Final rounds at any major championship are benchmarks. They indicate what players have clearly improved; those simply treading water and those in need of clear improvement. Royal Birkdale set an Open Championship record with over 300,000 people in attendance. The weather cooperated completely throughout the full 72 holes, and the ending provided a miraculous conclusion.
After all is said and done – the letter grades for all involved with this year’s Open.
***
A
• R&A — Give the organization high marks in staging such an engrossing event. Total attendance exceeded all previous marks and the weather for the 72-holes of the competition was simply delightful with just enough wind to make matters interesting.
• Royal Birkdale — The course upgrades from the firm of Mackenzie & Ebert worked extremely well. This was especially apparent with how the strengthened final hole played for the entire championship.
• Ryan Fox — The Kiwi’s weekend play was superb after a slow first-round start. Tying the low 18-hole score in a major championship with 62 on Saturday and then performing superbly down the stretch – highlighted by the 39-year-old’s gutsy play on the treacherous 18th and making birdie to seal the victory. Fox’s mantra of “see shot, play shot” worked to perfection.
• Cameron Young — Yes, the final hole bogey opened the door just a bit for Fox to wiggle through, but Young showed grit in posting a final round 64 and nearly coming home with the Claret Jug. His earlier win at The Players was the real eye-opener on the talent he possesses. A major championship is more than likely to happen soon.
B
• Tommy Fleetwood — Faced enormous pressure given his hometown roots and while never close enough to be in the hunt, the 35-year-old Englishman played through lulls when he needed his short game to rescue him. The 800-pound gorilla remains on his back in not having won a major title.
• Sam Burns — Going into the final round with a two-shot lead, more was expected from Burns who should have learned something from his recent runner-up position at the US Open last month. Burns did birdie the 2nd hole to get matters going but three consecutive bogies from 4-6 was a deficit he never recovered from. The issue for Burns is can his fire in majors last through to the very end? Thus far, he has not been able to do so.
• Scottie Scheffler — Time after time, the world ranked number one player kept putting himself into prime positions with his stellar iron game. The flipside of that equation was a putter as cold as the Arctic Circle. On the final round — the 30-year-old started strongly and if not for two bogies in the mid-point of the inward half may have truly had an opportunity to defend his title. Scheffler’s putting woes were a consistent item in all four majors in 2026 and his inability to roll the ball consistently at Royal Birkdale ultimately held him back.
• Chris Gotterup– A winner of three events this year on the PGA Tour and a player who is consistently showing signs of being a threat in any event. Played steady golf throughout his time at Birkdale and the final round of 67 helped improve his final standing (T18) even though he bogied the closing hole. Can the 27-year-old take his game to an even higher level? The talent is certainly there.
• Russell Henley — If one judged actual airtime on telecast for The Open, you might have missed seeing the dogged consistency of Henley. Got off to decent start for the first two rounds –141 total. However, on the weekend he played superior golf with final two round scores of 68-66. Henley often flies under the radar, but he has the requisite skills to possibly catch a major championship title in 2027.
• Rickie Fowler — Has been steady player in 2026 although not given much attention. When he ended 2025, his world ranking was 86th. It’s now 41st. Helped his finish with a quality four-under-par 66 final round. Can Rickie get back to the winner’s circle. That’s certainly doable.
C
• Bryson DeChambeau — Good to see the two-time major winner make his first foray into weekend play at a major championship in 2026. The controversy of him being penalized two shots during Friday’s second round only served to create an unnecessary distraction. DeChambeau entered the weekend just three shots off the lead, but his play was uneven on Saturday and Sunday and he disappeared faster than sunlight on a late December day. After three consecutive missed cuts in the majors, DeChambeau did resurrect himself but he simply failed to execute throughout the weekend rounds.
• Lucas Herbert — A tale of two golfers. First two rounds, a cumulative score of 132 — bolstered by a second-round 62 which should have been lower but with a sloppy bogey on Friday’s finishing hole. The Aussie looked out of place on the weekend — scoring 142 and ending with a T6 position.
• Jackson Suber — Was in the mix for the first 36 holes with a 134 total but the weekend showed a far different result with a 144 total for Saturday and Sunday. Being acclimated to major championship play is a work in progress and the 26-year-old showed talent in keeping himself relevant for the balance of the 72 holes. Curious to see how much progression he makes for the balance of ’26.
• Ludvig Åberg– There is no question the Swede is blessed with plenty of talent. The 26-year-old played well in all four majors — finishing in the top ten in The Open and the top five in the PGA Championship. In The Masters he had a T21 finish and a T17 in the US Open. The issue for Ludvig rests with having more consistency during a 72-hole event — at Birkdale his scores ranged from 71-66-67-71.
D
• Rory McIlroy — After defending his Masters title this past April, one was hoping for a more inspired McIlroy with the balance of the year ahead of him. That did not happen in the other three majors and was similar to his progression after breaking his major-less streak at the ’25 Masters. Rory’s story at Birkdale was a tale of great driving concluding with woeful putting. The real issue for McIlroy is does he have the real desire to push his record even higher? Or has success at Augusta and attaining the career Grand Slam provided sufficiency for him in golf?
• Si Woo Kim — Got into the fray on the final round with a two-under-par 33 on the outward nine. But four bogies on the inward side just ended any opportunity in being the first Asian golfer to win The Open. Was the moment too big for him? It appeared that way on the final nine holes. One can only hope he learned something from that situation.
• Jon Rahm — Scored 136 in the opening two rounds and was in contention to make a clear move up the leaderboard on the weekend. The two-time major winner went backwards with a 144 total for the final two rounds. The Spaniard needs to demonstrate he is relevant in the game’s biggest events. That only happened at the PGA Championship at Aronimink.
F
• Wyndham Clark; Viktor Hovland; Jordan Spieth; Matt Fitzparick; Joaquin Niemann; Akshay Bhatia: Tom Kim; Justin Rose; Aaron Rai; Cameron Smith. The aforementioned notables missed the cut and were done after 36 holes. Truly disappointing results from each given their respective play in 2026.
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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.”