The men’s major season reaches its climax this month at The Open, with round-the-clock coverage from Royal Birkdale exclusively live on Sky Sports. Scottie Scheffler is back as defending champion after last year’s victory at Royal Portrush, with the world No 1 bidding to become the first back-to-back winner of The Open since Padraig Harrington.
Scheffler is pre-tournament favourite to claim a fifth major in as many seasons, while Rory McIlroy is also aiming to lift the Claret Jug for a second time and add to his victory at The Masters in April.
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Highlights from The Masters, where Rory McIlroy held off Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose to defend his title
Southport native Tommy Fleetwood is bidding to become the first Englishman to win The Open since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992, with Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai – winner of the PGA Championship in May – among the others trying to end that drought.Jordan Spieth returns as the last winner of an Open at Royal Birkdale, having claimed victory in 2017, while Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young are among the other high-profile names hoping to be crowned the Champion Golfer of the Year.
Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with over 75 hours of live coverage from across the seven days of tournament week. Here’s a closer look at all you need to know to avoid missing a moment of the action…
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Sir Nick Faldo bumped into Rory McIlroy and asked about his preparations ahead of The Open. X credit @Sir_NickFaldo.
When does coverage of The Open start? Key TV coverage Live coverage begins at 9am for each of the three practice days, before wall-to-wall action from the final men’s major of the year gets under way at 6.30am on Thursday July 16 on Sky Sports Golf.
There will be at least 15 hours of action from both the first two rounds, with bonus feeds available on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports app. Extended coverage then…
2026-07-10 07:00:00
