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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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Key Stats
Tier 1
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green
Strokes Gained: Putting
Tier 2
Driving Accuracy
Distance from Edge of Fairway
Fairway Proximity
Rough Proximity
Scrambling
Bogey Avoidance
Three-putt Avoidance
Tier 3
Sand Saves
ARG Proximity
Strokes Gained: Par 4
Strokes Gained: Par 3
Strokes Gained: True Links (L5 years)
Champ’s Course Comps
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Royal Troon Golf Club
Last 10 Open Championship Trends
Odds
0-25: 2025, 2024, 2017
26-50: 2022, 2021, 2016
50-100: 2019, 2015
101+: 2023, 2018
Winner’s Strokes Behind Leader By Round
R1: 10/10 (50%) within 5 shots (1/10 led)
R2: 7/10 (70%) within 2 shots (5/10 led)
R3: 8/10 (80%) within 1 shot (5/10 led)
Winner’s Lead-In Form
10/10 (100%) with at least 2 Top 20 finishes in their last 4 starts
10/10 (100%) with at least 1 Top 10 finish in their last 4 starts
9/10 (90%) finished in the Top 40 in their last start
5/6 (83%) who played The Scottish Open finished in Top 15
6/10 (60%) played The Scottish Open the week prior
6/10 (60%) finished in the Top 10 in a previous major that season
4/10 (40%) with a WIN in their last 4 starts
Winner’s Open Championship
9/10 (90%) at least 4 prior appearances
8/10 (80%) Top 10 in a prior appearance
7/10 (70%) made the cut their last appearance
6/10 (60%) at least 2 Top 20 in prior appearances
3/10 (30%) Top 20 in their last appearance
2/10 (20%) Top 5 in a prior appearance
2/10 (20%) at least 1 missed cut in their last 2 appearances
1/10 (10%) WON as a Debutant
First Round Leader Splits
AM: 70% (2025, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2015)
PM: 60% (2025, 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017, 2016)
*results can include instances where FRL from both splits, both get credited with a win.
Early Models
Champ’s Early Top 10
Scottie Scheffler
Matt Fitzpatrick
Si Woo Kim
Wyndham Clark
Cameron Young
Rory McIlroy
Tommy Fleetwood
Min Woo Lee
Ludvig Aberg
