![The 154th Open Championship: Royal Birkdale 2026](https://cdn.slatesource.com/f/8/1/f819c8ec-aae9-48a1-985e-52281666dab1.webp) # The 154th Open Championship: Royal Birkdale 2026 - [Made in Slatesource](https://slatesource.com/@steph/the-154th-open-championship-royal-birkdale-2026) - By [Steph](https://slatesource.com/@steph) - Created on Jul 31, 2026 ![Gallery image 1](https://cdn.slatesource.com/f/8/1/f819c8ec-aae9-48a1-985e-52281666dab1.webp) ## The OpenOpen ChampionshipChampionship: Golf'sGolf's OriginalOriginal MajorMajor The OpenOpen ChampionshipChampionship is the oldestoldest of golf'sgolf's fourfour majorsmajors, firstfirst playedplayed in 18601860 at PrestwickPrestwick with eighteight competitorscompetitors and a redred leatherleather beltbelt as the prizeprize. TodayToday 156156 playersplayers from 28 countriescountries competecompete for the ClaretClaret JugJug and a firstfirst prizeprize of $3.25 millionmillion. RoyalRoyal BirkdaleBirkdale hostshosts for the 11th11th timetime in 20262026, havinghaving stagedstaged some of the mostmost memorablememorable momentsmoments in the sport'ssport's historyhistory: ArnoldArnold Palmer'sPalmer's impossibleimpossible recoveryrecovery in 19611961, LeeLee Trevino'sTrevino's chip-inchip-in on 71 in 19711971, TomTom Watson'sWatson's finalfinal OpenOpen in 20092009, and JordanJordan Spieth'sSpieth's nerve-shreddingnerve-shredding backback ninenine in 20172017. The 154th154th editionedition teestees off ThursdayThursday JulyJuly 16, concludingconcluding SundaySunday JulyJuly 19. Championship 154th Open Championship, July 16 to 19 2026 Venue Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England Course Par 70, 7,223 yards, links layout with 12 par 4s Field 156 players from 28 countries, all top 50 in world rankings Prize fund $17 million total, $3.25 million to the winner Cut Low 70 players and ties after 36 holes advance Defending champion Scottie Scheffler (won Royal Portrush 2025 by 4 strokes) Broadcast NBC and Peacock (US), Sky Sports (UK), Eurosport (Europe) LOADING COORDINATES... ## The CourseCourse: What MakesMakes BirkdaleBirkdale DifferentDifferent RoyalRoyal BirkdaleBirkdale is a linkslinks in the truesttruest sensesense. FairwaysFairways runrun betweenbetween toweringtowering sandsand dunesdunes that funnelfunnel the coastalcoastal windwind unpredictablyunpredictably. UnlikeUnlike mostmost linkslinks coursescourses, the targettarget is usuallyusually visiblevisible from the teetee, but executingexecuting the rightright shotshot whilewhile windwind, firmfirm groundground, and willowwillow scrubscrub roughrough attemptattempt to deflectdeflect it is anotheranother mattermatter entirelyentirely. The par-70par-70 layoutlayout punishespunishes errorserrors withoutwithout relyingrelying on trickstricks. MackenzieMackenzie and EbertEbert renovatedrenovated threethree holesholes for 20262026: the shortshort par-4par-4 5th5th is nownow a genuinegenuine driveabledriveable risk-rewardrisk-reward holehole, the 7th7th greengreen has been raisedraised to createcreate steepersteeper runoffsrunoffs into famouslyfamously deepdeep bunkersbunkers, and a brand-newbrand-new par-3par-3 15th15th sitssits betweenbetween the oldold 15th15th and 16th16th holesholes, a late-roundlate-round swingswing holehole that couldcould decidedecide the championshipchampionship on SundaySunday afternoonafternoon. Five holes that will decide the Claret Jug 0% \- Hole 1 (par 4, 447 yards): One of the toughest opening holes in major golf. Out-of-bounds right, pot bunkers guarding the green, and a left-to-right prevailing wind combine to produce a brutal opening statement. A clean par here is a small victory. \- Hole 6 (par 4, signature hole): the definitive hole on the front nine. Two pot bunkers protect the dogleg right landing zone and the elevated green is ringed by dunes. Birdies are possible but bogeys are always waiting. \- Hole 7 (par 3, the Doughnut Bunker): A raised green with the famous circular doughnut bunker featuring a patch of grass in the middle. Miss the green and you face a nerve-jangling up-and-down from one of the deepest sand traps in championship golf. \- Hole 15 (par 3, new for 2026): inserted by Mackenzie and Ebert between the old 15th and 16th. It plays to a raised green framed by dunes and repositioned bunkers. In coastal wind on a firm Sunday it could swing the championship. \- Hole 18 (par 4, 508 yards): finish under the white art deco clubhouse. A redesigned tee brings fairway bunkers into play for anyone with a driver. Three bunkers guard the narrow green entrance. Championships have been won and lost here. The back-to-back milestone. Scheffler won at Royal Portrush in 2025. Victory at Royal Birkdale this week would make him the first back-to-back Open champion since Tiger Woods in 2005 and 2006. Only four players have won consecutive Opens: Young Tom Morris, J.H. Taylor, James Braid, and Tiger. Scheffler is 28 years old and already has four major titles. McIlroy's Grand Slam window. Rory McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta earlier in 2026, winning his first Masters title. He last won The Open in 2014 at Royal Liverpool, finishing 17 under par with a dominant wire-to-wire performance. A win at Royal Birkdale would give him seven majors, tying Harry Vardon for the most by any British golfer in history. The hometown wildcard. Tommy Fleetwood grew up in Southport. Royal Birkdale is his home course. He is still seeking his first major championship after multiple close calls. He calls Birkdale "one of the best golf courses I have ever played" and knows every blade of grass. Crowd support at home has never been louder. He opens at +1500 odds and carries the hopes of English golf. > Birkdale is one of the best Open venues. It's an amazing golf course and an amazing venue. Wherever I have been in the world, it always stands in my top five. [The Open Championship official site, live scores and course guide](https://www.theopen.com/royal-birkdale-154th-open?utm_source=slatesource) [ESPN: Full field, odds, analysis and how to watch](https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/page/Britishopen2026/open-championship-2026-how-watch-news-analysis-royal-birkdale?utm_source=slatesource)