Southport, England. It’s been a year since world number one Scottie Scheffler hoisted the famed Claret Jug in winning the oldest major championship last year at Royal Portrush.
The final major of 2026 starts today at Royal Birkdale. The club is hosting its 11th Open and first since 2017 when American Jordan Spieth captured the title.
Plenty of interesting questions await clear answers.
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Will an Englishman win on English soil?
The last Englishman to win in England was Tony Jacklin in 1969. 21 are entered in the championship this year.
Hometown favorite Tommy Fleetwood will get plenty of vocal support from the natives but will the pressure to perform overwhelm him? Should Fleetwood’s first major come on home soil, the resulting cheers will be deafening.
Two other English golfers merit worth watching.
Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion has been a steady performer on the PGA Tour with two outright wins and another with his brother in the two-man New Orleans team event. A win at The Open would elevate Fitzpatrick to an even higher level – second only to Rory McIlroy among European players.
There’s also the possibility a “sleeper” could emerge in the likes of Justin Rose. It was Rose, then 17-years old, who holed out from the rough on the final hole as an amateur when The Open was played at Royal Birkdale in 1998 — ultimately finishing T4.
Rose did win the 2013 US Open at Merion and has played at an elite level since turning professional 28 years ago. Will Rose finally bloom in securing the Claret Jug in his return to where his golf career lifted off the launch pad?
How will players react to firm and fast Royal Birkdale?
Links courses play best when ground conditions maximize the bounce of the ball. Recent warm weather has brought Royal Birkdale to ideal turf presentation for this week’s Open. Elite level players often prefer certainty when playing. Links golf is the exact opposite of that equation – promoting uncertainty and mandating constant adjustments.
Controlling trajectory will be a central dynamic for all those competing. Players will likely eschew using driver in order to secure locations in the fairway that maximize their percentage in reaching the well-defended putting surfaces.
Birkdale’s 18-hole layout has been bolstered since hosting the championship back in 2017. Having a vintage course in an optimum presentation will only add to the challenge the full field faces.
Can McIlroy add second major in 2026 at Royal Birkdale?
Rory was totally clear in his comments to media this week. At 37 years of age, he’s prepared himself to be ready for the biggest of moments. Such moments come in the game’s premier events.
Winning a second Open — the first coming in 2014 at Royal Liverpool — would bookend a brilliant season to go along with his defense of his Masters title this past April at Augusta National.
A win at Birkdale would also mean the 7th major for the Northern Irishman and break the tie he now shares with Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson.
McIlroy is well aware of the time clock. Can he play consistently through each day at Birkdale? His performance at last week’s Scottish Open was derailed by a third round 73. Even though he scored a final round 64 for a T7 finish, consistency will be needed this week.
Will Scottie show form in defending title?
At last week’s Scottish Open, the world number one missed the cut for the first time in 78 events. Hard to imagine that Scheffler will go just as quietly this week.
Scheffler has won only once this year – that coming early in 2026. The runner-up finishes this year — four total — provide a two-fold situation. Undoubtedly, one has to play well to be such a consistent threat but the need to close out events has been a strong point for Scheffler in the past.
A win at Birkdale can certainly put an end to all those questions. The key for Scheffler will center on what kind of start he has. In the other majors this year he has been forced to overcome slow starts.
Scheffler’s position as the game’s premier player can be reinforced with a victory this week. The concerns are noticeable but a second victory in The Open and a 5th major title can end all of that chatter.
Is Gotterup ready to elevate his standing?
Last year the name Chris Gotterup was hardly recognizable. But when paired with McIlroy in the final round in last year’s Scottish Open, the American answered the call with a solid victory.
The 26-year-old has won five times on the PGA Tour — three of them coming in 2026 with the most recent just two weeks ago at the John Deere Classic.
Now ranked 6th in the world, the next hurdle for Gotterup is his ability to play in the major championships.
At Portrush, Gotterup played extremely well with an outright 3rd place finish.
The progression of success Gotterup has shown bears watching this week.
Will DeChambeau make the cut this week?
Amazingly, the two-time US Open champion has been AWOL for weekend play in all three majors this year.
The 32-year-old did finish T10 at last year’s event at Portrush.
The big unanswered question for DeChambeau is whether he has learned enough about links golf to actually fit his game into the clear challenges presented.
One can only imagine the odds one would have received if you had stated that DeChambeau would not make the cut in all four majors in 2026. All eyes will be watching Bryson to see if he can finally return to an elite level.
Will Rahm return to relevance at Birkdale?
The talented Spaniard missed the cut the US Open and although he finished T2 at the PGA Championship, there are key questions for the 31-year-old to answer this week at Birkdale.
Rahm has played well in past Opens — three top seven finishes (’21, ’23 and ’24) clearly indicate a capacity to play well on a links venue.
Rahm has already won two majors — the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines and the 2023 Masters. A win at Birkdale would add his name to the Claret Jug and have him join fellow countryman Seve Ballesteros as champions from Spain.
Scheffler and McIlroy have garnered much of the attention in recent times. A win at Birkdale would clearly mean a resurgent Rahm is back in the mix and eager to claim more key titles.
Does victory for Viktor happen this week?
After winning the recent Travelers event and in doing so vanquish Scheffler in the process, the focus for Hovland is whether a first-time win in a major championship is about to happen.
The 28-year-old has gone through cycles of both quality play and also head-scratching disappearances from the top of the leaderboard.
The Norwegian has won eight times on the PGA Tour and has top five finishes in all four majors. However, in his last nine major starts he has recorded only one finish in the top five — a 3rd at the 2025 US Open.
Before the win at Travelers, he missed the cuts at both the PGA Championship and US Open.
Hovland is now ranked 12th in the world. His golf game has gone through periods where he has completely left the top tier and then suddenly reversed himself with top tier play. Which golfer shows up this week? That question remains a most difficult one to answer with any type of certainty.
Does Cantlay have allergic reactions at major championships?
The golf skills of Patrick Cantlay are clearly present. The 34-year-old has won 8 times on the PGA Tour but inexplicably in the last 25 majors played only has 5 top ten placements. The last of these came in the 2024 US Open when he finished T3.
At the end of 2025 Cantlay was the 24th ranked player in the world. He has now slipped to 38th. In the majors this year – his allergy to performing well is still present — missing the cut at Shinnecock Hills for the US Open and adding a T12 at the Masters and T35 at the PGA Championship, respectively.
One has to wonder if the biggest of stages causes Cantlay to shrink from the conversation. While such a statement may sound harsh, the totality of his non-record in majors is concerning and needs a clear remedy.
Is a 3rd major title in store for Morikawa at Birkdale?
Early in his professional golf career Collin Morikawa made a bold statement with wins at two major championships — 2020 at the PGA Championship and at The Open in 2021.
Morikawa showed a resolute consistency in his play and the belief was that he had the golf game to add even more such prestigious events to his golf ledger.
The 29-year-old won earlier this year at the AT&T event at Pebble Beach for his 7th win on the PGA Tour.
However, in his last nine appearances in the majors there is only finish in the top ten — T7 at the 2026 Masters.
The concerning issue is that since his win at Royal St. Georges, Morikawa has three missed cuts and no better than a T16 in 2024.
The 7th ranked player in the world could well challenge at Birkdale given firm and fast conditions and thereby not becoming a driver slugfest contest. Morikawa’s iron game rates among the best in the sport and if his putter can somehow show some life, he can clearly be factor.
The pros and cons for Morikawa this week are roughly equivalent.
Related: The Open 2026 – Round 1 Teetimes
M. James Ward
A long-time member of both the GWAA and MGWA. The 68-year-old has covered all facets in golf since 1980 — including reporting on over 100 major championships and 13 Ryder Cup matches. His writings have appeared in various outlets. On a personal level, has played over 2,000 courses globally and is lead reviewer for Top 100 Golf Courses.
Previously served for 17 years as national course rating panelist for Golf Digest. Has also personally competed in USGA Championships. Resides in the metro New York City area with his wife Celeste. Favorite quote paraphrased for golf — “You are what your golf score says you are.”