Ireland’s Shane Lowry captured the Claret Jug the last time The Open was contested at Royal Portrush in 2019.
The 153rd Open Championship is scheduled to take place from 17-20 July at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
American Xander Schauffele enters as the defending champion, with 156 players vying for the Claret Jug and the title of ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’. The last time Portrush hosted the championship, in 2019, Ireland’s Shane Lowry emerged victorious.
BBC Sport will provide live radio commentary on 5 Live throughout all four days of the tournament, complemented by daily television highlights on BBC Two.
In addition, comprehensive live text commentary, in-play clips, video highlights, and expert analysis will be available on the BBC Sport website and mobile app.
Round one – Thursday, 17 July
Round two – Friday, 18 July
Round three – Saturday, 19 July
Round four – Sunday, 20 July
Play is scheduled to commence in round one around 06:30 BST (tee-times will be confirmed on Tuesday, 15 July)
Royal Portrush, situated on the north coast of Northern Ireland, is preparing to host its third Open Championship.
The golf club was established in 1888, with the Antrim club’s Dunluce Links later undergoing a redesign by the renowned architect Harry Colt. The redesigned course, considered his finest work, opened for play in 1933.
It first hosted The Open in 1951, where England’s Max Faulkner secured his sole major victory. This marked the first occasion that golf’s oldest major had been held outside of Great Britain.
Regarded as one of the world’s premier courses, Royal Portrush underwent further modifications before the Championship’s return in 2019, including the addition of new seventh and eighth holes.
The fifth green is perched atop a 50-foot cliff overlooking the beach
The 372-yard par-four fifth hole, while not the most challenging, stands out as one of the most visually stunning at Royal Portrush. Known as White Rocks, it features an elevated tee, making the green reachable for long hitters.
However, caution is advised, as a shot that goes even slightly long risks landing on the cliff leading down to the beach, which is out of bounds. The green itself is one of the most undulating on the course.
Curran Point, the par-five seventh hole, is one of the two new additions for the 2019 Championship, blending seamlessly with the existing landscape.
With towering dunes on the right and a winding fairway that extends 590 yards towards the green, the hole feels perfectly at home within its surroundings.
The final stretch begins with the lengthy par-three 16th. Dubbed Calamity Corner, it stretches 236 yards from the tips and features a significant drop-off to the right.
South African Bobby Locke famously made par on this hole in each round of the 1951 Open by hitting his ball into a dip short of the green and successfully getting up and down. The area was subsequently named Locke’s Hollow in his honor.
The 16th hole – Calamity Corner – is widely regarded as one of the finest par-three holes in golf.
The prize fund will be announced during Open week.
American Xander Schauffele received a record $3.1m (£2.3m) from a total prize fund of $17m (£12.6m) for winning at Royal Troon in 2024.
Brian Harman collected $3m (£2.2m) from a $16.5m (£12.25m) pot for his triumph at Royal Liverpool in 2023.
That was an 18% increase on the fund for the 150th Open at St Andrews in 2022.
JJ Spaun picked up $4.3m (£3.2m) after winning last month’s US Open – the same amount as Bryson DeChambeau won in 2024.
Rory McIlroy collected $4.2m (£3.1m) for winning the Masters in April – up 15% from the $3.6m (£2.7m) Scottie Scheffler won the year before.
Scheffler’s US PGA Championship victory in May earned him $3.4m (£2.5m), fractionally up on Schauffele’s $3.3m (£2.45m).
World number two Rory McIlroy is set to participate in his 16th Open Championship.
The 2014 champion arrives in his home country for the final major of 2025, having recently completed the career Grand Slam by winning all four majors.
His play-off victory over Justin Rose at the Masters in April marked the end of an 11-year drought in the sport’s most significant tournaments, securing his fifth major title.
Expectations were high when McIlroy competed in the 2019 Open, but he began with a disastrous quadruple-bogey eight after hitting his opening tee shot out of bounds. He subsequently missed the halfway cut.
The majority of the anticipated 280,000 fans attending this week’s championship will be hoping that there is no repeat of that and the 36-year-old adds to his solitary Open title from 2014.
Three-time champion Tiger Woods will be absent as he continues his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
This absence means the 15-time major champion will have missed all four of this year’s annual majors.
The 49-year-old American last competed in a PGA Tour event 12 months ago, at the Royal Troon Open where he missed the cut.
Gotterup ‘hung in like champ’ to deny McIlroy at Scottish Open
McIlroy happy despite Scottish Open near miss
World number one Scottie Scheffler arrives in Northern Ireland in excellent form, having won three of his past nine tournaments – including his third major at May’s US PGA Championship – and finished in the top 10 in the other six.
The start to his season was hampered by a cut hand which required surgery. The accident occurred on Christmas Day when the upturned wine glass he was using to cut pasta shapes broke and the stem punctured his hand.
He had his best Open finish last year at Royal Troon, ending joint seventh.
Xander Schauffele comes in as the defending champion but admits his form has been poor after he suffered a rib injury at the start of the season – although he finished alongside Scheffler on nine-under par at last week’s Scottish Open.
On seeing the location of a photo of himself in the media tent at the Renaissance Club, the American world number three joked: “It was nice to see my photo out by the toilet. That was heart-warming. It summed up how I feel about what’s going on right now.”
His fellow American Justin Thomas has climbed from 22nd at the start of the year to world number four on the back of a victory at the RBC Heritage in April and three runners-up finishes this year. He is yet to shine at an Open, although his best finish of joint 11th came at Portrush in 2019.
Unheralded American Chris Gotterup sealed one of the three final places on offer by winning the Scottish Open but British fans should be buoyed.
England’s Marco Penge, who had already qualified, finished alongside McIlroy at the Renaissance Club, two shots back.
Rose, who was runner-up at Royal Troon last year and at this year’s Masters, hit a seven-under 63 to leap up the leaderboard and end one shot behind Matt Fitzpatrick, who had four rounds in the 60s as he tied for fourth on 12 under.
In 2019, Tommy Fleetwood showed he had the game to tackle Portrush but finished a distant second to Shane Lowry.
He warmed up with four solid rounds at the Scottish Open in East Lothian and while he missed the cut at last year’s Open, he has had three top-10s in the previous four.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is aiming to become the first Scot to win the title since Paul Lawrie in 1999. He finished joint sixth on his Open debut at Portrush in 2019.
Rising European Ludvig Aberg is emerging as an all-or-nothing player in the majors. In seven previous starts he has four missed cuts but in two Masters appearances he has finished second and seventh. This is only his second Open and he missed the cut last year.
Ryder Cup player Sepp Straka, who was seventh at the Scottish Open, has a best of joint second at Hoylake in 2023 but has missed the cut in all three previous majors in 2025.
World number one Scottie Scheffler has two top-10 finishes from his four appearances at The Open, making the cut on each occasion
England’s Lee Westwood will be playing in his 92nd major after coming through qualifying to book his 28th start in golf’s oldest major – and first since 2022.
The 52-year-old former world number one is yet to win one of golf’s biggest tournaments but has had five top-five finishes at The Open, the most recent of which was at Portrush in 2019.
He is one of 18 LIV players in Northern Ireland this week.
His compatriot Tyrrell Hatton is also searching for a first major title. He had his second best Open finish in 2019, finishing joint sixth.
Bryson DeChambeau continues to excel in the majors with five top-six finishes in his past seven majors, including last year’s US Open victory. However, his Open record is a little patchy with just one top-10 and he missed the cut in 2019.
Spaniard Jon Rahm comes into the event on the back of a second at last week’s LIV event in his homeland and has three top-seven finishes in his past four Opens.
Former champions Cameron Smith, Louis Oosthuizen and Henrik Stenson are also in the field.
The BBC forecast for Royal Portrush suggests a largely dry and sunny week with the odd chance of showers and temperatures up to 20C.
‘Harrington got ball rolling on gloriously golden Irish era’
‘Champion Lowry recalls incredible scenes as Open returns to Portrush’
The Champion Golfer of the Year is determined over four rounds, with one round of 18 holes played each day, weather permitting.
Following two rounds, a halfway cut is implemented, and the top 70 players and ties proceed to play in rounds three and four.
In the event of a tie at the top of the leaderboard after all 72 holes have been completed, a three-hole play-off will take place on holes one, 13, and 18, with the aggregate score determining the winner.
If the lead remains tied, the winner will be decided through a sudden-death play-off.
Monday, 14 July
20:30-21:00 – BBC Radio 5 Live golf
Tuesday, 15 July
19:00-20:00- The Open preview show part one on BBC Radio 5 Live
Wednesday, 16 July
19:00-20:00 – The Open preview show part two on BBC Radio 5 Live
Thursday, 17 July
06:30-22:00 – Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app from first tee-shot to final putt of round one
10:00-20:00 – BBC Radio 5 Live commentary
21:00-22:30 – Round one highlights on BBC Two and iPlayer
Friday, 18 July
06:30-22:00 – Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app from first tee-shot to final putt of round two
10:00-20:00 – BBC Radio 5 Live commentary
21:00-22:30 – Round two highlights on BBC Two and iPlayer
Saturday, 19 July
11:00 – 20:00 – BBC Radio 5 Live from Royal Portrush,
14:00-20:00 Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app from when leaders tee-off to final putt
20:00-22:00 – Round three highlights on BBC Two and iPlayer
Sunday, 20 July
12:00 – 5 Live Sport from Royal Troon, with full commentary from 14:00
13:00-19:00 – Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app from when leaders tee-off to final putt
20:00-22:00 – Round four highlights on BBC Two and iPlayer