Beginner's guide to The Open: Field, format, history and all you need to know ahead of 2025 contest at Royal Portrush
Key questions about The Open ahead of the final men's major of the year at Royal Portrush, live from Thursday at 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf; Xander Schauffele defends his title as Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler chase more major success
Last Updated: 15/07/25 7:28am
What makes The Open so special? How do players qualify? Who could impress this week at Royal Portrush? We get you up to speed ahead of the final men's major of the year, live on Sky Sports.
What is The Open?
The Open is the last of the four men's golf majors held in the calendar year, with the Championship the oldest tournament in the sport, dating back to 1860.
Back then, it was played as three rounds on a 12-hole course at Prestwick Golf Club. There was no monetary reward for winning, just a 'Challenge Belt' made from red Moroccan leather.
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Now it is 156 golfers competing in a four-day event every July at a UK-based venue, with the winner crowned the Champion Golfer of the Year. In reality, it has grown to one of the most recognisable and historic tournaments on the sporting schedule.
Where is The Open played?
This year's venue at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland is one of 14 used in the tournament's history, with the major switching venues every year to take it to a different course.
There are multiple courses in the current rotation, but Royal Portrush - the host in 1951 and 2019 - is the only venue outside of England and Scotland to ever hold the Championship.
The tournament is run by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) in Scotland, one of golf's governing bodies. Royal Birkdale in Southport, England will host the 2026 edition, while The 155th Open will be played on the iconic Old Course at St Andrews in 2027.
What makes The Open so special?
Well, watch this week and see for yourself!
There's the tournament's history, with The Open holding deep connection to the Old Course at St Andrews - widely recognised as the Home of Golf - and offering an iconic list of past winners.
It's the style of venue used, with every edition played on a UK-based links course, while it's the only men's major outside the United States, leaving players having to play a golf course different to those they would traditionally face on the PGA Tour.
That's without the role both the British weather and fans have in making it such an interesting week, with record crowds expected in Northern Ireland for The 153rd Open and the elements likely to play their part.
Who can play in The Open?
The top of the leaderboard on the final day may be traditionally dominated by the star names of the sport, but one of the beauties of this event is - like the name suggests - it is open for anyone to enter.
Providing you're good enough to have a handicap of 0.4 or lower (yeah, me neither) and pay the entry fee, you can enter regional qualifying and begin the ambitious goal of trying to qualify for a major championship.
Nearly 2,000 players did just that in 2025, where budding amateurs mixed it alongside professional players across 15 courses, with 131 progressing to Final Qualifying the following week.
Final Qualifying brings in more professionals and established golfers, with 288 players split across four venues. There were 20 qualification spots up for grabs from there this year, distributed for the lowest scores around each course.
How else can players qualify for The Open?
If you've won The Open before then you're welcome back every year until you're 60, although not everybody decides to compete, while those who finished in the top 10 in 2024 get to come back for another go 12 months later.
There are spots for those inside the top 50 in the Official Golf World Rankings, along with those who ended the Race to Dubai or FedExCup seasons - the PGA Tour and DP World Tour season-long standings - inside the top 30.
Exemptions are given for those who have won majors during the past five years, the biggest amateur events and those who top the order of merits across a variety of tours, all helping to create an international field.
Open Qualifying Series - which includes Final Qualifying - offers a minimum of 50 places for high performances in certain tournaments across the world, with other categories helping to complete the world-class line-up.
Are LIV players included in The Open?
There are a record 19 full-time LIV Golf players scheduled to tee it up in this week's field - the most in any major since the circuit launched in 2022 - with Cameron Smith (2022), Henrik Stenson (2016), Phil Mickelson (2013) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010) qualifying as past champions.
Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson all hold automatic spots as major winners over the past five years, with Tom McKibbin and Joaquin Niemann exempt because of their positions in last year's Race to Dubai standings on the DP World Tour.
This year was the first time a special entry exemption was created for LIV Golf players, with Sergio Garcia securing his spot as the highest-ranked player - not already exempt - in the LIV Golf Individual standings.
Who has won The Open before?
Xander Schauffele returns as defending champion after last year's two-shot victory over Billy Horschel and Justin Rose, while Brian Harman won the 2023 contest at Royal Liverpool by a remarkable six strokes.
The last European winner was Shane Lowry's success at Royal Portrush in 2019, while there still hasn't been an Englishman claiming the Claret Jug since Sir Nick Faldo won it for a third time back in 1992.
Tom Watson has been the most prolific champion in more recent times, with his fifth victory coming in 1983 and leaving him one short of the record set by Harry Vardon back in the 1800s. Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player all won The Open three times each.
Who is likely to impress this time around?
Scottie Scheffler has already won the PGA Championship this year, one of three victories on the PGA Tour, with the world No 1 finishing tied-seventh in last year's content.
Rory McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam at The Masters in April - his only missing major - and now returns to a venue where he once broke the course record as a 16-year-old.
Defending champion Schauffele had a solid week at the Genesis Scottish Open and has been a consistent force in recent seasons, while Rahm nearly won last week's LIV Golf League event on home soil and is expected to impress again.
You can make a case for dozens of different players to win the Claret Jug, although just one player will be crowned Champion Golfer of the Year.
How much does the winner get?
The R&A has yet to announce the official prize money for this year's contest, having increased it by over 250 per cent over the past decade.
The total prize purse for the 2024 edition was a record $17m (£12.6m), with the winner receiving a record $3.1m (£2.3m).
It's still the smallest prize purse of the four men's majors, but a VERY rewarding week financially.
Why else is The Open important?
There are only a few events left to earn qualification points for this September's Ryder Cup, with The Open the last major for European and American players to boost their hopes of featuring at Bethpage Black.
LIV players are still unavailable to compete on the PGA Tour so this will likely be the last event of the year where you will get to see the world's best golfers from across all tours compete against each other.
Those on the Saudi circuit can secure a return to next year's contest at Royal Birkdale with a top-10 finish, while a share of fourth or better will earn invites to all of the majors in 2026. A big week would also earn much-needed world ranking points, too.
The are also more points available for the FedExCup and Race to Dubai standings - the season-long rankings on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour respectively - than regular events, so a strong performance at The Open can help define a player's year.
How can I watch The Open live on Sky Sports?
Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open, with live coverage from all seven days of tournament week from July 14-20 and round-the-clock coverage of the final men's major of the year.
There are seven hours of live coverage on the Monday and Tuesday practice days at Royal Portrush before a bumper nine hours of live programming on Wednesday, starting at 9am each morning.
Wall-to-wall coverage of The Open then begins at 6.30am on Thursday July 17 on Sky Sports Golf, with live action available for all four tournament days and a host of extra feeds also available on Sky Sports+.
Who will win The Open? Watch the final men's major of the year throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream The Open and more top sport with no contract.
