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The Open Championship preview - Seven Australians set to tee off

Jul 14, 2026

The Open Championship is the 30th event of the FedExCup Regular Season and the final major championship of the 2026 season, with only four weeks remaining until the start of the FedExCup Playoff.

Current major winners this season are Rory McIlroy/Masters Tournament, Aaron Rai/PGA Championship, Wyndham Clark/U.S. Open).

The 2026 Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale for the 11th time (1954, 1961, 1965, 1971, 1976, 1983, 1991, 1998, 2008, 2017, 2026) and is the second-most of any other course to host (most is St. Andrews).

American’s have won four of the last five Open Championships: Scottie Scheffler (2025), Xander Schauffele (2024), Brian Harman (2023), Collin Morikawa (2021).

Seven Australians will tee up; Jason Day, Lucas Herbert, Cameron John, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Travis Smyth.
28 different countries are represented in the field and with the exception of Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, only Americans and Australians have won The Open at Royal Birkdale.
Peter Thomson won on two occasions (1954 and 1965). 1954 saw Thomson become the first Australian to win The Open on the course’s Championship debut, defeating Bobby Locke, Dai Rees and Syd Scott by a single stroke.

And Adam Scott is scheduled to make his 101st consecutive major championship appearance, dating to the 2001 Open Championship, and only Jack Nicklaus (146) has played in more than 100 straight majors.

The field also includes:

  • 30 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings
  • 50 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking
  • 10 past FedExCup champions: Henrik Stenson (2013), Billy Horschel (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019, 2022), Justin Thomas (2017), Justin Rose (2018), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Viktor Hovland (2023), Scottie Scheffler (2024), Tommy Fleetwood (2025)
  • All eight Signature Event winners this season are in the field
  • 14 past Open champions in the field: David Duval (2001), Padraig Harrington (2007, 2008), Stewart Cink (2009), 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)
  • The last 12 winners of The Open Championship won the event for the first time, starting with Phil Mickelson in 2013, marking the longest streak of first-time winners at The Open (previous: 1994-2004)
  • 41 players in the field competed at the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, including six that finished in the top 10: Jordan Speith (Won), Haotong Li (3rd), Rory Mcllroy (T4), Brooks Koepka (T6), Alex Noren (T6), Matthew Southgate (T6)
  • Seven players competed at the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale: Padraig Harrington (Won), Henrik Stenson (T3), Adam Scott (T16), Alex Noren (T19), David Duval (T39), Justin Rose (T70), Stewart Cink (MC)
  • Five players competed at the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale: Justin Rose (T4), David Duval (T11), Stewart Cink (T66), Darren Clarke (MC), Padraig Harrington (MC)
  • 82 of the 156 players in the field competed at last week’s Scottish Open, including 10 that finished in the top 10: Tom Kim (Won), Min Woo Lee (2nd), Matt Fitzpatrick (T3), Robert MacIntyre (T3), Keita Nakajima (T3), Johnny Keefer (T3), Rory Mcllroy (T7), Michael Thorbjornsen (T7), Si Woo Kim (T9), Victor Perez (T9)
  • 10 amateurs in the field; the last seven winners of the Silver Medal at Royal Birkdale have been from England and this year there are no English amateurs in the field

Additional player notes:

  • Tom Kim seeks to become the first player since Rory McIlroy to win on TOUR and win a major the following week (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 2014 PGA Championship)
  • Rickie Fowler is making his 15th start at the Open Championship (best: T2/2014) and has 13 top-10 finishes in major starts, the most top-10 finishes without a win in majors since 2010
  • PGA TOUR season notes
  • Scottie Scheffler (3,511) holds a 182-point lead in the FedExCup standings over Matt Fitzpatrick (3,329)
  • Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup lead the TOUR with three victories each this season; they join Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Ben Griffin as the only players to earn three or more victories in a season on TOUR since 2024
  • There have been nine international winners on TOUR this season (11 wins)
  • There have been five first-time winners in the first 29 events on TOUR this season: Jacob Bridgeman (The Genesis Invitational), Ricky Castillo (Puerto Rico Open), Alex Fitzpatrick (Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Kristoffer Reitan (Truist Championship), Bud Cauley (RBC Canadian Open)
  • The 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win 10 of 28 individual stroke-play events on TOUR this season; the 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win three of the last seven Open Championships (Scottie Scheffler/2025, Brian Harman/2023, Shane Lowry/2019)

Image - SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - JULY 13: Jason Day of Australia on the 18th hole during a Practice Round prior to The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 13, 2026 in Southport, England. (Photo by Stuart Kerr/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)