British Open 2026: 7 players who will help you win your pool

Royal Birkdale returns to golf’s grandest stage to host the 154th Open Championship, welcoming the world’s elite for the 11th time. Renowned for its iconic white Art Deco clubhouse and dramatic towering dunes, the Southport venue is universally respected as one of the purest and fairest examinations in championship golf. Unlike traditional links layouts that rely on blind shots and unpredictable bounces, Birkdale’s fairways wind through natural valleys, offering players supreme strategic clarity from the tee.

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While Royal Birkdale’s foundational routing dates back to Fred Hawtree and five-time Open champion J.H. Taylor in the 1930s, this week’s 156-player field will face a newly modernized test.

A comprehensive renovation by Tom Mackenzie (Mackenzie & Ebert) completed in 2025 has sharpened Birkdale’s strategic options. The project introduced new teeing grounds, rebuilt rugged bunkers and executed major redesigns of the fifth, seventh, 14th and 15th holes, strengthening the back nine while preserving the course’s historic identity. Playing as a par 70 measuring 7,223 yards (67 yards longer than in 2017), the course features only two par 5s and leans heavily on its grueling, lengthy par 4s to protect par. With both par 5s coming toward the end of the round, Royal Birkdale sets the stage for a dramatic finish on Sunday afternoon.

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With only the low 70 players and ties making the weekend, weather and draw bias will play their usual critical roles. Birkdale’s ultimate defense remains its proximity to the Irish Sea. Changing winds can instantly alter required trajectories, while dry conditions will test a player’s ability to control rollout on firm fescue turf. Early weather reports look quiet, but the reports from the course show a baked-out Birkdale, which should play exceptionally firm and fast for this week’s field.

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Regardless of what style of Open Championship pool you’re looking to enter, there are a few golfers in this week’s field who deserve your attention. There is some game theory at play here. In most pools, your peers can roster the same golfers as you, so there’s an advantage to finding ways to be unique without sacrificing upside and win equity.

Here are 7 players to help you win your pool for the 2026 Open Championship Matt Fitzpatrick

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Andrew Redington

If Matt Fitzpatrick is included in the same pool tier as Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, he’s a nice contrarian pivot. If he’s in any other tier, he’ll likely be chalk, so you’ll need to make a decision about how to play that because he’d deserve his popularity.

Fitzpatrick has finished inside the top five in six of his past 11 starts, dating back to his second-place finish at The Players. He’s won three times this season but has been incredibly close at least another five times, and his odds in the outright market reflect that. I love his chances this week, and he’s a great anchor to any lineup.

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Collin Morikawa

Jordan Bank

The 2021 Champion Golfer of the Year’s game has no weaknesses, is trending well and is the prototype for what I’m looking for this week. He ranks among the top 10 in Distance From the Edge of the Fairway, strokes gained/tee to green when the field is leaning less-than-driver off the tee and there’s a high penalty for finding the rough or missing the fairway. He also ranks fourth in SG/ball-striking in windy conditions over the past 12 months, so he’s answering that important question if the winds ramp up over the coming days.

Russell Henley

Andrew Redington

Henley finished seventh in my Rabbit Hole model this week, but he grades out particularly well in two of my heaviest weighted stat categories. He’s first in Distance From Edge of Fairway, and second in SG/tee to green when adjusting for less-than-driver usage and a high missed-fairway penalty. Henley keeps bogeys off the scorecard, too, which always matters, but matters a bit more when the scoring conditions are difficult.

Justin Rose

Kate McShane

Rose continues to show up when the lights are brightest. He finished T-3 at Augusta, T-10 at Aronimink and T-11 last month at Shinnecock Hills. He was also in the mix at The Players (T-13) and Memorial (T-12). He’s a big-game hunter, and the narratives are strong here. Rose has finished T-2 at The Open twice, but he’s spoken so candidly about his emotional and historic connection to Royal Birkdale, a venue he describes as part of a lifelong “fairytale and love story” with The Open Championship after debuting here as a 17-year-old back in 1998.

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Viktor Hovland

Tracy Wilcox

Over the past two months, Viktor Hovland has gained strokes with his ball-striking in 87.5 percent of his rounds, the best rate in the field per Betsperts Golf. When he’s gaining strokes putting, he’s cracking the TV leaderboard on Sundays. Pretty straightforward recipe, if I do say so myself. The good news is that Hovland has gained strokes putting in four of his five career Open Championship starts.

Harris English

Jordan Bank

It’s tough to hide a poor short game at an Open, but English’s is good enough to elevate him, especially when the scoring conditions are tough. He ranks fifth in this week’s field in around-the-green proximity on short grass and fifth in SG/putting when it’s difficult to gain. Last year’s runner-up at Royal Portrush has gained at least 1.5 strokes putting in his past four Open Championship starts.

Kristoffer Reitan

Warren Little

I’m hopeful that Reitan’s experience on the DP World Tour and on links-style tracks will translate this week. He’s an exceptional driver of the golf ball, often gaining with distance and accuracy, and he’s flashed a ceiling with his irons a few times this season, including the Quail Hollow win and his T-6 at Memorial. His short game is up and down, but his splits show someone who’s better on short-grass runoffs than thick rough, which should help.

Others to consider:

Chris Gotterup, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre

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Ryan Noonan is the Betting Content Manager for 4for4 and Betsperts Golf, writing articles and hosting multiple shows under the Betsperts Group umbrella, including Move The Line and our Betsperts Golf Betting Show. Find him on Twitter: @RyNoonan.

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