The Open 2026: Scottie Scheffler starts strong in Round 1 at Royal Birkdale
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler opened the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with a 2-under 68. Despite a strong start, he finished two strokes behind the early leaders after a mixed performance on the back nine.
Why it matters
The Open Championship is a major event in professional golf, and tracking the performance of the world's top-ranked player is significant for sports enthusiasts.
If there was a round to encompass Scottie Scheffler in 2026, it may have transpired on Thursday at Royal Birkdale. Serving as the defending champion, the world No. 1 traversed through the links-golf gem alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton in effective fashion.
An eclectic threesome on paper had an electric day on the browned-out fairways, with Scheffler signing for a 2-under 68 to position himself two strokes off the early lead at the 154th Open held by Sungjae Im and Dan Brown. As a group, the trio played in 6 under with DeChambeau falling out of a share of the lead with a bogey on the last and Hatton bleeding one on the par-4 finisher as well to shoot 69.
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