, the eyes and focus we re today's action, the eyes and focus were all onjack laugher, today's action, the eyes and focus were all on jack laugher, the olympic champion in the three metre springboard synchronised event, but the silver medallist in today's individual competition. —— jack laugher. nobody doubted he was he —— that he would ease into the final. but in sport nothing is given. it was a truly gruelling day of qualifying in semifinal action. job donein qualifying in semifinal action. job done in terms of olympic qualification forjack laugher, but he would like more. i've got to try my best. i like to win. i want to go on and do well. i will give it my

all. really concentrate. get a good night's sleep and hopefully come back inspired tomorrow. there was taunton competed in the final. she had already secured her place in the olympics by reaching the final yesterday but was hoping to put pressure on the top six in the final. it wasn't her best day of diving and she finished 12th. she is still only 19 and developing at this level. that was my first ever world championship final. that was a great experience. the more i dive against the top girls, the more i feel like i belong. and i get more confidence. let's switch to artistic swimming, today saw the completion of the campaignfor today saw the completion of the campaign for the great britain women. the duet line—up finished 14th in the free event, which keeps them on course for a place at next yea r‘s them on course for a place at next year's olympics. them on course for a place at next yea r‘s olympics. both just 17. them on course for a place at next year's olympics. bothjust17. many who watched them in action this week said they could one day become great britain's first in in the sport.

certainly a duet to watch out for in the coming years. thursday's will be day seven. we will have jack laugher backin day seven. we will have jack laugher back in action in the three metre individual final. back in action in the three metre individualfinal. he will back in action in the three metre individual final. he will be looking to co m plete individual final. he will be looking to complete a career grand slam of major diving titles following his olympic, european, and commonwealth su ccesses . olympic, european, and commonwealth successes. there will be kat torrance and grace reid in the three metres torrance and grace reid in the three m etres eve nt torrance and grace reid in the three metres event looking to secure olympic places. that's all from sportsday. we'll have more throughout the evening. it has been quite wet this evening, particularly over northern and western parts of the country. thursday, lots of sunshine on the way, and showers, some could be heavy and thundery, particularly over northern ireland and scotland. this is from the last few hours, you can see this weather front moving across the uk. then a gap. then this next by the system heading our way for friday. in the evening hours,

the cold front moves over the uk but the cold front moves over the uk but the bulk of the rain is in the north sea at this stage and the weather tends to clear up and dry across western areas by the end of the night. showers following behind this cool front. mild in the south, fresh in the north. thursday promises a lot of sunshine but showers from time to time. belfast, glasgow, edinburgh, again, some of them could be heavy and thundery. england and wales should be dry, if not sunny through the day, and temperatures could get up to 25 degrees.

you're watching beyond 100 days. democrats are about to vote on whether to impeach donald trump because of his racist tweets. the vote isn't expected to pass, but it could fracture the new unity in the party. the president tweeted again today about a group of democratic congresswomen — endorsing the notion that they are the "four horsewomen of the apocalypse." boris johnson and jeremy hunt hold their final hustings as theresa may offers them advice — leave the eu in way that's "in the national interest". also on the programme: on capitol hill, the families of those who died in the two crashes involving the boeing 737 max are testifying for the first time.