The 154th Open Championship gets under way on Thursday at Royal Birkdale, and as of 13th July 2026 the 156-man field is finally complete. Scottie Scheffler arrives as defending champion and betting favourite, Rory McIlroy chases a second major of the year, and Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau lead a shrinking LIV Golf contingent into what may be the last time the world’s best from both circuits share a field before LIV’s own future is settled.
Here is everything worth knowing about the field, the favourites and the storylines heading into golf’s final major of the year.
Who is in the field for the 2026 Open Championship?
The 154th Open field was completed on Monday when Joe Dean, a 32-year-old Englishman and full-time DP World Tour member, won the tournament’s first-ever Last-Chance Qualifier at Royal Birkdale, carding a two-under 68 to beat Andrew Wilson and Aldrich Potgieter for the 156th and final place, as detailed in D.Sport’s report on Dean’s win — a result that capped the tense 12-man shootout previewed earlier in D.Sport’s build-up piece on the final-spot contenders. The rest of the field arrived via The Open Qualifying Series, Final and Regional Qualifying, and world ranking exemptions, according to the R&A’s official qualification tracker on theopen.com.
Sixteen LIV Golf members are competing this year, down from 19 at Royal Portrush in 2025, with Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau the headline names, per LIV Golf’s own coverage of the field. It is understood to be the last occasion this year that LIV and PGA Tour players will appear in the same event, with LIV’s Saudi-backed PIF funding due to end after this season and the circuit searching for new investors, as reported by Front Office Sports and Yahoo Sports.
Who are the betting favourites at Royal Birkdale?
Scottie Scheffler starts the week as favourite at +600 to win a fifth major title and become the first back-to-back Open champion since Padraig Harrington in 2008-09, according to Golf.com’s odds coverage. That is despite Scheffler arriving off the first missed cut of his season, at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open — a tournament covered in depth in D.Sport’s report on the streak ending.
Rory McIlroy, who finished T7 at the Scottish Open, is next in the betting at +780, with LIV’s Jon Rahm third at +1550 after rallying to make the cut and finish T36 in Scotland. Matt Fitzpatrick and local favourite Tommy Fleetwood, who grew up a short drive from Royal Birkdale, are tied at +2150 having gone T3 and T13 respectively last week. Xander Schauffele (+2200), Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young (+2900 each), Collin Morikawa (+3100) and Ludvig Aberg (+3200) round out the top ten in the outright market, per Golf.com.
Further down the board, Tyrrell Hatton (+3800), Robert MacIntyre (+4100) and Bryson DeChambeau (+4500) headline the next tier, while former champions Justin Thomas (+6000), Jordan Spieth (+6100) and Patrick Reed (+6400) are priced as outsiders. Fleetwood’s odds carry extra local weight: a win at Royal Birkdale would make him the first English golfer to lift the Claret Jug since 1992, according to ESPN, a storyline that will follow him all week given he grew up playing these dunes as a junior.
| Player | Open odds | Last week (Scottish Open) |
|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | +600 | Missed cut |
| Rory McIlroy | +780 | T7 |
| Jon Rahm | +1550 | T36 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +2150 | T3 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +2150 | T13 |
| Xander Schauffele | +2200 | — |
Which past Open champions are missing at Royal Birkdale?
An Open win carries an exemption into the field until age 55 — or 60 for anyone who won before 2024 — which is why 15 past Champion Golfers of the Year are in the field this week, according to Golf Monthly. But several past winners have chosen not to play, or are no longer eligible. Zach Johnson, the 2015 champion, is skipping the Open for the first time since 2003 to play the Senior Open at Gleneagles instead. Phil Mickelson (2013), Ernie Els (2004 and 2012) and Justin Leonard (1997) are also absent this week, while Todd Hamilton and John Daly have both aged out of their exemptions at 60.
| Past champion in the field | Year(s) won |
|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 2025, Royal Portrush |
| Xander Schauffele | 2024, Royal Troon |
| Brian Harman | 2023, Royal Liverpool |
| Cameron Smith | 2022, St Andrews |
| Collin Morikawa | 2021, Royal St George’s |
| Shane Lowry | 2019, Royal Portrush |
| Jordan Spieth | 2017, Royal Birkdale |
| Rory McIlroy | 2014, Royal Liverpool |
| Padraig Harrington | 2008 Royal Birkdale, 2007 Carnoustie |
Jordan Spieth’s presence is a reminder of just how good the winning form can be at this course — he closed out 2017 on 268 (-12), built around a third-round 65, and remains the reference point for anyone hoping to go low at Royal Birkdale this week.
What makes Royal Birkdale such a tough test?
Royal Birkdale plays as a par-70 of roughly 7,156 yards, its fairways threading through the valleys between the towering sand dunes of the Southport coastline rather than running over them — a Hawtree family design feature that gives spectators an unusually good view of play from the high ground while still exposing golfers to the worst of the Irish Sea wind. The course has been a fixture of the Open rota since 1954, second in regularity only to St Andrews, and has a reputation for rewarding controlled ball-striking over pure power. It was here in 2017 that Branden Grace became the first man in major championship history to shoot 62 in a single round, in the third round of that Open, underlining how low the course can go when the wind stays down — and how demanding it becomes the moment it doesn’t.
Why does Royal Birkdale look different to 2017?
Since Jordan Spieth’s dramatic win at the 146th Open in 2017, Royal Birkdale has undergone a back-nine renovation: the old par-3 14th was removed, the par-5 15th was relocated and renumbered as the new 14th, and a fresh par-3 15th was built in its place, according to the R&A’s official course guide on theopen.com. Royal Birkdale has now hosted the Open ten times since 1954, second in regularity only to St Andrews, and this is the 11th playing at the Southport links.
What else is new for the 154th Open?
Royal Birkdale is staging The Open Experiences for the first time — a new range of ticket and hospitality options — alongside the debut of the Heroes Classic, a showcase exhibition featuring past champions and other big names during the practice days, per theopen.com. The Last-Chance Qualifier that decided Joe Dean’s place, covered in D.Sport’s preview of the new format, was itself one of those new practice-week additions, alongside a broader slate of qualifying and short-form challenges run between Sunday and Wednesday of Open week.
When does the 2026 Open Championship start?
Championship play begins on Thursday, 16th July and runs through Sunday, 19th July, with the Champion Golfer of the Year crowned that evening. In the United States, NBC and Peacock carry live coverage from the early hours of each morning; UK broadcast details are confirmed through Sky Sports.
Open Championship 2026 facts
Who is defending champion? Scottie Scheffler, who won the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush by four strokes from Harris English.
How many players are in the field? 156, with Joe Dean the final entrant via Monday’s Last-Chance Qualifier.
How many LIV Golf players are competing? 16, led by Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, down from 19 in 2025.
Could an English golfer win the Open this week? Home favourite Tommy Fleetwood, who grew up near Royal Birkdale, would be the first Englishman to win the Open since 1992 if he lifts the Claret Jug on Sunday, according to ESPN.
Check back throughout the week as D.Sport’s Royal Birkdale coverage continues from the first tee shot on Thursday.
