How to watch the 2026 Open Championship | UK TV channel & more

Jonathan Victoria • 14 Jul 2026 Guides

Everything you need to know ahead of the 2026 Open Championship.

Golf’s most prestigious major begins on the 16th of July and with the quality of the competition this season, it could be anyone lifting the Claret Jug on Sunday.

As the last major of the season, you won’t want to miss a moment of the action across the weekend, so we’re here to bring you the important information ahead of the competition, including how to watch the 2026 Open Championship, its history and more.

How to watch the Open Championship 2026

Every moment of the 2026 Open Championship will be available to watch live on Sky Sports as part of their deal with the PGA Tour.

Sky Sports was recently given consent by Ofcom to broadcast exclusive live coverage of the Open Championship from this year and lasting until 2027, meaning the next three editions of the tournament will only be available via Sky Sports.

PGA Tour golf on Sky Sports

Sky Sports is the exclusive home of PGA Tour golf in the UK, so if you’re looking to watch The Open as well as all other tournaments during the season, you’ll need a valid Sky Sports subscription.

If you’re already a Sky TV customer without Sky Sports, you can add it to your existing package, while for new customers, there are a range of Sky Sports package deals to choose from.

If you’re not a Sky customer or don’t want to switch to Sky, there are still options available to be able to gain access.

You can take the NOW TV route, which has several options for their Sports Membership, each granting access to all Sky Sports channels for a specified amount of time (one day or one month).

Virgin Media and BT also provide ways to get Sky Sports channels as part of their offering. With Virgin Media, it can be added on to an existing package or a newly made one, while BT has the same but also has a pre-made package that comes with TNT Sports as well as Sky Sports.

The Open Championship on Sky Sports Golf

The entire weekend of the Open will be shown across multiple Sky Sports channels; Sky Sports Golf, the dedicated golf channel; Sky Sports Main Event, the flagship channel; and on Sky Sports+, which can be accessed as a channel or on the Sky Sports app, which will have more streams available for even deeper coverage.

Sky Sports will be showing wall-to-wall coverage every day, running from the first tee shot on Sunday right through until the final putt is sunk on Sunday.

Extra coverage will be shown when play isn’t underway, including the ‘Live At The Range’ show, which gives a daily behind-the-scenes look at the course and build-up, news and interviews on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the weekend begins.

‘The Open Verdict Live’ will be a live show after each day of play that will discuss the key talking points from the round, looking at the high flyers as well as the best moments from across the field.

History of the Open Championship

The Open Championship, better known simply as The Open, is the oldest and most prestigious golf tournament in the world, having been founded in 1860.

It is one of the four major golf tournaments on the PGA Tour calendar and the only one to be contested in the UK. It is also the fourth and final major played, contested each year in mid-July.

While it was founded in 1860, 164 years ago, 2026 will be the 154th edition of the tournament. The only times it wasn’t held were in 1871 (no trophy available), 1915-1919 (World War I), 1940-1945 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID-19).

The name “The Open” stems from the fact that in theory, the tournament is open to all challengers - from the leading players on the PGA Tour right down to amateur golfers. However, that doesn’t mean anyone gets to be part of the field.

Players who do not receive an invite or have an exemption to the tournament must go through multiple highly competitive qualification rounds to qualify.

Winners of The Open are colloquially named Champion Golfer of the Year and are awarded the coveted Claret Jug. For some, the trophy holds as much if not more prestige than a green jacket won at The Masters.

The location of the Open Championship changes each year but typically remains in north England or Scotland, the home of golf. 

Many fans would name St Andrews in Scotland as the most iconic host venue, although fans of tradition may champion the original host venue, Prestwick Golf Club, also found in Scotland. 

The venues are selected by The R&A, one of the governing bodies of golf worldwide, and rotate each year, although they have always been a links golf courses, meaning they are courses generally built upon sandy coastlands, providing a tough challenge of dealing with the elements as well as a firmer playing surface.

Where is the 2026 Open Championship being played?

The 154th Open Championship will be contested at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, located in Southport, Merseyside, England.

About Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Credit: Every Hole at Royal Birkdale | Golf Digest (Golf Digest, YouTube)

Royal Birkdale is no stranger to hosting the championship, with the 2026 edition being the 11th Open held at the club.

Established in 1889 but moved to the current site in Birkdale Hills in 1894, Royal Birkdale is regarded as one of the toughest yet fairest links courses in the world, featuring holes that require more finesse and precise strategy over brute strength, the first hole in particular best representing the challenge to come for the players.

The trick with Royal Birkdale lies in the areas less travelled. The fairways are generally flat but they are not to be missed as in typical links fashion, the holes are lined with thick rough that is sure to cause trouble for players of all quality.

Along with its own unique quirks, it of course offers the well-known challenge almost all links courses offer, with course winds flowing continually through the magnificent dune, forcing players and their addies alike to heavily factor in the elements when deciding how to approach each shot.

When is the Open Championship 2026?

The Open begins on Thursday 16th July and will finish on Sunday 19th July.

2026 Open Championship: Field

The field of 156 players for the Open Championship this year includes several previous champions of the tournament as well as many other winners of the other majors. 

There’s 16 former champions included in the field this year, including the defending champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler, and some hometown heroes, no more bigger than local lad Tommy Fleetwood, who hails from Liverpool just 18 miles away.

There are also many debutants looking to make an impact at their first time of asking, and among them will be amateur players who will be fighting for the Silver Medal, given to the leading amateur at the end of the week.

2026 Open Championship: Tee times & pairings

Open Championship winners

There have been 91 different winners of the Open Championship in history, with 27 of those players having won multiple times.

The reason why there was no Open Championship in 1871 was that the previous year's champion, Young Tom Morris, won three consecutive titles, which in the rules states that the winner is then allowed to keep the ‘Challenge Belt’, the original award for winning The Open, leaving the tournament with no trophy.

Quite possibly the funniest fact about The Open is that the oldest winner and the youngest winner was father and son, and their record wins came in back-to-back years. Tom Morris Sr., or better known as Old Tom Morris, won his fourth and final title in 1867 at 46 years old, then his son came along and won his first of four titles in 1868 at age 17.

Past 10 winners

• 2025 - Scottie Scheffler
• 2024 - Xander Schauffele
• 2023 - Brian Harman
• 2022 - Cameron Smith
• 2021 - Collin Morikawa
• 2019 - Shane Lowry
• 2018 - Francesco Molinari
• 2017 - Jordan Spieth
• 2016 - Henrik Stenson
• 2015 - Zach Johnson

All-time records

Most wins: 6 - Harry Vardon (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914)

Youngest winner: 17 years & 156 days - Tom Morris Jr. (1868)

Oldest winner: 46 years & 102 days - Tom Morris Sr. (1867)

Most consecutive wins: 4 - Tom Morris Jr. (1868-1870, 1872)

Lowest score over 72 holes: -20 - Henrik Stenson (2016) & Cameron Smith (2022)