Royal Birkdale in quotes

Few, if any, of the players competing in The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale will know the venue quite like Tommy Fleetwood does.

Having grown up five minutes away in neighbouring Southport he will be back in familiar territory when golf’s original championship returns in July 2026.

Fleetwood was among the world-class field competing at the venue when The Open was last staged there in 2017. Back then he described it as being among the planet’s best courses, and he was not alone in that assessment.

Here we look at what the players had to say about Royal Birkdale during a memorable week at The 146th Open.

A special place

Fleetwood had the backing of a buoyant local crowd in 2017, and he hopes for similar scenes when returning in July.

Speaking to media during The Open’s previous visit to Birkdale, he said: “If you ask anybody playing this week that's been here before they'll say it's one of the best courses in the world. Very arguably the best Open venue.”

“I think it's such an amazing venue. As in crowds, town, course,” he added.

“Hopefully I'll be back whenever it's next here and have the same atmosphere.”

The greatest walk in golf

Jordan Spieth lifted the Claret Jug that week and spoke about how the walk up 18 – a hole framed by the iconic Royal Birkdale clubhouse – is a moment he will treasure.

“Typically when I'm walking up to greens, I take out my notes and I know where I've been. I've got a greens book, I'm trying to just get an idea what the putt is going to do,” he said.

“I started to take out my book, and saw the 18th hole and I'm like, I can't. This is not worthy of this. Everyone is giving us an ovation and it's a time to appreciate that, enjoy the walk, but also to say thank you for the support that these crowds give.

“That 18th-hole walk is a really, really special thing to do, whether it's Monday in a practice round or it's Saturday or Sunday afternoon.”

A tough but fair test

'Respect' was a word Justin Rose used when asked how he and his fellow players felt about Royal Birkdale, and the challenge it poses.

“I think all the guys respect this golf course. Everyone thinks it's one of the best ones we play on the rotation.

“All the areas, all the seaside towns we play, they're all fantastic, they all have a great charm about them. But for me the charm about this one is the golf course. I love it,” he added.

“I think it's the fairest links golf course we play. It rewards great golf. The bounce, the vagaries of the bounces are slightly less in play here than at some other golf courses we play.”

Matt Kuchar might have felt like the world was against him when he led the Championship with five holes to go before a show-stopping finish from Spieth put paid to his hopes of a first major title in 2017.

But fairness was the first thing he pointed to when asked for his take on a venue which will next summer host its 11th Open Championship.

“I think it's just a well-designed, very fair test of golf. And certainly a demanding test of golf,” he said.

Spieth used similar language to sum up his thoughts on the challenge.

“It's a very tough but fair test, one that's demanding off the tee. And if you get that part done, into the greens and on the greens, you can play kind of to the centre of them and putt to the corners,” he said.

“The greens aren't crazy. There's only a couple that have any kind of ridges to them. So it's about controlling your ball off the tee in these crosswinds to give yourself the opportunity to hit the centre of the green.”

Where great champions thrive

History tells us great champions rise to the occasion at Royal Birkdale.

Players to have triumphed there include two five-time Champion Golfers, three back-to-back Champions and a host of multiple major winners. Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson all won in Southport across a glittering 30-year period.

It is a quirk Adam Scott could not help but notice, saying: “I think the best golf courses identify the best players all the time, and probably the case here. This is one of the best on The Open rota.

“So just a good, solid course. It's a little more of a defined links course. Yes, you can hit it off-line and still be able to play, but it's not like playing St Andrews or something where you come from all kinds of angles. You need to be still quite precise to get it close to the hole.”

Rory McIlroy will be hoping to add his name to that illustrious list of Birkdale winners when The Open returns in 2026.

He said: “What a fantastic golf course. I would definitely rate it among the top three in The Open rotation, if not the best course that we play out of the rotation.

“It tests all aspects of your game. You have to drive it well. You have to be smart. Everything sort of challenges every aspect of your game.”