The Open Championship will be visiting Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside,
England. The tournament tees off on Thursday, July 16, and will conclude on Sunday, July 19, weather permitting. As usual, The Open Championship is the final major championship of the year and features an exceptional field of players on an iconic, traditional golf course.
Let’s start the week with a look at the format, history, and course for The Open Championship.
The Format of The Open Championship
The Open Championship features a full field of 156 golfers with 72 holes of stroke play determining the champion. After 36 holes, the cut will reduce the field to the top 70 and ties for the final two rounds. One unique feature of the format is that if there is a tie at the end of the Final Round, the players will compete in a three-hole aggregate playoff to determine the winner.
The purse for the 2026 Open Championship will be announced later this week, but last year, the total purse was $17 million, with the champion taking home $3.1 million.
The history of the tournament
While the purse for The Open Championship is usually the smallest of the four majors, it comes with a huge amount of prestige. It is the oldest golf tournament in the world and boasts an impressive list of champions and many iconic moments through the years.
The Open Championship dates back to 1860, when it began at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. The tournament that year was 36 holes played in a single day of three rounds on the 12-hole layout. The field was only eight golfers the first year, with Willie Park, Sr. claiming the first of his three Open Championships over Old Tom Morris, who won in 1861 and went on to win four Open Championships in his career.
The famous claret jug was first awarded in 1872, when the event began to rotate between three courses that chipped in to pay for the first trophy. In 1892, the tournament was expanded to four rounds on an 18-hole course and rotated between a number of iconic venues. This year’s 154th Open Championship will be the 11th Open held at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, which was first used for The Open Championship in 1954.
Numerous traditions make The Open Championship one of the biggest tournaments of the year. From the winner earning the title “The Champion Golfer of the Year” to the Claret Jug that has been awarded since 1872, the event brings a rich, deep history and always seems like a huge event.
Last year, Scottie Scheffler won The Open Championship at Royal Portrush with a score of -17. The last time that the Open was at Royal Birkdale, Jordan Spieth won with a score of -12, three strokes clear of the rest of the field.
Over the last several seasons, a wide variety of players have won the tournament, but no one has been able to capture multiple Open titles. The last two-time winner was Ernie Els in 2012, who won 10 years after he claimed his first Open in 2002. Scheffler will be looking to be the first Champion Golfer of the Year to successfully defend his title since 2008, when Padraig Harrington won for the second straight year. Harrington’s successful defense was at Royal Birkdale in extremely difficult conditions. The Irishman won with a score of +3 with only three other players below +10.
It should be another wild and excitingly unpredictable week of golf, and storylines will abound.
Check out the full field and odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to see all the players teeing it up this year.
A Closer Look at the Course
Royal Birkdale Golf Club began in 1889 and earned “Royal” status in 1951. It was in line to host the 1940 Open Championship, but World War II began, canceling the event. It finally hosted The Open Championship for the first time in 1954 and has been in the rotation ever since.
The course is a quintessential links layout, nestled in the dunes along England’s northwest coast in Southport. It has firm, sandy soil that is typical for the style of play and encourages players to “run” their approach shots up from in front of the greens rather than landing on the firm greens. Another key characteristic of links-style golf is the lack of water hazards and trees. The one links-style feature that is slightly different at Royal Birkdale than some courses is that the holes are typically visible from the tee areas. The designers have positioned the holes to sit in the natural dips between the towering dunes.
The course will be slightly different this year than in 2017 when Jordan Spieth won on this track. Tom Mackenzie just modernized the course by updating several holes, including an entirely new hole at No. 15. It replaces the former No. 14, which was a par 3, with the par-5 next door moving from the 15th hole to the 14th hole.
Here’s a great overview of the course from Gold Digest, and Nick Faldo did a walk-through of the course that is extremely helpful to understanding the layout as well.
While the course does have wide, mostly flat fairways for players to target off the tee, the dunes, trademark revetted bunkers and firm turf make positioning and strategy vital. The weather will determine the difficulty of the course relative to par, but consistent players who take a patient approach and showcase elite ballstriking in a variety of conditions will rise to the top.
In general, the par-70 will play at around 7,223 yards this week. Strokes Gained: Approach is always one of the key metrics to consider, and this week, driving accuracy will also be at a premium, along with bogey avoidance. Usually, for The Open Championship, I lean more heavily on veteran players with good history in this style of play and strong major championship pedigree. Bogey Avoidance and performance in the wind will also be important to target since course conditions will vary and change throughout the week.
As you get ready for this week’s final major of the season, be sure to get your DFS fantasy golf lineups and betting cards filled out with help from DK Network! We’ll have ongoing coverage throughout the week to help you enjoy this weekend’s tournament.
