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The 154th Open
11 July 2026
The 154th Open in numbers
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A 1-18 of facts and figures from Royal Birkdale
Ahead of The 154th Open, enjoy our 1-18 of facts and figures relating to the spectacular venue of Royal Birkdale and the players who make up this year’s field.
1 – One final place in the field will be decided on Monday when 12 players take part in the inaugural Last-Chance Qualifier, a first-of-its-kind event at The Open. All players competing earned their places after meeting the exemption criteria set out by The R&A in December. Find out more about Last-Chance Qualifier here.
2 – The number of players in this year’s field who have already won The Open at Royal Birkdale. Padraig Harrington triumphed for the second successive year in 2008, while Jordan Spieth produced one of the most memorable finishes in the championship’s history to secure the Claret Jug the last time Birkdale served as host in 2017.
3 – Three-over was Harrington’s winning score in 2008 following a week of high winds on England’s north-west coast. Although it is the highest total in relation to par by a Champion Golfer this century, it was enough for Harrington to prevail by four strokes as Ian Poulter took second on seven-over.
4 – The average winning margin of the last three Champion Golfers. Scottie Scheffler won by four at Royal Portrush 12 months ago, while Xander Schauffele triumphed by two strokes at Royal Troon in 2024 and Brian Harman romped to a six-shot success at Royal Liverpool in 2023.
Scottie Scheffler won by four strokes at Royal Portrush.
5 – The number of players since World War II to have won The Open on their maiden appearance. Ben Hogan (1953), Tony Lema (1964), Tom Watson (1975), Ben Curtis (2003) and Collin Morikawa (2021) are the men to have achieved the feat since 1945. This year’s Open field contains 41 debutants, more than a quarter of the field.
6 – The number of shots Johnny Miller won by at Royal Birkdale 50 years ago. Miller’s final-round 66 saw him finish six clear of Jack Nicklaus and a teenage Seve Ballesteros on nine-under-par.
7 – The number of years since Royal Birkdale member Matthew Baldwin made the last of his three previous Open appearances. Baldwin came through Final Qualifying this year to earn a place in The Open at his home club, having previously played at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012, Royal Liverpool in 2014 and Royal Portrush in 2019.
8 – The number of top-10 finishes Rory McIlroy has recorded at The Open. Since winning the championship at Royal Liverpool in 2014, McIlroy has finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, while he was also third at St Andrews in 2010.
Rory McIlroy has recorded eight top-10 finishes since winning 12 years ago.
9 – The number of Opens in a row that have produced an outright winner, with no need for a play-off. Zach Johnson triumphed after extra holes at St Andrews in 2015, but each of the last nine Champion Golfers have won in the regulation 72 holes.
10 – The number of amateurs competing in The 154th Open. Mason Howell, Fifa Laopakdee, Mateo Pulcini, Jack Buchanan, Stuart Grehan and Tim Wiedemeyer all won leading amateur events to secure their places, while Lev Grinberg was the winner of The Open Amateur Series. A further three amateur players – Alejandro De Castro Piera, David Howard and Nevill Ruiter – came through Final Qualifying to earn their spots at Royal Birkdale.
11 – This will be the 11th Open at Royal Birkdale. Only St Andrews has hosted the championship on more occasions since Birkdale first served as host in 1954.
12 – The number of cuts Jordan Spieth has made in his 12 Open appearances to date, giving him a 100% record of making the weekend at golf’s original Championship. In addition to his win in 2017, Spieth has four other top-10 finishes at The Open, including a runner-up placing behind Collin Morikawa at Royal St George’s in 2021.
Jordan Spieth has never missed a cut at The Open.
13 – The number of birdies Scottie Scheffler made in the first 36 holes a year ago on his way to victory at Royal Portrush. Scheffler was 10-under at the halfway stage, having made three bogeys along with his 13 birdies, and remained at the head of the leaderboard thereafter on his way to a 17-under winning total.
14 – The most strokes under par that a Champion Golfer has finished at Royal Birkdale. Lee Trevino posted a 14-under aggregate on his way to victory in 1971, albeit the par on that occasion was 73 as opposed to the current 70. Jordan Spieth’s 12-under aggregate in 2017, on a par-70 layout, set a new record total of 268.
15 – The number of Champion Golfers teeing it up at Royal Birkdale in 2026. David Duval (2001), Padraig Harrington (2007 & 2008), Stewart Cink (2009), Louis Oosthuizen (2010), Darren Clarke (2011), Rory McIlroy (2014), Henrik Stenson (2016), Jordan Spieth (2017), Francesco Molinari (2018), Shane Lowry (2019), Collin Morikawa (2021), Cameron Smith (2022), Brian Harman (2023), Xander Schauffele (2024) and Scottie Scheffler (2025) will all be looking to get their hands on the Claret Jug once again. Reigning Champion Golfer Scheffler is attempting to become the first player to win The Open in successive years since Harrington followed up his victory at Carnoustie by prevailing at Birkdale 18 years ago.
16 – The hole at Royal Birkdale where Arnold Palmer played an extraordinary recovery shot on his way to victory in 1961. On a hole that played as the 15th at the time, Palmer struck his tee shot into thick rough at the base of a blackberry bush. Reaching the green appeared impossible, but Palmer provided a timely exhibition of his great power and skill and somehow found the putting surface with a thunderously struck six-iron. "I never hit a ball so hard in my life," Palmer would later say and his resultant par proved crucial as he held off Dai Rees to win The 90th Open by a single shot.
Arnold Palmer's shot has been immortalised at Royal Birkdale.
17 – The age Justin Rose was when he finished T4 at Royal Birkdale in 1998, memorably holing a pitch shot on the 18th in one of The Open’s most iconic moments. Rose returns to Birkdale this year hoping to end his long quest for Open glory. You can explore his determined pursuit of the Claret Jug in our new film, Chasing Forever, available to view now on The R&A’s YouTube channel.
18 – The age of the youngest competitor in this year’s field, Lev Grinberg. The French amateur will make his maiden major appearance after winning The Open Amateur Series, which rewards the player collecting the most World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) points across the St Andrews Links Trophy, The Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship.
