2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale: Complete Tee Times, Broadcast Schedule & Key Storylines

2026 Open Championship: Royal Birkdale Sets the Stage

The 2026 Open Championship gets underway at Royal Birkdale in England — the 11th time the iconic links has hosted the Claret Jug. With fairways running firm and fast, the course is expected to demand a full links-style game from the world's best players.

Marquee Groupings to Watch

The headliner tee time arrives at 4:58 a.m. ET on Thursday, featuring defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, and Bryson DeChambeau — who has missed the cut in all three majors this season and badly needs a reset.

At 5:09 a.m. ET, the group of Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, and Jon Rahm draws enormous interest. Spieth won his only Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in 2017, and Fleetwood carries the weight of home-crowd expectations.

For golf data fans, the groupings of Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Matt Fitzpatrick at 10:15 a.m. ET, plus Collin Morikawa at 9:42 a.m. ET, offer another elite cluster worth tracking from a Strokes Gained perspective.

TV & Streaming (ET)

- Thursday & Friday: USA Network from 4 a.m. ET; exclusive early coverage on Peacock from 1:30 a.m. - Saturday: USA Network (5–7 a.m.), then NBC (7 a.m.–3 p.m.) - Sunday: USA Network (4–7 a.m.), then NBC (7 a.m.–2 p.m.)

Strokeslab Take

Links golf inherently shifts the SG distribution: SG: APP and SG: ATG on bump-and-run conditions tend to separate the field more than aerial iron play. Scheffler's missed cut last week adds an intriguing psychological variable to what is otherwise the most statistically dominant player in the field.