154th Open Championship
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Southport, Merseyside, England
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NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | Royal Birkdale |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,233 yards. |
| Par: | 70 (34-36). |
| Greens: | Fescue and browntop Bentgrass; 5,250 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 10.5 feet. |
| Rough: | Dense fescue, dune scrub |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 123 bunkers. Hole No. 5 has a pond. |
| Architect(s): | George Lowe (1897); Mackenzie & Ebert (2023). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Scottie Scheffler (Royal Portrush). |
| Defending Champions (course): | Jordan Spieth (-12; 2017). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | Padraig Harrington (2007-08) |
| Previous Winners at Birkdale | Spieth 2017, Harrington 2008. |
| Course Record | 62; Branden Grace (Round 3, 2017). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record (course): | -14; Lee Trevino (1971). |
| Fact of the Week: | Royal Birkdale is hosting for the 11th time. Only St. Andrews has hosted more Open Championships. |
Notes:
- Field of 156 players.
- All 50 of the OWGR entered.
- Top SEVENTY and ties play the weekend.
- The winner receives $3.2 million USD, the Claret Jug, the Gold Medal, and 750 FedExCup points.
Recent Winners – The Open Championship
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2025 | Scottie Scheffler | Won his first Open Championship at Royal Portrush and his second major of the 2025 season (PGA Championship). |
| 2024 | Xander Schauffele | Won his first Open Championship at Royal Troon and his second major of the 2024 season (PGA Championship). |
| 2023 | Brian Harman | Won his first major championship at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) in a runaway. |
| 2022 | Cameron Smith | Posted 20-under-par, the lowest total ever at St. Andrews, to win. |
| 2021 | Collin Morikawa | Picked up his second major championship in his FIRST START at the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s. |
Recent Winners
2026 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | No Event |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Chris Gotterup |
| The American Express | Scottie Scheffler |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Justin Rose |
| WM Phoenix Open | Chris Gotterup (2) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Collin Morikawa |
| Cognizant Classic | Nico Echavarria |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Akshay Bhatia |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Cameron Young |
| Valspar Championship | Matt Fitzpatrick |
| Houston Open | Gary Woodland |
| Valero Texas Open | J.J. Spaun |
| Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy |
| RBC Heritage | Matt Fitzpatrick (2) |
| Zurich Classic | Matt Fitzpatrick (3); Alex Fitzpatrick |
| Cadillac Championship | Cameron Young (2) |
| Truist Championship | Kristoffer Reitan (first-time winner) |
| 108th PGA Championship | Aaron Rai |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Wyndham Clark |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Russell Henley |
| Memorial Tournament | JT Poston |
| RBC Canadian Open | Bud Cauley (first-time winner) |
| United States Open | Wyndham Clark |
| Travelers Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| John Deere Classic | Chris Gotterup (3) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Tom Kim |
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (LIV) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| Puerto Rico Open | Karl Vilips (first time) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (career grand slam) |
| RBC Heritage | Justin Thomas |
| Zurich Classic | Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first-time winners) |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Scottie Scheffler |
| Truist Championship | Sepp Straka (2) |
| Mrytle Beach One Flight | Ryan Fox |
| 106th PGA Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Ben Griffin (2) |
| The 50th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Canadian Open | Ryan Fox (2) |
| 124th United States Open | J.J. Spaun |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Aldrich Potgieter (first time) |
| John Deere Classic | Brian Campbell (2) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Chris Gotterup |
| ISCO Championship | William Mouw (first time) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Barracuda Championship | Ryan Gerard (first time) |
| 3M Open | Kurt Kitayama |
| Wyndham Championship | Cameron Young (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Justin Rose |
| BMW Championship | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| The TOUR Championship | Tommy Fleetwood (first time) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Steven Fisk (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Michael Brennan (first time) |
| Baycurrent Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Ben Griffin (3) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Adam Schenk (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Sami Valimaki (first time) |
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
Whatever.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Robert MacIntyre | T4 | 409,500 |
| The American Express | Ben Griffin | T24 | 81,420 |
| Farmers Insurance | Jason Day | T38 | 41,760 |
| WM Phoenix Open | Sahith Theegala | T18 | 122,720 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Patrick Cantlay | T14 | 342,500 |
| The Genesis Invitational | Tommy Fleetwood | T7 | 603,200 |
| Cognizant Classic | Daniel Berger | T32 | 54,816 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler | T24 | 157,000 |
| THE PLAYERS | Shane Lowry | mc | 0 |
| Valspar Championship | Jacob Bridgeman | T14 | 161,525 |
| Houston Open | Chris Gotterup | T6 | 322,987 |
| Valero Texas Open | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | T14 | 159,250 |
| Masters | Jon Rahm | T38 | 101,250 |
| RBC Heritage | Russell Henley | T30 | 142,750 |
| Zurich Classic | Alex Fitzpatrick | WIN | 1,375,000 |
| Cadillac Championship | Gary Woodland | T38 | 72,182 |
| Truist Championship | Rory McIlroy | T19 | 242,100 |
| 108th PGA Championship | Bryson DeChambeau | MC | 0 |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Si Woo Kim | 2nd | 1,122,700 |
| Charles Schwab | J.J. Spaun | T3 | 322,987 |
| Memorial Tournament | Jordan Spieth | MC | 0 |
| RBC Canadian Open | Zach Bauchou | MC | 0 |
| United States Open | Xander Schauffele | T11 | 405,862 |
| Travelers Championship | Brian Harman | T24 | 154,500 |
| John Deere Classic | JT Poston | T51 | 21,358 |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Matt Fitzpatrick | T3 | 431,887 |
Last WEEK – Genesis Scottish Open
THE CHOICE: Matt Fitzpatrick
Even when I hit the podium, I share it with 290842 others.
This Week – The Open Championship
The Choice: Tyrrell Hatton
If you need some guidance, keep scrolling.
I will point out the winner’s check/purse is not on the level of the three FedExCup Playoff events.
Combined with the unstable weather in this part of the world, I would NOT waste my biggest guns this week.
Royal Birkdale has identified big-time players over the years. Stick in a UK/Euro player and take your chances.
| Majors Streak | No. |
| (cuts made) | |
| Xander Schauffele | 18 |
| Scottie Scheffler | 17 |
| Aaron Rai | 10 |
| Brian Harman | 10 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | 9 |
| Sam Burns | 9 |
| Sam Stevens | 8 |
| Maverick McNealy | 7 |
| Open Championship | No. |
| (cuts made) | |
| Jordan Speith | 12 |
| Xander Schauffele | 8 |
| Robert MacIntyre | 6 |
| Scottie Scheffler | 5 |
Glass Houses 