2026 Open Championship to Open at Royal Birkdale July 16

The 154th Open Championship is set to begin on Thursday, July 16, at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, with a field of 156 players contending for the Claret Jug on a course playing exceptionally firm and fast after weeks of dry weather.

Defending champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler enters the tournament as the betting favorite, seeking his fifth major title and aiming to become the first player since Padraig Harrington in 2008 to successfully defend an Open Championship. He arrives, however, after missing the cut at last week's Scottish Open, his first missed cut in four years. He will play the first two rounds alongside Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau, who is attempting to avoid missing the cut in all four majors this season.

The course conditions are a central storyline, with players comparing the browned-out, hard-running fairways to past Opens at Carnoustie in 2018 and Royal Liverpool in 2006. Many competitors have adjusted their equipment, swapping seven-woods for long irons to capitalize on the extra roll. The strategy off the tee is a primary topic of discussion, as the penal fairway bunkers remain a key hazard, but the sun-burnt rough is...