2026 Open Championship - Patio Preview, Key Stats, Tournament Trends & Early Models
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Field List
Patio Preview
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Southport, Merseyside (England)
https://www.theopen.com/royal-birkdale-154th-open/course-guide
Par 70; ~7,250 yards
About 70 yards longer than in 2017
Yardage slightly misleading here due to only two Par 5s and four Par 4s that are 450+ yards — three of which 500+
Cut: Top 70 & Ties
Greens: Predominately fescue with some Bent
5,200 sq ft
11-12 on Stimpmeter — faster than usual Opens
120ish bunkers and only one hole with water in play
Flatter and more straightforward than the stereotypical Open venue
Not as many blind shots/unexplainable bounces
Good shots rewarded, bad shots not
Part of reason why this course has been used 10 times prior for this major since the 1950s
Accuracy is big; scorable from fairway weather permitting
Missing fairways introduces unknowns
Proximity is big too
Have to fly ball on correct line to get it to land near hole with how firm greens can be
Extremely difficult around-the-green play
Some hole changes:
#4 (P3) lengthened
#5 (P4) added risk/reward bunkers on both sides of fairway closer to green; no longer a blind tee shot
#7 (P3) shorter with added danger around the green
#14 (P5) rebuilt with undulating fairways
#15 (P3) brand new hole - 240+ yards
#18 (P4) an already difficult closing hole, tee box was moved and fairway bunkers added
Four Par 3s
2017 score 3.15
Yardages range dramatically from 150-240ish yards
12 Par 4s, seven on the front
2017 score 4.15
First three holes
Ranges from 321 yards all the way up to 514 yards
Two Par 5s
2017 score 4.71
Both in last five holes
566 and 600+ yards
2017 FAQ
Driving accuracy was sub-48%
GIR% was 57.5% (9% higher than 2008)
From fairway nearly 71%
From rough, sub-47%
Scrambling 54% (up from 45% in 2008)
Three-putt avoidance 2.72 (down from 4.15% in 2008)
Birdie-to-Bogey ratio: 0.67 (up from 0.32 in 2008)(PGA Tour average 1.44)
Recent The Open Championship Results
2025: Scottie Scheffler -17 (68-64-67-68); 4 Stroke Victory over Harris English
2024: Xander Schauffele -9 (69-72-69-65); 2 Stroke Victory over Horschel & Rose
2023: Brian Harman -13 (67-65-69-70); 6 Stroke Victory over 4 Players
2022: Cameron Smith -20 (67-64-73-64); 1 Stroke Victory over Cameron Young
2021: Collin Morikawa -15 (67-64-68-66); 2 Stroke Victory over Jordan Spieth
2019: Shane Lowry -15 (67-67-63-72); 6 Stroke Victory over Tommy Fleetwood
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