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2026 Open Championship Course Success | Royal Birkdale Course Success, Field Analysis & Player Profiles

By Chris BowenJuly 16, 20268 min read

Royal Birkdale returns to the rotation for the 11th time for the 154th edition of The Open Championship. This week offers one of the purest tests of links golf in the world. Unlike many Open venues that rely on blind shots and awkward sightlines, Birkdale puts everything in front of the players. It is a course that rewards execution rather than good fortune, demanding precision, patience and strategic decision-making from tee to green. On paper, Royal Birkdale can be one of the more scoreable courses on the Open rotation when conditions are favourable, but that changes quickly once the weather turns. With fast, firm and windy conditions on the cards, this week promises to challenge every aspect of the world's best players' games.

Ahead of this year's championship, Royal Birkdale underwent a significant renovation. In 2021, the club turned to Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert to lead the changes, providing a more nuanced approach to strategy, penalty and recovery. Several holes have been redesigned, new bunkers have been added, a new hole has been introduced, and multiple holes have been lengthened to better challenge today's elite players while maintaining the traditional character of the course. Forget what you learnt from 2017; this is a different course, played in different conditions.

The Course

The towering sand dunes on each hole are intimidating, with narrow fairways, deep bunkers and firm, running conditions placing a premium on ball striking. Many of the bunkers sit in the target zones and landing spots for most players, forcing them to balance aggression with discipline throughout the week. Like every great links course, the weather will ultimately dictate how difficult Royal Birkdale plays, and when the wind arrives, every shot becomes a challenge. Creativity will need to meet execution in order to find success.

Driving accuracy will be one of the biggest factors this week. While the fairways appear generous, strategically placed bunkers take the driver out of the hands of players on a number of holes. Those who consistently find the fairway will give themselves a huge advantage, while players who miss will often be left playing from thick rough or trying to escape steep-faced bunkers. Firm conditions also mean players will frequently club down off the tee in order to leave themselves in the ideal position for their approach.

Around the greens, creativity becomes just as important as execution. Rather than relying on a lofted wedge for every recovery shot, players will have to be open to using putters, hybrids or bump-and-run irons depending on the firmness of the turf and the direction of the wind. Strong scrambling becomes increasingly valuable as conditions become more difficult. The greens themselves are relatively flat compared to many other Open Championship venues, but they become extremely challenging once they firm up. Success comes from controlling pace, leaving approach shots below the hole and avoiding costly three-putts from long range. The challenge isn't reading dramatic breaks; it's judging speed on exposed greens where the wind can influence every putt.

Royal Birkdale is a course where elite iron play will separate the best from the rest. The elevated greens repel anything slightly offline into tightly mown run-off areas or deep bunkers, placing a premium on distance control and precision. With the greens exposed to the coastal winds, players will constantly need to adjust trajectory and spin throughout the round as conditions continue to change. This is where you'll find the players who have success this week: those who can bring elite iron play and control the elements across all four rounds.

The Field

Field: 156 Players
Cut: Top 70 + Ties
FedExCup: 500 Points (Winner)
Purse: $17,500,000

Course Success

Every Open Championship provides the ultimate test, and Royal Birkdale will be no different. Here are the most important stats for me this week:

SG: Approach
Driving Accuracy
Scrambling
SG: Tee to Green (Recent)
SG: Links Courses

Player Profiles

Chris Gotterup

Odds: 40, 39/1, +3900

I've been talking about this for what feels like months now. I've had this futures bet since The Masters, and I couldn't be happier with Gotterup's preparation for this week. Wins at the John Deere and then being in contention all week at the Genesis Scottish Open have him primed for this major. We know he can play links golf. His unorthodox setup has been highlighted more than ever over the last few weeks, but this is a guy who moves the golf ball like Shakira dances. I'm already on him at a bigger price, but I still think this number is playable and I'm excited for his week.