How to watch The Open 2026: Free Live Streams, TV Channels & Preview — Round 1

• The Open 2026: Thursday, July 16 to Sunday, July 19 | 1.35am ET / 6.35am BST
• Stream on Peacock / NBC & USA Network via Sling TV (US)
• US free trials: YouTube TV (10-days) / DirecTV (5-days)
• Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save up to 75%)

Watch The Open 2026 live streams, as the oldest golf tournament in the world returns for its 154th staging, at the links of Royal Birkdale. Scottie Scheffler will defend his crown won 12 months ago, while Rory McIlroy and local favorite Tommy Fleetwood – born minutes away in nearby Southport – are also among the leading contender's for golf's original major.

After winning by four strokes at Royal Portrush in 2025, Scheffler is trying to become the first Open champion to successfully defend their crown since Padraig Harrington in 2008-09. Yet the world number one will be smarting from missing his first cut in 78 tournaments after failing to make the weekend at the Scottish Open a week ago. He'll tee it up with world number three Matt Fitzpatrick and 2024 champion Xander Schauffele.

Fleetwood is seeking to become the first English winner of the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo in 1992. He goes out in a stellar group with 2021 champion Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth, who won the last time the tournament was held at Royal Birkdale in 2017. Further home hopefuls include Aaron Rai, the reigning PGA Champion, and Justin Rose who exploded as an amateur here in 1998.

Rory McIlroy will also fancy his chances. The two-time reigning Masters champion finished strongly at the Scottish Open last weekend, with a final-round 64.

Blessed with a beautiful art deco clubhouse, the course is a cracker and conditions are set to be warm, which will bring its own challenge of controlling the ball on a links course by the sea.

Read on for our guide on where to watch The Open 2026 online, on TV and potentially for free wherever you are. Scroll down for the Round 1 tee times.

Can you watch The Open 2026 for free?

The Open coverage is predominantly locked behind a paywall, but there are a couple of ways to watch some free live streams from Royal Birkdale.

The Open app (available via the Apple Store and Google Play) will show coverage from Featured Groups over the course of the four days.

That will focus solely on those particular three or four groups, though, so for more exhaustive coverage, you'll have to look elsewhere. In the US there are free trials available that will let you tune in for nothing.

The tournament is being shown on NBC and USA Network, which are both carried by YouTube TV (10-day free trial), DirecTV Stream (5-day free trial) and Hulu+Live TV (3-day free trial).

Alternatively, you can live stream The Open 2026 on Peacock for next to nothing by taking advantage of the Walmart Plus 30-day trial for $1.

In Australia, Kayo Sports has a 7-day free trial to watch the tournament.

Traveling abroad right now? You can use a VPN to watch the Open Championship 2026 for free as if you were right at home.

Use a VPN to watch The Open 2026 live streams

A VPN is handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it's back in your home country, so you can unlock your usual service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with up to 75% off.

How to watch The Open 2026 live streams in the US

The Open 2026 coverage is shared between NBC, USA Network and Peacock in the US. All NBC coverage is being simulcasted on Peacock.

Rounds 1 and 2 air on NBC Sports Network/Peacock from 1.30am-4am, and on USA Network from 4am-3.30pm. Round 3 airs on USA from 5am-7am, and on NBC/Peacock from 7am-3pm. Round 4 airs on USA from 4am-7am, and on NBC/Peacock from 7am-finish. All times ET.

The Peacock price starts at $10.99/month or $109.99/year for a plan that carries live sports. However, you can access Peacock virtually for free with a Walmart Plus 30-day trial for $1.

NBC and USA Network, meanwhile, are available through Sling – specifically the Blue plan, which starts at $45.99/month. It includes NBC, ABC and Fox in select locations, plus FS1, USA Network, FX and more.

Alternatively, both channels are also carried by YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, each of which offers a free trial to new users.

If you're traveling outside of the US, you can make use of NordVPN to catch the action.

How to watch The Open 2026 live streams in the UK

In the UK, The Open Championship 2026 is being shown on Sky Sports, via the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Golf channels.

Sky Sports plans start from £35/month, or £20 if you're an existing Sky subscriber. Alternatively, grab a Now Sports subscription from £14.99/day or £34.99/month.

Outside the UK right now? Use NordVPN to access your preferred coverage of The Open Championship.

How to watch The Open 2026 live streams in Australia

In Australia, The Open 2026 is being televised on Fox Sports via Foxtel, with live streaming available via Kayo Sports.

Kayo Sports starts at AU$30 per month after a 7-day free trial. Or you can get your first month for AU$1.

If you're currently out of Australia but want to watch your usual Open coverage, you'll need to get yourself a VPN, as per the instructions above.

How to watch The Open 2026 live streams in Canada

In Canada, The Open 2026 is exclusive to TSN.

If you don't have cable, the TSN Plus streaming service costs CA$29.99/month or CA$249.99/year. However, you can currently get three months for CA$59.99.

If you're out of Canada but still want to tune in, explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your accounts from anywhere.

The Open 2026 FAQs

What are the Round 1 tee times?

(All times BST, which is -5 hours from ET)

6:35 a.m. Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas

6:46 a.m. Michael Kim, David Hillier, Andy Sullivan

6:57 a.m. Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan

7:08 a.m. Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean

7:19 a.m. Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick

7:30 a.m. David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate

7:41 a.m. Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee*

7:52 a.m. Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith

8:03 a.m. Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg*

8:14 a.m. Hennie du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Bradbury

8:25 a.m. Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini*

8:36 a.m. Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren

8:47 a.m. Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth

9:03 a.m. Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune

9:14 a.m. Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard

9:25 a.m. Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee

9:36 a.m. Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland

9:47 a.m. Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day

9:58 a.m. Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau

10:09 a.m. Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm

10:20 a.m. Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor

10:31 a.m. Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig

10:42 a.m. Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard*

10:53 a.m. Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt

11:04 a.m. MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald

11:15 a.m. Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagamo, Alejandro De Castro Piera*

11:41 a.m. John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen

11:52 a.m. Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman

12:03 p.m. Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter

12:14 p.m. Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan*

12:25 p.m. Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama

12:36 p.m. Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber

12:47 p.m. Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger

12:58 p.m. Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis

1:09 p.m. Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li

1:20 p.m. Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick

1:31 p.m. Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell*

1:42 p.m. Johnny Keefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima

1:53 p.m. Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svensson, Jack Buchanan

2:09 p.m. Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert

2:20 p.m. Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, JT Poston

2:31 p.m. Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott

2:42 p.m. Collin Morikawa, JJ Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard

2:53 p.m. Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka

3:04 p.m. Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg

3:15 p.m. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick

3:26 p.m. Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedmeyer*

3:37 p.m. Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echevarria

3:48 p.m. Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta

3:59 p.m. Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow

4:10 p.m. Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik

4:21 p.m. Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter*

Round 2:

6:35 a.m. John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen

6:46 a.m. Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman

6:57 a.m. Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter

7:08 a.m. Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan

7:19 a.m. Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama

7:30 a.m. Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber

7:41 a.m. Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger

7:52 a.m. Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis

8:03 a.m. Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li

8:14 a.m. Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick

8:25 a.m. Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell

8:36 a.m. Johnny Keefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima

8:47 a.m. Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svensson, Jack Buchanan

9:03 a.m. Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert

9:14 a.m. Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, JT Poston

9:25 a.m. Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott

9:36 a.m. Collin Morikawa, JJ Spaun, Nicolai Hojgaard

9:47 a.m. Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka

9:58 a.m. Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg

10:09 a.m. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick

10:20 a.m. Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer,

10:31 a.m. Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria

10:42 a.m. Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta

10:53 a.m. Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow

11:04 a.m. Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen

11:15 a.m. Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter

11:41 a.m. Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry James Nicholas

11:52 a.m. Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan

12:03 p.m. Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan

12:14 p.m. Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean

12:25 p.m. Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick

12:36 p.m. David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate

12:47 p.m. Sungjae Im, Daniel Brown, Fifa Laopakdee

12:58 p.m. Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith

1:09 p.m. Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg

1:20 p.m. Hennie du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester Barrio, Dan Bradbury

1:31 p.m. Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini

1:42 p.m. Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren

1:53 p.m. Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth

2:09 p.m. Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune

2:20 p.m. Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Hojgaard

2:31 p.m. Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee

2:42 p.m. Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland

2:53 p.m. Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day

3:04 p.m. Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau

3:15 p.m. Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm

3:26 p.m. Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor

3:37 p.m. Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig

3:48 p.m. Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard

3:59 p.m. Antoine Rozner. Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt

4:10 p.m. MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald

4:21 p.m. Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro De Castro Piera

Who are the recent Open winners?

2025 – Scottie Scheffler
2024 – Xander Schauffele
2023 – Brian Harman
2022 – Cameron Smith
2021 – Collin Morikawa
2020 – N/A
2019 – Shane Lowry
2018 – Francesco Molinari
2017 – Jordan Spieth
2016 – Henrik Stenson

Can I follow The Open 2026 on my mobile?

Of course! Each of the major broadcasters has streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone's browser.

And, as we've mentioned above you can watch action from Featured Groups at the tournament on The Open app (available via the Apple Store and Google Play).

You can also stay up-to-date with all of the key highlights on the PGA's official social media channels on YouTube (@PGATour), Instagram (@PGATour), TikTok (@PGATour) and Facebook (@PGATour).