Rickie Fowler admits breaking his major duck at the Open Championship would help elevate him up the golfing pecking order.

The American is one of the few of his countrymen to have truly embraced links golf in recent years and showed his Midas touch by winning last week’s Scottish Open at Gullane.

Fowler has since travelled up the coast to St Andrews for the third major of the year which gets underway on Thursday morning.

His win on Sunday saw him move into the top five of the world rankings but despite his achievements, the attention heading into the event is very much on compatriot Jordan Spieth.

The 21-year-old has won both the Masters and the US Open in 2015 and is being tipped to make it three in a row following the injury to defending champion Rory McIlroy.

Fowler admits that he is currently below the likes of Spieth and world number one McIlroy but believes winning his maiden major title at the Old Course will allow him to take the next step.

“A good start would be to become a major champion,” he told reporters.
“And that’s something that I’ve always dreamed of and have wanted to accomplish.

“You know, Jordan has been playing amazing golf, and Rory has been doing that for quite some time. I do have some work to do.

“I need to continue winning. I think that’s the biggest thing, and putting myself in positions to win.”

Fowler is currently the 15.00 third favourite to claim the Claret Jug on Sunday, with Spieth leading the betting on 7.00 and Dustin Johnson also fancied at 12.00.