The 2026 Open Championship is the 11th time Royal Birkdale has hosted The Open. The Southport links first welcomed the championship in 1954 and returned to the rotation several times over the following decades.
Before 2026, Royal Birkdale had hosted The Open ten times, most recently in 2017, when Jordan Spieth defeated Matt Kuchar. Other champions at the course include Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Ian Baker-Finch, Mark O’Meara and Pádraig Harrington.
The course’s hosting history makes it one of the most important venues in the Open rota. Its coastal terrain, elevated dunes and shifting winds create a demanding test that can change dramatically from one day to the next.
A frequent mistake is counting only the number of different decades in which Birkdale hosted the event, or overlooking the repeated championships held there. The answer is 11th because each staging counts separately, including the 2026 championship.