As always, the Open Championship will be the last major of the season and will take place from July 16-19.
Royal Birkdale will play host to the tournament, as it goes to Merseyside, following Scottie Scheffler’s sublime victory at Royal Portrush in 2025.
A series of stars from the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and LIV Golf, as well as Open champions from previous years, will head to the famous links.
A large field will line up at Birkdale, having qualified through a number of different routes throughout the season.
In 2025, the R&A announced the creation of a new LIV Golf category. One spot went to the LIV Golfer not otherwise exempt who finished highest in the LIV Golf standings, plus they had to be in the top five, through the LIV Dallas event at the end of June.
Sergio Garcia became the first-ever player to qualify for The Open via these LIV rankings. He was fourth in the list through the Dallas event, which meant he could play at Portrush, as each player ranked above him had already qualified. In 2026, Joaquin Niemann earned the LIV spot.
In June 2025, the R&A revealed that the Last-Chance Qualifier on 13 July next year will see up to 12 players compete for a spot at Birkdale by competing over 18 holes at the Merseyside venue to decide who earns the final place in the field ahead of the draw being announced.
ALSO: How to qualify for The Open Championship
On August 26, 2025, the Masters announced several new criteria for qualification, which concerned winning national championships. You can read more about this here.
This was announced jointly with the R&A to align aspects of the qualification criteria, awarding invitations to winners/top finishers of select national opens beginning immediately.
The Open Qualifying Series has existed since 2013 and offers players entry into The Open through events across the world. Beginning later in 2025, players can qualify at Birkdale through 15 events in 13 countries.
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So, who will lift the Claret Jug next summer? Here is the field for The Open Championship in 2026:
2026 Open Championship field
Ludvig Aberg
Angel Ayora
Daniel Berger
Akshay Bhatia
Keegan Bradley
Jacob Bridgeman
Dan Brown
Jack Buchanan (a)
Laurie Canter
Eugenio Chacarra
Stewart Cink
Darren Clarke
Corey Conners
Martin Couvra
Jason Day
Alistair Docherty
David Duval
Ernie Els
Harris English
Rickie Fowler
Ryan Fox
Ryan Gerard
Chris Gotterup
Stuart Grehan (a)
Ben Griffin
Lev Grinberg (a)
Harry Hall
Jeongwoo Ham
Padraig Harrington
Tyrrell Hatton
Russell Henley
Lucas Herbert
Kazuki Higa
Daniel Hillier
Nicolai Hojgaard
Rasmus Hojgaard
Michael Hollick
Billy Horschel
Mason Howell (a)
Sungjae Im
Cameron John
Casey Jarvis
Kota Kaneko
Naoyuki Kataoka
Michael Kim
Kurt Kitayama
Jake Knapp
Si Woo Kim
Frederic Lacroix
Joakim Lagergren
Fifa Laopakdee (a)
Francesco Laporta
Min Woo Lee
Haotong Li
Matt McCarty
Tom McKibbin
Maverick McNealy
Francesco Molinari
Ryutaro Nagano
Keita Nakajima
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Jaoquin Niemann
Alex Noren
Shaun Norris
Andrew Novak
Louis Oosthuizen
John Parry
Marco Penge
J.T Poston
Mateo Pulcini (must remain an amateur)
Aaron Rai
Kristoffer Reitan
Justin Rose
Adrien Saddier
Adam Scott
Alex Smalley
Jordan Smith
Elvis Smylie
Travis Smyth
J.J. Spaun
Henrik Stenson
Jackson Suber
Jesper Svensson
Nick Taylor
Scott Vincent
Tim Wiedemeyer (a)
Gary Woodland
Jiho Yang
Cameron Young
Ren Yonezewa
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is ‘The Open’ Championship? The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. First played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland, it is the only major held outside the United States.
2. Who organises The Open Championship? The Open Championship is organised by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world.
3. Where is The Open Championship usually held? The Open Championship is typically held in the United Kingdom. It is played on a rotation of links courses across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
4. How often does The Open Championship take place? The Open Championship is an annual event, typically taking place in mid-July.
5. What is the format of The Open Championship? The Open is a 72-hole stroke play tournament that takes place over four days. If two or more players are tied at the end of the four rounds, a playoff is used to determine the winner.
6. Who holds the record for the most Open Championship wins? The record for the most Open Championship wins is held jointly by Harry Vardon, who won six times between 1896 and 1914.
7. Who was the youngest winner of The Open Championship? The youngest winner of The Open Championship is Young Tom Morris, who was 17 years and 5 months old when he won in 1868.
8. What is the Claret Jug? The Claret Jug, officially known as the Golf Champion Trophy, has been awarded to the winner of The Open Championship since 1873. It’s one of the most iconic trophies in the sport of golf.
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