With the PGA campaign rolling through summer, the calendar turns to its fourth and final major. Could we see four different winners for the first time in three seasons?
The 154th Open Championship gets underway from Royal Birkdale, where Arnold Palmer won by a single stroke in 1961 and Tom Watson swung his famous 2-iron in 1983. This year’s group faces a remodeled course with three new holes.
This tournament hasn’t had a championship defense since Padraig Harrington in 2008. Scottie Scheffler gets a chance to do it on the heels of his 2025 title. Despite his inspired play, Scheffler is 0-for-3 on the current major circuit.
And Rory McIlroy is always a factor, though the back-to-back Masters champ last took the Open in 2014. If he claims his second major of 2026, McIlroy would be the first golfer to win the Open and the Masters in the same season since Tiger Woods’ 2005 glory.
Four rounds of Open coverage are spread around four separate platforms. Here’s what to know for the days ahead.
All times listed below are ET.
How to watch the 2026 Open Championship
Venue: Royal Birkdale Golf Club — Southport, England
Dates: July 16-19
DayTimeTVStream
Thursday (R1)
1:30 a.m.
NBCSN
Peacock
Thursday (R1)
4 a.m.
USA
Peacock*
Friday (R2)
1:30 a.m.
NBCSN
Peacock
Friday (R2)
4 a.m.
USA
Peacock*
Saturday (R3)
5 a.m.
USA
Peacock*
Saturday (R3)
7 a.m.
NBC
Peacock
Sunday (R4)
4 a.m.
USA
Peacock*
Sunday (R4)
7 a.m.
NBC
Peacock
*Peacock coverage in this window includes select groups.
NBC is free over the air. A live stream for featured groups is also available each morning on the Open’s app. Global broadcast partners can be found here.
More details about the TV coverage
The NBC Sports coverage is anchored by do-it-all presenter Mike Tirico. This is his 28th Open Championship. He’s one of four play-by-play voices for the network here, along with Dan Hicks, Terry Gannon and Steve Sands.
There are four analysts as well. Kevin Kisner, Brad Faxon, Paul McGinley and Curt Byrum are all in tow for breakdowns across the different channels. Jim “Bones” Mackay, the caddie turned commentator, leads the group of on-field reporters and interviewers.
Thursday and Friday start on NBCSN and Peacock at 1:30 a.m., then head over to USA Network from 4 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. For those who can’t commit to such an early wake-up call, Peacock’s “Open All Access” navigates around the action from 8 a.m. onward. Jordan Cornette and Jay Croucher are the hosts of that program.
Peacock also has two morning and two afternoon featured groups each day, and a “player focus” option for isolated shots. Thursday’s featured groups tee off with Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau at 4:58 a.m. The “player focus” feed locks in on McIlroy at 10:05 a.m.
The third and fourth rounds begin on USA (5 a.m. on Saturday, 4 a.m. on Sunday) before hitting the main NBC channel at 7 a.m.
We played all 18 holes of the Open Championship course
Gregg Evans and Rachael Tinde
Players to know in this year’s Open Championship
Sorted by The Athletic’s Open Championship big board:
McIlroy won the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool as part of his career Grand Slam punch card. He’s been up-and-down at this tournament — eight top-10 finishes, but seven times falling beyond the top 40 (including three missed cuts). The pride of Northern Ireland ranks second in PGA Tour scoring average this season at 69.24.
Scheffler sits atop the FedEx Cup points list. He leads the field in scoring average and strokes gained too. He lifted the Claret Jug last year with a dominant four-stroke victory at Royal Portrush. But the American standard-setter arrives after missing the cut at the Scottish Open, his first time doing so in almost four years.
Matt Fitzpatrick reps the host nation and comes in at No. 2 on the points table. Fitzpatrick has cracked the top five in three of his prior four outings: second in the Canadian Open, fourth in the Travelers Championship and tied for third in last week’s Scottish Open. He finished T4 in the 2025 tourney.
Tommy Fleetwood hails from Southport. The Englishman now tries to conquer a hometown setting after leading Europe at the 2025 Ryder Cup. Fleetwood has the tour’s best success rate in scrambling from the rough.
Collin Morikawa triumphed in 2021 at Royal St. George’s. But it’s been a tough run ever since, missing three of the last four cuts at the Open. The Californian is third on the tour in birdie average and second in shots gained approaching the green.
Others in the mix include world No. 4 Cameron Young, No. 5 Russell Henley and No. 6 Chris Gotterup.
Marquee group tee times, Rounds 1-2
Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee
4:25 a.m. on Thursday
9:31 a.m. on Friday
Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland
4:36 a.m. on Thursday
9:42 a.m. on Friday
Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau
4:58 a.m. on Thursday
10:04 a.m. on Friday
Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm
5:09 a.m. on Thursday
10:15 a.m. on Friday
Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott
9:31 a.m. on Thursday
4:25 a.m. on Friday
Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Højgaard
9:42 a.m. on Thursday
4:36 a.m. on Friday
Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka
9:53 a.m. on Thursday
4:47 a.m. on Friday
Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg
10:04 a.m. on Thursday
4:58 a.m. on Friday
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick
10:15 a.m. on Thursday
5:09 a.m. on Friday
All groups can be found here.
Last 10 Open Championship winners
2025: Scottie Scheffler
2024: Xander Schauffele
2023: Brian Harman
2022: Cameron Smith
2021: Collin Morikawa
2020: No tournament (COVID-19 pandemic)
2019: Shane Lowry
2018: Francesco Molinari
2017: Jordan Spieth
2016: Henrik Stenson
2015: Zach Johnson
Open Championship picks
Courtesy of The Athletic’s sports betting editor Vik Chokshi:
If you know me, you know I love betting on long shots in golf (usually in the +2000 range or higher). Lucky for me, my guy David Bearman thinks we will see a long-shot winner this weekend. As for my outright bets, they are normally based on a couple of models I follow, and I put a lot of value into course history and form.
Outright winner picks (shop around for best odds):
Matt Fitzpatrick +1750Chris Gotterup +2900Viktor Hovland +3400Justin Rose +4100Harris English +10500Akshay Bhatia +12000
Updated Open Championship odds
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