The Open Championship is headed back to the driving range that Jordan Spieth built, otherwise known as Royal Birkdale, the R&A announced on Tuesday. The 154th Open will be played there in 2026, marking Birkdale’s 11th appearance as an Open venue.
Royal Birkdale has held some pretty famous Opens throughout its history. Peter Thomson won his first Open at the venue. So did Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino. Tom Watson won his fifth, while Spieth won his only Claret Jug back in 2017 when he narrowly defeated Matt Kuchar on the back of one of the great bogeys in major championship history.
Birkdale is one of the great venues in the 150-plus year history of this tournament, and it is no surprise that the R&A will take its championship back there in a few years.
“Royal Birkdale is a world class championship venue and its outstanding links will once again provide the world’s best men’s professional golfers with a tough but fair test of their talents and capabilities as they compete for the Claret Jug,” said R&A CEO Martin Slumbers.
“It has produced many memorable moments that are woven into the story of this historic Championship, including a dramatic final round in 2017 when Jordan Spieth won for the first time. We look forward to another special occasion in three years and it will be fascinating to see which player will emerge to join a list of renowned champion golfers to have won at Royal Birkdale.”
Though other majors have their venues scheduled out (literal) decades in advance, the R&A is more judicious. It has just three venues planned beyond 2023.
- 2023 — Royal Liverpool
- 2024 — Royal Troon
- 2025 — Royal Portrush
- 2026 — Royal Birkdale
It is presumed that the Old Course is back on the rotation for every fifth year starting in 2027, which would mean that 2028 and beyond is up for grabs. The general modern rota is considered to be those five along with Royal St. George’s, Carnoustie, Muirfield and Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s.
Before Spieth’s win in 2017, Birkdale last hosted an Open in 2008 when Padraig Harrington defeated Ian Poulter by four strokes.