Jul 14, 2026; Southport, England; General view as the a grouping with Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns and Adrien Saddier was up the second fairway during a practice round for The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale.
The final major championship of the 2026 season will take place this week at Royal Birkdale will play host to the 15th edition of the British Open, and fans have plenty to look forward to.
Players, on the other hand, sound downright terrifying after a recent heatwave in the area, causing “unprecedented” firm and fast conditions that they’ll have to adapt to if they hope to win.
A number of the world’s top players, including defending champion Scottie Scheffler, have spoken about their concern for the course conditions and how those conditions will affect the tournament.
Scottie Scheffler And Rory McIlroy Speak Out On British Open Course Conditions
“This will be a firmer golf course,” Scheffer said on Tuesday. “This is the first forecast I remember seeing it had no rain in it for the week.
“The ball’s just going to run for forever, pretty much.”
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy said that the conditions present a double-edged sword for players, who could go low with the right shots, but could also make a big number if they leave the ball in the wrong place.
“I think all this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it’s going to be this week,” McIlroy said. “It’s definitely burnt out a lot.”
McIlroy added that the dry conditions could lead to players taking a more aggressive approach if the rough is so dried out that it doesn’t keep players from controlling their shots out of it.
“OK, it might be in the rough, but it’s not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there,” McIlroy noted.
But even then, it’ll be anything but easy.
“When you give professional golfers options, and you can create a little bit of doubt in their minds in terms of should I play this shot or that shot, that’s when things start to get fun, especially for the viewer,” he said. “[But] not so much for us.”
Hopefully, the difficult conditions and varying ways to play the course lead to a great tournament for fans to watch.