The 2026 Open Championship: A Return to Royal Birkdale

Four majors. Four stories. And the last one—the most beautiful—belongs to Europe. While Augusta, Shinnecock Hills, and Valhalla kicked off the season, the highlight is now just around the corner: the 154th Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale. To the dune-covered landscape on England’s west coast, where the wind forgives no mistakes, where the Claret Jug is at home, and where golf has been played in its purest form since 1860.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler arrives on the coast of Southport as the world’s No. 1—and carries the weight of history with him. After all, no player has managed to defend the British Open title since Pádraig Harrington did so in 2007 and 2008. That was 18 years ago. Can the American break the streak? Or will someone else have their name engraved on the Claret Jug?

Here you’ll find the 2026 Open Championship live leaderboard and tee times.

The Tournament at a Glance

Royal Birkdale: An Amphitheater of Sand and Wind

There are golf courses you see once and never forget. Royal Birkdale is one of them. The massive sand dunes, which rise like natural grandstands along the Fairways, give the course its unmistakable silhouette. Unlike many other links courses, the holes at Birkdale do not run across the dunes but through the valleys between them—a feature that gives spectators an extraordinary view of the action and lends the course that amphitheater-like atmosphere for which it is world-famous.

In 2026, the Open Championship will be held at Royal Birkdale for the eleventh time—more often than at any other course except St. Andrews. Since the club’s opening in 1889, the course on the Merseyside coast has established itself as one of the most challenging and distinctive venues in the R&A’s Rota system.

For the 154th edition, Royal Birkdale will take on a new look: Holes 14 and 15 have been completely redesigned. The former par-3 14th hole no longer exists; in its place is a redesigned 14th hole based on the former par-5 15th hole, extended with a newly constructed green. Hole 15 is now a completely new par-3 that leads back toward the clubhouse—meaning that every par-3 on the course now plays in a different direction. At a total of 7,223 yards, Royal Birkdale is not only 67 yards longer this year than it was at the last Open in 2017, but also the longest Par-70 course in the history of the Open Championship.

The most difficult hole on the course has been the same at every single Open held at Birkdale: Hole 6. The 514-yard par-4—which this year is also the longest par-4 in Open history—requires a perfect tee shot through two pot bunkers on the dogleg, followed by a long approach shot to an elevated green framed by dunes. Anyone who makes a Birdie here has achieved a small victory. Anyone who makes a Bogey is in good company.

As for the weather forecast for tournament week: The first few days promise sunny, windy weather with temperatures up to 28 degrees Celsius and an easterly wind. In the second half of the tournament, the wind will shift to the north, temperatures will drop slightly, and there’s a small chance of scattered showers. In short: It’s Birkdale. Anything is possible.

Find out everything about the four men’s golf majors here.

The defending champion: Is Scheffler on his way to becoming a legend?

Scottie Scheffler has demonstrated in recent years that he is the best golfer in the world—not just as a headline, but as a fact. With his victory at the 153rd British Open at Royal Portrush in 2025, he claimed the third leg of the Career Grand Slam and his fourth major title overall. Only the U.S. Open remains for him to complete the set.

Now he faces another historic challenge. The last player to successfully defend the Open Championship was Pádraig Harrington—an Irishman who triumphed at Carnoustie in 2007 and, of all places, right here at Royal Birkdale in 2008. Since then, the Claret Jug has changed hands at every tournament.

In his six appearances at the British Open so far, Scheffler has never finished worse than a tie for 23rd place. Eleven of his 20 Open rounds were under Par—numbers that speak for themselves. But links golf remains a discipline of its own, a game unto itself. And the field awaiting him at Birkdale is stronger than ever.

The field: 28 nations, 15 champions

156 players from 28 nations will tee off at Royal Birkdale on Thursday. Among them: 15 former Open champions, 41 players making their British Open debut, 10 amateurs, and 12 LIV golfers. A field that reflects the full breadth of the sport worldwide.

Naturally, special attention will be focused on the home favorites. Leading the pack is Tommy Fleetwood, who grew up in Southport—literally a stone’s throw from the first tee. The expectations of British fans will grow with every step he takes across the dunes. And he’s in top form: Five top-20 finishes in his last six PGA Tour starts speak to a player at the peak of his game.

Rory McIlroy, the last British Isles champion (Hoylake 2014), and Justin Rose, who finished fourth as an amateur in his first Open at Birkdale in 1998 and has since placed second twice, are also among the hopefuls. Robert MacIntyre, the Scot who narrowly missed out on victory at Portrush in 2025, rounds out the European contingent of title contenders.

Want to know more about the favorites? Check out our separate favorites roundup for the 2026 Open Championship.

Qualification: The Long Road to the Claret Jug

Anyone who wants to compete in the Open Championship must earn the right to do so. The R&A’s qualification system is considered one of the most well-thought-out in golf and offers multiple paths to entry: Former champions are exempt until age 60 (or 55 if the victory occurred after 2024), and there are also exemptions based on world ranking positions as well as the season standings of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.

Through the Open Qualifying Series—tournaments on four continents, from Japan to South Africa to Canada—players worldwide can qualify directly. Regional and Final Qualifying events in the United Kingdom also open the door for professionals and amateurs looking to earn a spot in the weeks leading up to the tournament.

New this year is a first: the Last-Chance Qualifier, which the R&A has introduced for the first time in the history of the Open Championship. On Monday, July 13—just three days before the first shot of the tournament—12 players will compete against each other over 18 holes right on the Royal Birkdale course. The winner will claim the 156th and final spot in the field. R&A CEO Mark Darbon commented on the new format: “We believe the Last-Chance Qualifier will create real drama and excitement at the start of the week.”

History & Tradition: More Than Just a Golf Tournament

The Open Championship is no ordinary tournament. It is the oldest major in the world, having been held continuously since 1860—with a hiatus during both world wars and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whoever lifts the Claret Jug joins the ranks of the greatest names golf has ever produced.

The trophy itself has an eventful history. Originally, the winner was awarded not a cup, but a red leather belt—the so-called Challenge Belt. When Young Tom Morris permanently claimed it with three consecutive victories (1868–1870), the Open was left without a trophy for a year. In 1872, the three host clubs agreed on a joint solution: a silver jug, crafted in the style of 19th-century Bordeaux carafes. The Claret Jug was born. Officially, the trophy is still called “The Golf Champion Trophy”—but that name never caught on.

The record-holder is Harry Vardon of Jersey, who won the British Open six times—between 1896 and 1914. Peter Thomson, Tom Watson, James Braid, and J.H. Taylor followed with five wins each.

At Birkdale itself, it has been primarily Americans and Australians who have made history. Of the ten Opens held here so far, players from the U.S. have won six times, and those from Australia three times—the only exception being Pádraig Harrington for Ireland in 2008. The course record is held by South African Branden Grace, who carded a 62 in the third round in 2017—to this day, the lowest round ever played at a major. His caddie, Zack Rasego, is said to have whispered in his ear after the final putt: “You’re in the history books.”

In addition to the overall winner, the Open has also honored the best amateur player since 1949—provided he makes the cut—with the Silver Medal. Two players in the history of the Open have won both the Silver Medal and the Claret Jug: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy—a detail that further underscores McIlroy’s connection to this tournament.

Looking Ahead: Who Will Write the Next Chapter?

Royal Birkdale awaits. The dunes stand ready. The wind is blowing. And somewhere among the field of 156 starters, over the four days from July 16 to 19, 2026, it will be decided whose name will be immortalized on the Claret Jug.

Will Scottie Scheffler become the first defending champion in 18 years? Will Tommy Fleetwood claim his long-awaited major victory in front of his hometown crowd? Or will an underdog surprise everyone—just as Branden Grace did in 2017 with his unforgettable 62 that no one saw coming?

The 154th Open Championship will write its own history—on the Fairways among the dunes, in the pot bunkers, on the fast greens, and in the capricious winds of England’s west coast.