2026 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP – PRE TOURNAMENT NOTES 

The Open Championship notes

Opening golf to the world. pic.twitter.com/xQX7wSXBhV

— The R&A (@RandA) July 13, 2026

• The Open Championship is the 30th event of the FedExCup Regular Season, with only four weeks remaining until the start of the FedExCup Playoffs

• Final major championship of the 2026 season (Rory McIlroy/Masters Tournament, Aaron Rai/PGA Championship, Wyndham Clark/U.S. Open)

• The 2026 Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale for the 11th time (1954, 1961, 1965, 1971, 1976, 1983, 1991, 1998, 2008, 2017, 2026), the second-most of any other course to host (most: St. Andrews)

• An American has won four of the last five Open Championships: Scottie Scheffler (2025), Xander Schauffele (2024), Brian Harman (2023), Collin Morikawa (2021)

• The field includes:

  • 30 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings

• • 50 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking

  • 10 past FedExCup champions: Henrik Stenson (2013), Billy Horschel (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019, 2022), Justin Thomas (2017), Justin Rose (2018), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Viktor Hovland (2023), Scottie Scheffler (2024), Tommy Fleetwood (2025)

  • All eight Signature Event winners this season are in the field

  • 14 past Open champions in the field: David Duval (2001), Padraig Harrington (2007, 2008), Stewart Cink (2009), Darren Clarke (2011), Rory McIlroy (2014), Henrik Stenson (2016), Jordan Spieth (2017), Francesco Molinari (2018), Shane Lowry (2019), Collin Morikawa (2021), Cameron Smith (2022), Brian Harman (2023), Xander Schauffele (2024), Scottie Scheffler (2025)

  • The last 12 winners of The Open Championship won the event for the first time, starting with Phil Mickelson in 2013, marking the longest streak of first-time winners at The Open (previous: 1994-2004)

  • 41 players in the field competed at the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, including six that finished in the top 10: Jordan Speith (Won), Haotong Li (3^rd), Rory Mcllroy (T4), Brooks Koepka (T6), Alex Noren (T6), Matthew Southgate (T6)

  • Seven players competed at the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale: Padraig Harrington (Won), Henrik Stenson (T3), Adam Scott (T16), Alex Noren (T19), David Duval (T39), Justin Rose (T70), Stewart Cink (MC)

  • Five players competed at the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale: Justin Rose (T4), David Duval (T11), Stewart Cink (T66), Darren Clarke (MC), Padraig Harrington (MC)

  • 28 different countries are represented in the field; with the exception of Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, only Americans and Australians have won The Open at Royal Birkdale

  • 82 of the 156 players in the field competed at last week’s Scottish Open, including 10 that finished in the top 10: Tom Kim (Won), Min Woo Lee (2nd), Matt Fitzpatrick (T3), Robert MacIntyre (T3), Keita Nakajima (T3), Johnny Keefer (T3), Rory Mcllroy (T7), Michael Thorbjornsen (T7), Si Woo Kim (T9), Victor Perez (T9)

  • 10 amateurs in the field; the last seven winners of the Silver Medal at Royal Birkdale have been from England and this year there are no English amateurs in the field

Open Champions Last 20 Years.

Tommy Fleetwood

• Southport, England native making 12^th Open Championship start and has two top-10 finishes, highlighted by runner-up in 2019

• World No. 9 finished T27 at the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale

• Reigning FedExCup champion is seeking to become the first English winner of The Open Championship since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992

• Sits third in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (.522)  and fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (1.294) on TOUR this season

• Has 11 top-25 finishes in 15 starts this season, including six top-10 finishes and enters the week No. 9 in the FedExCup standings

Matt Fitzpatrick

• Finished T4 at the 2025 Open Championship, his first top-10 in 10 tournament appearances

• Five-time PGA TOUR winner including three this season (Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans)

• Held the 54-hole co-lead at last week’s Gensis Scottish Open and finished T3, his seventh top-five finish in 17 starts this season

• With a win, would become the first player from England in the modern era to earn four wins in a season on TOUR and the first player to earn four or more wins in a season since Scottie Scheffler in 2025

• Holds the TOUR’s current longest streak of consecutive made cuts with 28 (last missed cut: 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans)

Jordan Spieth

• Three-time major champion is making 55th major start with 14 top-10 finishes and 45 made cuts

• Since his win at the 2017 Open Championship, has recorded two wins and 45 top-10 finishes in 198 starts on TOUR

• One of two players to win three of the four majors before age of 24 (Jack Nicklaus)

• Has eight top-25 finishes in 18 starts this season; last top-10: T7/2025 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday

• Enters the week No. 54 in the FedExCup standings and No. 51 in the Official World Golf Ranking

Wyndham Clark

• Five-time PGA TOUR winner and two-time major champion (2023, 2026 U.S. Open)

• Shot a final-round 73 to win the 2026 U.S. Open in wire-to-wire fashion

• Seeks to become the first player since Jordan Spieth to win consecutive majors (2015 Masters Tournament, 2015 U.S. Open)

• One of three wire-to-wire winners this season (Justin Rose/Farmers Insurance Open, Cameron Young/Cadillac Championship)

• In his last six starts on TOUR, owns two wins (THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, U.S. Open) and has not finished worse than T13

• One of four players with multiple wins on TOUR this season, joining Matt Fitzpatrick (3), Chris Gotterup (3), Cameron Young (2)

• Finished T4 at The Open Championship in 2025, his best result in four career starts

Aaron Rai

• Englishman making fifth start at the Open Championship (best: T19/2021) and debut at Royal Birkdale

• Reigning PGA Championship winner became the eighth Englishman to win a major championship since 1940

• Seeks to become the 21^st player to win the PGA Championship and Open Championship in their career and eighth player to do so in the same season and third consecutive (Xander Schauffele/2024, Scottie Scheffler/2025)

• Has two TOUR victories (2024 Wyndham Championship, 2026 PGA Championship)

• Enters the week No. 28 in the FedExCup standings and No. 17 in the Official World Golf Ranking

Justin Rose

• Making his 23^rd Open Championship appearance, with runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2024

• Earned the Silver Medal as a 17-year-old amateur at the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with T4 finish; finished T70 and T54 in 2008 and 2017, respectively, at Royal Birkdale

• One of four players in the field who competed in the 1998, 2008 and 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale (others: Stewart Cink, David Duval, Padraig Harrington)

• 45-year-old seeks to become the oldest major winner since Phil Mickelson (2021 PGA Championship/50 years, 11 months, 7 days)

• 13-time PGA TOUR winner’s most recent victory came earlier this season at the Farmers Insurance Open

• No. 21 in the FedExCup standings and No. 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking

Scottie Scheffler

• 2025 Open Championship winner defeated Harris English by four strokes at Royal Portrush to capture fourth major title

• World No. 1 seeks to become the first player since Rory McIlroy (2026 Masters Tournament) to successfully defend a major title and first since Padraig Harrington at The Open Championship (2008)

• Totaled 17-under 267 with rounds of 68-64-67-68, making him the seventh Open Championship winner (and first since Collin Morikawa in 2021) to record four rounds in the 60s

• Became the second player in history to win The Open Championship as World No. 1 (Tiger Woods/2000, 2005, 2006)

• Became the first player in the modern major championship era to win his first four majors by three-plus strokes (2022 Masters Tournament/three, 2024 Masters Tournament/four, 2025 PGA Championship/five)

• 20-time PGA TOUR winner in search of second victory of the season (The American Express)

• Enters the week off a missed cut at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, his first missed cut since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship (78 starts)

• Leads the TOUR in SG: Total (2.154), GIR% (72.22%), Scoring Average (68.94) and Birdie Average (4.76 per round)

 Rory McIIroy

• 2014 Open Championship winner at Royal Liverpool has eight top-10 finishes in 16 starts at the event

• Finished T4 the last time The Open Championship was played at Royal Birkdale in 2017

• Six-time major champion (2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, 2014 PGA Championship, 2025, 2026 Masters Tournament)

• Became the sixth player in history to complete the Career Grand Slam with his win at the 2025 Masters Tournament (Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods)

• Seeks to become the ninth player to win the Masters Tournament and Open Championship in the same season and first since Tiger Woods in 2005

• World No. 2 holds the most wins (6), top-three (13) and top-10 finishes (33) in majors since 2010

• 30-time PGA TOUR winner has the most wins of any player in the field (next: 20/Scottie Scheffler)

• Four top-10s in 10 starts this season (Won/Masters Tournament, T2/The Genesis Invitational, T7/PGA Championship, T7/Genesis Scottish Open)

• Most recent player to defend a title on TOUR (2026 Masters Tournament)

• Nine consecutive seasons with a win, the longest active streak on TOUR

• Seeks his fifth consecutive season with multiple PGA TOUR titles (3/2021-22; 2/2022-23; 2/2024; 3/2025)

• Additional player notes:

  • Tom Kim seeks to become the first player since Rory McIlroy to win on TOUR and win a major the following week (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 2014 PGA Championship)

  • Adam Scott is scheduled to make his 101^st consecutive major championship appearance, dating to the 2001 Open Championship; only Jack Nicklaus (146) has played in more than 100 straight majors

  • Rickie Fowler is making his 15^th start at the Open Championship (best: T2/2014) and has 13 top-10 finishes in major starts, the most top-10 finishes without a win in majors since 2010

PGA TOUR season notes

• Scottie Scheffler (3,511) holds a 182-point lead in the FedExCup standings over Matt Fitzpatrick (3,329)

• Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup lead the TOUR with three victories each this season; they join Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Ben Griffin as the only players to earn three or more victories in a season on TOUR since 2024

• There have been nine international winners on TOUR this season (11 wins)

• There have been five first-time winners in the first 29 events on TOUR this season: Jacob Bridgeman (The Genesis Invitational), Ricky Castillo (Puerto Rico Open), Alex Fitzpatrick (Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Kristoffer Reitan (Truist Championship), Bud Cauley (RBC Canadian Open)

• The 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win 10 of 28 individual stroke-play events on TOUR this season; the 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win three of the last seven Open Championships (Scottie Scheffler/2025, Brian Harman/2023, Shane Lowry/2019)