The Open Championship 2012: Schedule And Preview

The 2012 British Open Championship will begin from England's challenging Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club on Thursday, as the greatest golfers in the world prepare to attack the third major of the season.

A pair of Cleveland-born golfers will be the field at this year's tournament, as Jason Dufner and Ben Curtis will each hope to tame the tricky 7,086-yard course that features just two par-5's. Curtis, who sports a handy lifetime exemption to The Open due to his 2003 victory at Royal St. George's Golf Club over Thomas Bjorn and Vijay Singh, ended a six-year winless streak in April with a victory at the Valero Texas Open.

Dufner, who finished in a tie for fourth place at last month's U.S. Open, will be looking to make the cut for the first time in his pro career at the British. Dufner's impressive 2012 campaign has vaulted him all the way to No. 7 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and he will be looking to continue his impressive run this week in England.

A late entry into The Open field, 40-year-old Jeev Milkha Singh took down Francesco Molinari in a playoff on Sunday to take the Scottish Open title and secure the final berth into the British's stacked field. Singh nailed a 15-foot putt for birdie to clinch just his second career appearance at The Open.

For more coverage of The Open Championship, stay with SB Nation Cleveland. For more golf news and analysis, be sure to head over to SB Nation's golf hub.