The Open Championship – 5 Storylines to Follow

Royal Birkdale hosts golf’s most traditional major this week, and it comes with the opportunity for more patriotic glory, partnered with the world cup of course…

With the absence of typical British weather to worry about due to the unfathomable heatwave, its important to recognise the positive effect this has on the likelihood of seeing a fantastic display of quality this weekend. There is, nevertheless, the brisk breeze that comes with links golf, with winds up to 30 mph expected.

Who to keep an eye on?

Scottie Scheffler - The world number one has an undeniable sense of inevitability about him. He comes to Southport chasing his 5th major and back-to-back Open championship victories after his success at Royal Portrush.

Keeping an eye on Scheffler, who tends to bulldoze his way to success, is almost not worth writing about, however his recent nightmare at the Scottish Open makes him a figure of interest.

His first missed cut in 78 consecutive PGA tour events, a record by the way, adds a reasonable doubt to what would usually be another major expecting at least a top 10 finish. With it being on British soil too, at the Renaissance Club in East Lothian, it will be fascinating to see how Scheffler fares.

Bryson DeChambeau - One of golf’s largest personalities, a self-proclaimed good friend of Donald Trump, and youtuber with almost 3 million subscribers has had the worst golf year of his career.

He is still the face of LIV golf, despite many of his colleagues returning to the traditional golf tours. Due to a lack of interest and the steady decline in the traction and quality LIV golf produces, you may be unaware that he has found some success on the PGA’s rival counterpart, winning in South Africa and Singapore back-to-back. However, it is his performance on golf biggest stage that may prove the disparity between the respective tours.

With three missed cuts out of three in major championships in 2026, this really is his last chance to avoid a humiliating year. To add to his anguish, former Champion Sir Nick Faldo claimed Bryson has ‘zero-strategy’ after a largely unwavering history of struggle with links golf.

I have no doubt the public will be watching him closely, especially now due to him sharing a tee time with the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, and fellow LIV golfer, Tyrell Hatton, who is expected to perform well. Bryson is not a favourite nor an outsider, but instead a captivating player due to his vastly contrasting form.

Justin Rose – this year, Rose will rekindle a fond relationship with Royal Birkdale going back to him bursting onto the scene at the 1998 Open Championship.

At just 17 he copped a fourth-place finish along with a historical moment on the final 18th of the tournament, holing out with his pitching wedge for birdie. 28 years later, Rose comes back not for sentimental value, but instead for the Claret Jug. He is much older, and has recent agonising but impressive history of knocking on the door at major championships.

A victory at the Farmers Insurance Open and top 11 finishes across all majors this year, puts him again in serious contention for victory one would say he deserves. Rose also faces the added pressure of being English, which both Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick face too heading into Birkdale. They all hope to be the first Englishman to win the Open since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992.

Rory McIlroy – ignoring Rory would of course not be a wise decision, but as we know he generates an uncontainable buzz before every major regardless of his recent antics.

After doubling down on Masters victories this year, he looks to do the same with the Claret Jug, and has every chance to do so, being on red hot form with one anomaly at a difficult US open. Rory has the chance of becoming champion golfer of the year, and also may be in contention for consecutive Sports Personality of The Year awards.

It became clear that an enormous weight fell off his shoulders after completing the Grand Slam in 2025, now he plays golf with a smile on his face and sense of confidence he will hope resides on Royal Birkdale as well as Augusta.

Alex Fitzpatrick - Brother of one of the favourites, Matt, an outsider interest of mine is Alex Fitzpatrick. He comes with a lot less weight on his back and has been subtly plugging away on the DP world tour this year.

Winning his first event at the 2026 Hero Open, and having a positive history with links golf, Alex may be coming with quiet sense of excitement and a desire to come out of his brothers shadow.

He proved last year that he can compete with a T-17 finish at Portrush, and his strong form since his victory in India makes him a British outsider with capabilities to produce a phenomenal story.

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That’s it from me, and once again we all hope for another immense weekend of sport, starting on the North-West coast at Royal Birkdale and ending shortly before the World Cup Final. Is it outrageous to ask for English success in both?