Golf found its newest major champion on Sunday, and it happened in about the most Open Championship way possible — a birdie on the 72nd hole, a roar that shook Royal Birkdale, and a name most casual fans probably wouldn't have picked before the week even started. Ryan Fox, the well-traveled New Zealander, rolled in a putt on the final green to edge Cameron Young by a single shot and claim his first major title. It's already being talked about as one of the more memorable finishes The Open has produced in years.
That's kind of the whole point of why this tournament still pulls in millions of viewers every July. Unlike the other three majors, this one gets played on the ground as much as through the air, completely at the mercy of coastal wind and fast, unforgiving fairways that can turn a two-shot lead into nothing within a handful of holes. This year at Royal Birkdale, that's more or less exactly what happened — Sam Burns carried a two-stroke cushion into Sunday and still ended up tied for third, while Cameron Young fired off an early 64 that set a target which very nearly held up all the way to the end.
What Is The Open Championship, Exactly?
The Open Championship is golf's oldest major, first played back in 1860 at Prestwick in Scotland, and it's been run by the R&A ever since. People just call it "The Open" rather than "the British Open" — that nickname's mostly an American habit — because it genuinely was the original open championship in golf, older than every other major by decades and open to professionals and amateurs alike from its very first year.
It sits alongside the Masters, the PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open as one of the sport's four majors, but it's got its own identity within that group. The other three get played on parkland or purpose-built championship courses. The Open is always staged on real links land — coastal terrain shaped by nature long before any architect showed up, defined by firm turf, deep revetted bunkers, and wind that can completely change how a course plays from one tee time to the next. That unpredictability is a huge part of why people love it.
The Open Championship 2026 Overview
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Edition | 154th Open Championship |
| Dates | July 16–19, 2026 |
| Venue | Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England |
| Organizer | The R&A |
| Format | 72 holes, stroke play |
| Field | 156 players |
| Cut | After 36 holes, top scores and ties advance |
| Purse | $17,750,000 |
The tournament returned to Royal Birkdale for the 11th time this year, following last year's edition at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, where Scottie Scheffler picked up his first Claret Jug. As with every Open, the field of 156 got trimmed after 36 holes, with everyone inside the number moving on to play the weekend.
Course Guide: Royal Birkdale
Royal Birkdale sits on the Lancashire coast in Southport and has hosted The Open ten times before this year, with Jordan Spieth the last player to win there back in 2017, edging fellow American Matt Kuchar after recovering from a wild tee shot on the 13th that's become one of the more replayed moments in modern Open history.
The course is a par-72 links that runs through valleys between big sand dunes rather than sitting up on top of them, which gives it a slightly different feel than a lot of other British seaside courses — the fairways tend to sit in somewhat sheltered corridors, though that doesn't mean the wind stays out of it entirely. Its revetted bunkers, stacked tight with turf walls, are genuinely brutal if you find one, and the firm, fast-running fescue fairways reward players who can flight the ball down and work it along the ground rather than just carrying it through the air.
Expert Insight: Links golf punishes anyone trying to play "target golf" — the high, soft-landing approach shots that work so well at somewhere like Augusta simply bounce and run out on firm Birkdale turf. The players who thrive here tend to be the ones comfortable hitting low, punchy shots that stay under the wind, and putting from well off the green rather than always chipping.
Past champions here basically read like a list of the sport's great shotmakers — Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Ian Baker-Finch, Mark O'Meara, and P├бdraig Harrington all won at Birkdale before Spieth did.
Players to Watch and Key Storylines
Scottie Scheffler came in as defending champion and the pre-tournament favorite, having won his first Claret Jug the year before at Royal Portrush with a four-round total of 267, finishing four strokes clear of Harris English. He stayed in the mix deep into Sunday's final round at Birkdale but ultimately couldn't quite keep pace with the players charging up the board.
Tommy Fleetwood, who actually grew up close to Royal Birkdale, carried the home crowd's hopes all week and delivered one of the tournament's signature moments early Sunday, jarring a long birdie putt on his very first hole that set the gallery off. Rory McIlroy came in chasing a second major of the year, and Cameron Young — the reigning Players Championship winner — put together a blistering 6-under 64 in the final round, going out in 29 to post a clubhouse number that held up as the target to beat for most of the closing stretch.
Sam Burns took a two-shot lead into Sunday after a strong Saturday, but a rocky front nine, including a couple of bogeys that pulled him back into a crowded leaderboard, ended up costing him the title. He finished tied for third at 8-under. Fox himself had set up his own chance with a third-round 62, tying for the low round of the week, before closing things out with four birdies in his last six holes on Sunday — including that decisive putt on the 72nd hole to win by one over Young.
Tournament Format Explained
The Open runs on the same basic structure as the other men's majors: four rounds of stroke play across 72 holes, with a cut after 36 holes that trims the field down to whoever's playing the weekend. Since 2016, ties atop the leaderboard after 72 holes get settled by a three-hole aggregate playoff rather than jumping straight to sudden death, with sudden-death extra holes only kicking in if that playoff itself ends level. This year's title got decided in regulation, though — Fox's closing birdie took care of business before any playoff was needed.
History of The Open Championship
The Open's been played since 1860, missing only during the two World Wars, and its Claret Jug has been lifted by some of the sport's most enduring names — Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods among them. Its rotation of links venues across Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland — St Andrews, Muirfield, Royal Troon, Royal Birkdale, Royal Portrush, and a handful of others — is a huge part of what gives this championship its sense of tradition, with each course bringing its own particular quirks of wind, bunkering, and turf.
Records and Milestones
| Record | Holder |
|---|---|
| Most Open titles | Harry Vardon (6) |
| Lowest 72-hole score | Henrik Stenson, 264 (2016, Royal Troon) |
| Youngest champion | Young Tom Morris (17, 1868) |
| Oldest champion | Old Tom Morris (46, 1867) |
| Largest winning margin | Old Tom Morris (13 strokes, 1862) |
This year's championship added its own entry to that long list of dramatic Open finishes, with Fox becoming the latest player to win his first major on a closing birdie under real pressure on the 72nd hole.
Prize Money and Rankings
The 2026 Open carried a total purse of $17,750,000, with the champion taking home the biggest slice of that. Beyond the prize money itself, The Open carries full FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking points, which just reflects its status as one of the sport's four biggest events — a genuinely career-defining title for whoever manages to win it.
Where to Watch
- United States: NBC and USA Network on TV, with streaming on Peacock
- UK and Ireland: Sky Sports for live coverage, BBC for highlights and limited live coverage
- Worldwide: distributed through more than 30 broadcast partners across roughly 199 countries
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Open Championship?
Golf's oldest major, first played in 1860 and run by the R&A, always contested on links courses across Great Britain and Ireland.
Why "The Open" instead of "British Open"?
Because it genuinely was the original open golf championship, older than the other majors. "British Open" is mostly a nickname used outside the UK.
Where was it played in 2026?
Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, July 16 to 19.
Who won?
Ryan Fox, edging Cameron Young by one stroke for his first major title.
Who won the year before, in 2025?
Scottie Scheffler, at Royal Portrush, four strokes clear of Harris English.
How many rounds get played?
Four rounds of stroke play, 72 holes total.
What actually is links golf?
Golf played on coastal terrain — firm, sandy turf, few trees, deep revetted bunkers, and a lot of exposure to wind. It demands a completely different kind of shot-making than parkland golf does.
How many players make the cut?
The field gets trimmed after 36 holes down to the leading scores and ties, the same general structure recent Opens have used.
What happens if players tie after 72 holes?
A three-hole aggregate playoff decides it, with sudden-death extra holes only if that playoff ends level too.
Is it decided purely on total strokes?
Yes — cumulative stroke play across all four rounds, lowest total wins.
Where can I watch in the US?
NBC, USA Network, and Peacock.
Where can I watch in the UK?
Sky Sports for live coverage, BBC for highlights.
Who's won the most Opens?
Harry Vardon, with six.
What's the lowest 72-hole score ever?
Henrik Stenson's 264 at Royal Troon in 2016.
Will The Open come back to Royal Birkdale again?
The championship rotates among a handful of historic links venues, and future hosts get announced by the R&A in advance.
Conclusion
Royal Birkdale delivered exactly the kind of finish The Open Championship's built its reputation on over 154 years — shifting leaderboards, a hometown hero briefly threatening to make history, a defending champion pushing right to the end, and ultimately a brand-new name going onto the Claret Jug after one of the more thrilling closing stretches in recent memory. Ryan Fox's first major, sealed with a birdie on the last hole, is exactly the kind of moment that reminds people why this tournament stays golf's most unpredictable, most cherished major — and why so many will be back at whatever links course comes next to see who writes the next chapter.