{"id":438585,"date":"2026-07-20T20:07:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/?p=438585"},"modified":"2026-07-20T20:07:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:07:26","slug":"biggest-winners-and-losers-from-the-2026-open-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/biggest-winners-and-losers-from-the-2026-open-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggest Winners and Losers From the 2026 Open Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 Open Championship<\/a> at Royal Birkdale produced dramatic moments from the first round to the final putt. Ryan Fox claimed his first Claret Jug with a composed finish, while several of the game’s biggest names left England with mixed emotions.<\/p>\n

Some players walked away with career-defining performances, while others missed golden opportunities despite putting themselves in contention. The tournament also featured controversial rules decisions<\/a>, remarkable final-round charges, and heartbreaking collapses.<\/p>\n

Here are five of the biggest winners and five of the biggest losers from an unforgettable week at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n

The Biggest Winners<\/h2>\n

1. Ryan Fox<\/h4>\n

Ryan Fox was the biggest winner<\/a> of the week after capturing his first Open Championship title. The New Zealander stayed calm throughout the final round and handled every challenge Royal Birkdale threw at him. One of the defining moments came when he found a fairway bunker on the 18th hole on Saturday but recovered brilliantly. He kept that same composure on Sunday to lift the Claret Jug.<\/p>\n

2. Cameron Young<\/h4>\n

Although he fell short of victory, Cameron Young reminded everyone why he is regarded as one of the best players yet to win a major. He fired a stunning final-round 64, the lowest score of the day, and climbed into contention before narrowly missing out. It was another strong major performance that showed he is getting closer to a breakthrough.<\/p>\n

3. Tommy Fleetwood<\/h4>\n

Tommy Fleetwood once again won over golf fans despite not claiming the title. The hometown favorite thrilled the galleries with a fast start on Sunday, including a spectacular birdie on the opening hole. Although three straight bogeys ended his hopes, he finished strongly and received one of the loudest ovations of the week. Fleetwood later thanked the fans<\/a>, saying the memories from playing in front of his home crowd would stay with him forever.<\/p>\n

4. Casey Jarvis<\/h4>\n

South Africa’s Casey Jarvis quietly enjoyed one of the best weeks of his career. A closing 66 lifted him into a share of sixth place, easily his best finish in a major championship. Jarvis said seeing his name alongside many of the world’s best players was a special moment.<\/p>\n

5. Xander Schauffele<\/h4>\n

Xander Schauffele did not challenge for the title, but his consistency in major championships continued. After sitting close to the cut line early in the week, he battled back to finish inside the top 20 again, extending another impressive run in golf’s biggest events.<\/p>\n

The Biggest Losers<\/h2>\n

1. Sam Burns<\/h4>\n

Sam Burns entered the final round with a two-shot<\/a> lead but could not finish the job. Despite another excellent major performance, he watched Ryan Fox pull away, ultimately settling for another painful near miss.<\/p>\n

2. Bryson DeChambeau<\/h4>\n

Bryson DeChambeau endured one of the most eventful weeks in the field. From facing criticism from Nick Faldo<\/a> to receiving a controversial two-shot penalty after the second round that cost him valuable ground, DeChambeau dealt with plenty of adversity throughout the championship. A triple bogey on Sunday then ended any remaining hopes of lifting the Claret Jug, and he eventually finished tied for 14th.<\/p>\n

3. Rory McIlroy<\/h4>\n

Rory McIlroy never found the momentum he needed at Royal Birkdale. After a bright start to the final round, he faded over the closing holes and dropped into a tie for 40th, capping another disappointing Open Championship. McIlroy also made headlines off the course, criticizing Royal Birkdale<\/a> by saying it no longer played like a true links course.<\/p>\n

4. Si Woo Kim<\/h4>\n

Si Woo Kim held the outright lead during the final round and looked capable of winning his first major. However, mistakes coming home saw him slide down the leaderboard into a tie for sixth, making it one of the toughest finishes of the week.<\/p>\n

5. Cameron Young<\/h4>\n

Cameron Young may have earned a place among the tournament’s biggest winners for his remarkable final-round charge, but his costly mistake also landed him among its biggest losers. His failed attempt to escape a pot bunker late in the final round led to a bogey that ultimately separated him from Ryan Fox. On a course where every shot mattered, that mistake turned what could have been a career-defining victory into another heartbreaking near miss.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale produced dramatic moments from the first round to the final putt. Ryan Fox claimed his first Claret Jug with a composed finish, while several of the game’s biggest names left England with mixed emotions. Some players walked away with career-defining performances, while others missed golden opportunities despite putting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5425,"featured_media":438593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,19],"tags":[121,185,34,8100,305,235,186,137],"class_list":["post-438585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-pga","tag-bryson-dechambeau","tag-cameron-young","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-ryan-fox","tag-sam-burns","tag-the-open","tag-tommy-fleetwood","tag-xander-schauffele"],"modified_by":"Ajayi Segun","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438585"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438595,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438585\/revisions\/438595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}