[Photo: Golf Australia]
Only one major championship venue has been equally as kind to Australian golfers than Royal Birkdale Golf Club in the north of England.
Alongside the famed Old Course at St Andrews, Royal Birkdale has crowned an Australian as Champion Golfer of the Year on three occasions.
The first was the inimitable Peter Thomson in 1954, his ‘Five Times’ moniker sealed when he won there again in 1965.
Royal Birkdale was also the site for Ian Baker-Finch’s crowning glory in 1991, rounds of 64-66 on the weekend earning ‘Finchy’ a two-stroke win from fellow Australian, Mike Harwood, and a place in golf immortality.
“The way people treat the trophy is something very, very special,” Baker-Finch said in the 2022 book, Aussies At The Open.
“It’s one of the great trophies in all of sport so when you hold it, it’s not just the honour of being The Open champion, but being able to share that trophy with everyone.”
Thirty-five years on and there is an eclectic mix of Aussies and Kiwis ready to write their name into history.
In his 101st consecutive major start – and 102nd overall – Adam Scott returns to Royal Birkdale for a third time, finishing inside the top 25 in each of his previous two appearances.
Jason Day and 2022 champion Cameron Smith both played at Royal Birkdale in 2017 but it will be a first look for Min Woo Lee, Lucas Herbert, Travis Smyth and Cameron John.
For John, it represents a first look at major championship golf.
A three-time winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia last year, John booked his spot via a runner-up finish at the Singapore Open that served as part of the Open Qualifying Series.
“The first one I really remember, not to bring back bad memories for another Aussie, but was watching Adam Scott,” said John of the 2012 Open at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s where Scott finished second.
“I went to Rowville Sports Academy, so we’re all golfers and we’re all watching it and we’re just like, ‘It’s all right, it’s all right.’ We just kept saying, ‘It’s all right.’ And obviously it didn’t quite pan out that way.
“I remember that one clear as day, just watching the shots and just being excited by the potential of The Open one day.”
Herbert also earned a sixth Open start through the Qualifying Series courtesy of his runner-up finish to Daniel Hillier at the New Zealand Open in March.
The Open Championship
Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England
Round 1 tee times AEST
3:46pm Daniel Hillier (NZ), Michael Kim, Andy Sullivan
3:57pm Ryan Fox (NZ), Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan
5:47pm Travis Smyth, Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko
6:25pm Min Woo Lee, Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama
6:47pm Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Alex Noren
7:42pm Kazuma Kobori (NZ), Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)
9:14pm Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)
11:09pm Lucas Herbert, Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper
11:31pm Adam Scott, Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns
12:59am Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow
Round 2 tee times AEST
4:08pm Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)
6:03pm Lucas Herbert, Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper
6:25pm Adam Scott, Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns
7:53pm Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow
8:52pm Daniel Hillier (NZ), Michael Kim, Andy Sullivan
9:03pm Ryan Fox (NZ), Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan
10:53pm Travis Smyth, Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko
11:31pm Min Woo Lee, Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama
11:53pm Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Alex Noren
12:48am Kazuma Kobori (NZ), Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)
Recent champion: Scottie Scheffler
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965), Kel Nagle (1960), Greg Norman (1986, 1993), Ian Baker-Finch (1991), Cameron Smith (2022)
TV schedule (Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sports)
Monday
Live 11pm-4am: Live from The Open
Tuesday
Live 10pm-3am: Live from The Open
Wednesday
Live 10pm-3am: Live from The Open
Thursday
Live 3:30pm-6am: Round 1
Live 6am-8am: Live from The Open
Friday
Live 3:30pm-6am: Round 2
Live 6am-8am: Live from The Open
Saturday
Live 7pm-5am: Round 3
Live 5am-7am: Live from The Open
Sunday
Live 6pm-6am: Round 4
Australasian player profiles
Jason Day
Age: 38
World ranking: 54
Previous Open appearances: 13
Best Open finish: T2 at Royal Liverpool (2023)
Best finish in 2026: T2, The American Express
The lowdown: Been a difficult period for the former world No.1 who has finished inside the top 40 just once since he was tied 12th at The Masters. One of only three Aussies in the field this week, along with Adam Scott and Cameron Smith, with history at Royal Birkdale, having finished tied 27th in 2017.
Ryan Fox (NZ)
Age: 39
World ranking: 56
Previous Open appearances: 9
Best Open finish: T16, Royal Portrush (2019)
Best finish in 2026: T7, Genesis Invitational
The lowdown: Set a new record for the lowest back nine in Open Championship history when he came home in 29 in Round 1 of the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush. Fox would go on to finish tied 16th that week, to date his best result in a major championship.
Lucas Hebert
Age: 30
World ranking: 97
Previous Open appearances: 5
Best Open finish: T15 at St Andrews (2022)
Best finish in 2026: Won LIV Golf Virginia
The lowdown: Secured his place at Royal Birkdale with a runner-up finish to Dan Hillier at the New Zealand Open in March. Earned a maiden LIV Golf win in Virginia in May and has four additional top-10 finishes in 2026.
Daniel Hillier (NZ)
Age: 27
World ranking: 105
Previous Open appearances: 4
Best Open finish: T19 at Royal Troon (2024)
Best finish in 2026: Won New Zealand Open
The lowdown: Hillier’s New Zealand Open victory at Millbrook in March was part of a blistering start to the season that included a runner-up finish at the Dubai Invitational and fourth-place finish at the Bahrain Championship. Qualified for Birkdale by finishing inside the top 25 on the 2025 DP World Tour Race to Dubai rankings.
Cameron John
Age: 27
World ranking: 256
Previous Open appearances: 0
Best Open finish: N/A
Best finish in 2026: Won the Vic Open; Won The National
The lowdown: Despite winning three times across the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season was denied the Order of Merit crown by Travis Smyth. He shrugged off that disappointment to finish second at the Singapore Open and earn a major championship debut via the Open Qualifying Series.
Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
Age: 24
World ranking: 211
Previous Open appearances: 1
Best Open finish: MC at Royal Troon (2024)
Best finish in 2026:T6, Catalunya Championship
The lowdown: Winner of the 2023/2024 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Kobori qualified for his second Open at Final Qualifying, tied second at West Lancashire. His only previous appearance was at Royal Troon in 2024 where he missed the cut.
Min Woo Lee
Age: 27
World ranking: 24
Previous Open appearances: 5
Best Open finish: T21 at St Andrews (2022)
Best finish in 2026: 2nd at Genesis Scottish Open
The lowdown: It was Lee’s Genesis Scottish Open victory five years ago that earned him his first Open start a week later at Royal St George’s. A tie for 21st at St Andrews a year later is his best Open result to date, missing the cut each of the past two years. Arrives at Birkdale buoyed by a runner-up finish to Tom Kim at last week’s Scottish Open.
Adam Scott
Age: 45
World ranking: 57
Previous Open appearances: 25
Best Open finish: 2nd at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s (2012)
Best finish in 2026: 4th at Genesis Invitational
The lowdown: It is testimony to Scott’s longevity that he gets a third Open start at Royal Birkdale in his 26th straight Open appearance. It is a venue where Scott has performed well previously, having finished 16th in atrocious conditions in 2008 and tied for 22nd in 2017.
Cameron Smith
Age: 32
World ranking: 140
Previous Open appearances: 8
Best Open finish: Won at St Andrews (2022)
Best finish in 2026: T5, LIV Golf Andalucia
The lowdown: Frustration at a missed cut at The Masters saw Smith split from long-time coach Grant Field ahead of the PGA Championship. A tie for seventh was encouraging which he followed up with a tie for 16th at LIV Golf Korea and tie for fifth at LIV Golf Andalucia. The 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year made his Open Championship debut at Royal Birkdale in 2017 where he missed the cut.
Travis Smyth
Age: 31
World ranking: 145
Previous Open appearances: 1
Best Open finish: MC at Royal Liverpool (2023)
Best finish in 2026: Won ISPS HANDA Japan-Australasia Championship; Won International Series Japan.
The lowdown: Returns to The Open three years after producing one of the highlights of the tournament with a hole-in-one at the par-3 17th at Royal Liverpool. He missed the cut that week but returns a far different player. Won the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in the minimum four starts, eagled the final hole to win the International Series Japan on the Asian Tour and was part of a winning Crushers GC team when drafted in late for LIV Golf Korea.
