The final major event of the 2026 golf season is kicking off.
The British Open Championship, often simply called The Open, is set to feature many of the best golfers globally, including the top three players in the world: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Scheffler, who won last year, will be at Royal Birkdale Golf Club this time. The change of venue each year introduces new challenges, and despite that, he’s certainly still a strong contender, just like McIlroy.
Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau, who tied for 10th at last year’s Open, is looking to get back into the swing of things after missing several tournaments in a row.
Here’s what you should know about the 2026 Open Championship:
- Dates: July 16th-19th
- Location: Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, Merseyside, England
- Broadcast: NBC, USA Network
- Streaming: DIRECTV (with a free trial available)
Because of the time difference, U.S. viewers will catch early starts, with the last group teeing off before 11:30 a.m. ET—that should allow for plenty of morning and afternoon golf action.
When is the British Open?
The championship kicks off on July 16 and wraps up on July 19. For the complete TV schedule, check the information below.
How to Watch the British Open for Free
If you don’t have cable, consider using a live TV streaming service to watch the tournament without charge. DIRECTV is one option to explore; they currently offer a 5-day free trial and provide NBC and USA Network among other channels.
Additionally, Peacock will have special early coverage of the event, and there are dedicated streams for certain holes and featured groups, which could be quite interesting to follow.
British Open Championship 2026 TV Coverage
All times are in ET:
- Thursday, July 16th (Round 1): 1:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. (Peacock), 4 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (USA)
- Friday, July 17th (Round 2): 1:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. (Peacock), 4 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (USA)
- Saturday, July 18th (Round 3): 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. (US), 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (NBC)
- Sunday, July 19th (Final Round): 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. (US), 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. (NBC)
British Open Championship 2026 Tee Times:
Round 1 – Thursday, July 17th
- 1:35 a.m. – Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detrie, James Nicholas
- 1:46 a.m. – Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan
- 1:57 a.m. – Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan
- 2:08 a.m. – Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean
- 2:19 a.m. – Robert McIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick
- 2:30 a.m. – David Duvall, Martin Kubra, Matthew Southgate
- 2:41 a.m. – Im Sung Jae, Daniel Brown, FIFA Laopakdee (a)
- 2:52 a.m. – Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith
- 3:03 a.m. – Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Greenberg (a)
- 3:14 a.m. – Henny du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury
- 3:25 a.m. – Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Matteo Pulcini (a)
- 3:36 a.m. – Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joachim Lagergren
- 3:47 a.m. – Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smith
- 4:03 a.m. – Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune
- 4:14 a.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard
- 4:25 a.m. – Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Lee Min-woo
- 4:36 a.m. – Russell Henry, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland
- 4:47 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Alex Nolen, Jason Day
- 4:58 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau
- 5:09 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm
- 5:20 a.m. – Brian Harman, Shi Woo Kim, Nick Taylor
- 5:31 a.m. – Ryan Gerrard, Maverick McNeely, David Puig
- 5:42 a.m. – Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)
- 5:53 a.m. – Antoine Rosner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt
- 6:04 a.m. – MJ Duffew, Frédéric Lacroix, Jack McDonald
- 6:15 a.m. – Ham Jung Woo, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro de Castro Piera (a)
- 6:41 a.m. – John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen
- 6:52 a.m. – Eugenio Chacala, Matt Wallace, Max Glaserman
- 7:03 a.m. – Michael Brennan, Sahis Segala, Laurie Cantor
- 7:14 a.m. – Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)
- 7:25 a.m. – Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama
- 7:36 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Sean Norris, Jackson Suber
- 7:47 a.m. – Darren Clarke, Adrian Sadier, Bernd Wiesberger
- 7:58 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Corey Connors, Casey Jarvis
- 8:09 a.m. – Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li
- 8:20 a.m. – Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick
- 8:31 a.m. – Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a)
- 8:42 a.m. – Johnny Kiefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima
- 8:53 a.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, Jesper Svensson, Jack Buchanan (a)
- 9:09 a.m. – Bud Corey, Jaden Schaper, Lucas Herbert
- 9:20 a.m. – Christopher Reitan, Patrick Reed, JT Poston
- 9:31 a.m. – Chris Gottapp, Sam Barnes, Adam Scott
- 9:42 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, JJ Spaun, Nikolai Huygaard
- 9:53 a.m. – Shane Lowry, Aaron Rye, Brooks Koepka
- 10:04 a.m. – Cameron Young, Windham Clark, Ludwig Oberg
- 10:15 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick
- 10:26 a.m. – Jacob Bridgman, Rasmus Neergaard Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a)
- 10:37 a.m. – Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria
- 10:48 a.m. – Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta
- 10:59 a.m. – Cameron John, Austin Truslow, Sam Bairstow
- 11:10 a.m. – Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Bird Skogen
- 11:21 a.m. – Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Neville Ruiter (a)
Where will the 2026 British Open Championship be held?
This year’s British Open will return to Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside, marking its 11th time at this historic venue.
