The fourth and final major of the year got underway on Thursday and at the close of play there was a surprise leader, with American Jackson Suber carding an opening round of 65 to sit one shot clear of England's Dan Brown and South Korea's Sungjae Im.

Bryson DeChambeau is one of 10 players two off the pace, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler is a shot further back on two-under. Local favorite Tommy Fleetwood battled to a round of 69, tied with Tyrell Hatton and Jon Rahm, while Rory McIlroy struggled as he posted a two-over round of 72.

You can watch The Open 2026 live streams from anywhere with a VPN.

Over the last few seasons, it has been Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy who have headed into every major as the pre-tournament favorites. However, this year the world’s top two both arrive in Southport with some concerns over the shape of their game.

Defending champion Scheffler missed his first cut in 78 tournaments at the Scottish Open last week, while McIlroy struggled in the third round and could be heard describing himself as 'so bad at golf' despite a final round of 64 that saw him finish tied for fifth.

Should they not be at their best, then there are a host of contenders who will hope to take advantage. South Korea’s Tom Kim was back to his very best as he claimed victory at the Scottish Open; American Chris Gotterup arrives having won three PGA Tour titles this year; and Wyndham Clark tied fourth last year and has since won the U.S. Open.

Brian Harman is also in stellar form and previously won The Open when it was last held on Merseyside in 2023. Then there’s hometown hero Tommy Fleetwood who has finished no worse than 14th in his last five tournaments, while fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick has won three times on the PGA Tour this year and finished tied third at The Renaissance Club last weekend.

Below is a complete guide on where to watch 2026 The Open live streams, together with U.S. broadcast schedules and international TV channels.

R&A TV have limited free coverage with four featured groups a day to stream at no cost.

Alternatively, free trials from Fubo, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream can provide access for the full tournament to NBC and USA Network.

There's also Kayo Sports' 7-day free trial for access in Australia.

Overseas? Use a VPN to access your usual service from anywhere in the world, with full instructions how to do so below.

Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the golf on your usual subscription?

You can still watch The Open live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software can make your devices appear to be back in your home country regardless of where you are, making it ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN — we explain why in our NordVPN review.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Download and install a VPN — as we say, our top choice is NordVPN.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view an Aussie service, you'd select Australia from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your usual streaming service and watch The Open 2026 golf.

U.S. TV coverage of the U.S. Open is split between NBC and the USA Network, with the Peacock streaming service showing every minute of NBC coverage online. The TV splits are as follows (times in ET):

• Thursday-Friday: 1:30-4 a.m. (NBC Sports Network/Peacock); 4 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (USA)
• Saturday: 5-7 a.m. (USA), 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
• Sunday: 4-7 a.m. (USA), 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)

If you already have these channels as part of your cable TV package, then you're all set.

If not, try a cord-cutting TV service such as our favorite Sling TV. Its Blue plan starts from $45.99/month and includes both channels (with NBC available in select markets). And there's a half-price discount for new users, too.

Fubo (5-day free trial) is another cord-cutting streaming service through which you'll be able to watch the US Open. Subscriptions start at $73.99/month though so if you're looking for a bargain head to Sling TV. YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are other alternatives.

Anyone outside of the States who wants to watch their home golf coverage can try NordVPN and follow the instructions above to live stream all the US Open action safely.

The Open is being broadcast on TSN channels in Canada, which means you can also watch golf live streams on the TSN Plus streaming platform costing C$29.99/month for their Direct package.

If you're outside Canada but have a subscription, you can watch The Open live streams using a VPN, such as NordVPN.

Sky Sports' Main Event and Golf channels are the exclusive place to watch golf including The Open 2026 in the U.K. Prices start from £20/month.

Don't fancy being locked into a long, expensive contract? You could consider a more flexible Now Sports Membership. Day passes cost £14.99, or a rolling monthly subscription is £34.99.

Alternatively, wait until the evening when BBC Two and BBC iPlayer will broadcast an hour-long highlights package of the day's play.

To access your usual streaming service from outside the U.K, you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed above.

The live action from The Open 2026 is being shown on Fox Sports 503 on TV in Australia.

Don't have Foxtel and don't want to subscribe? Specialist streaming service Kayo Sports will also be showing The Open 2026 golf live streams with its affordable, commitment-free plans starting from $30/month. There's also a 7-day FREE trial (or your first month for $1) for anybody who hasn't used the service before.

Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN like NordVPN to watch all the action on your Foxtel or Kayo account as if you were back home.

Kiwis can access The Open 2026 live streams via Sky Sport Now. This costs from $59.99/month or $549.99/year, with a daily price of $29.99 also available.

Those looking to watch the golf major on TV, this tournament will be shown on Sky Sport 1.

If you're traveling outside New Zealand right now, you can still follow every shot by using a reputable VPN service, such as NordVPN.

All times in ET and R1/R2

1:35 a.m. / 6:41 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Thomas Detry, James Nicholas

1:46 a.m. / 6:52 a.m.: Michael Kim, Daniel Hillier, Andy Sullivan

1:57 a.m. / 7:03 a.m.: Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Matthew Jordan

2:08 a.m. / 7:14 a.m.: Henrik Stenson, Max Homa, Joe Dean

2:19 a.m. / 7:25 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Alex Fitzpatrick

2:30 a.m. / 7:36 a.m.: David Duval, Martin Couvra, Matthew Southgate

2:41 a.m. / 7:47 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Dan Brown, Fifa Laopakdee (a)

2:52 a.m. / 7:58 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Jake Knapp, Jordan Smith

3:03 a.m. / 8:09 a.m.: Francesco Molinari, Tom McKibbin, Lev Grinberg (a)

3:14 a.m. / 8:20 a.m.: Hennie du Plessis, Jose Luis Ballester Barrio, Dan Bradbury

3:25 a.m. / 8:31 a.m.: Angel Ayora, Victor Perez, Mateo Pulcini (a)

3:36 a.m. / 8:42 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Scott Vincent, Joakim Lagergren

3:47 a.m. / 8:53 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth

4:03 a.m. / 9:09 a.m.: Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens, Ryo Hisatsune

4:14 a.m. / 9:20 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Rasmus Højgaard

4:25 a.m. / 9:31 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee

4:36 a.m. / 9:42 a.m.: Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland

4:47 a.m. / 9:53 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day

4:58 a.m. / 10:04 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau

5:09 a.m. / 10:15 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm

5:20 a.m. / 10:26 a.m.: Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor

5:31 a.m. / 10:37 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Maverick McNealy, David Puig

5:42 a.m. / 10:48 a.m.: Kazuma Kobori, Tom Sloman, David Howard (a)

5:53 a.m. / 10:59 a.m.: Antoine Rozner, Ren Yonezawa, Caleb Surratt

6:04 a.m. / 11:10 a.m.: MJ Daffue, Frederic Lacroix, Jack McDonald

6:15 a.m. / 11:21 a.m.: Jeongwoo Ham, Ryutaro Nagano, Alejandro de Castro Piera (a)

6:41 a.m. / 1:35 a.m.: John Parry, Eric Cole, Tiger Christensen

6:52 a.m. / 1:46 a.m.: Eugenio Chacarra, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman

7:03 a.m. / 1:57 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Sahith Theegala, Laurie Canter

7:14 a.m. / 2:08 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Grehan (a)

7:25 a.m. / 2:19 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Kurt Kitayama

7:36 a.m. / 2:30 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Shaun Norris, Jackson Suber

7:47 a.m. / 2:41 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger

7:58 a.m. / 2:52 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Casey Jarvis

8:09 a.m. / 3:03 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Harry Hall, Haotong Li

8:20 a.m. / 3:14 a.m.: Padraig Harrington, Marco Penge, Michael Hollick

8:31 a.m. / 3:25 a.m.: Tom Kim, Billy Horschel, Mason Howell (a)

8:42 a.m. / 3:36 a.m.: Johnny Keefer, Pierceson Coody, Keita Nakajima

8:53 a.m. / 3:47 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Jesper Svensson, Jack Buchanan (a)

9:09 a.m. / 4:03 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert

9:20 a.m. / 4:14 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Patrick Reed, JT Poston

9:31 a.m. / 4:25 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott

9:42 a.m. / 4:36 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, Nicolai Højgaard

9:53 a.m. / 4:47 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Brooks Koepka

10:04 a.m. / 4:58 a.m.: Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg

10:15 a.m. / 5:09 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick

10:26 a.m. / 5:20 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Tim Wiedemeyer (a)

10:37 a.m. / 5:31 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Nicolas Echavarria

10:48 a.m. / 5:42 a.m.: Peter Uihlein, Alistair Docherty, Francesco Laporta

10:59 a.m. / 5:53 a.m.: Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Samuel Bairstow

11:10 a.m. / 6:04 a.m.: Naoyuki Kataoka, Marcus Plunkett, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen

11:21 a.m. / 6:15 a.m.: Kazuki Higa, Jiho Yang, Nevill Ruiter (a)

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Adrian is a freelance journalist and copywriter based in the UK. He’s written about sport for a wide range of publications including World Soccer Magazine, Newsweek, Yahoo and FourFourTwo. Having covered everything from the NBA Finals and French Open to the London Olympics and F1 in Abu Dhabi, his great passion remains soccer – a sport he could write and talk about all day long.