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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASARory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are among the players reconsidering their strategy as Royal Birkdale's baked, firm fairways set up the fastest and most fiery Open Championship in recent years
17:34, 15 Jul 2026Updated 17:35, 15 Jul 2026
Royal Birkdale is poised to deliver the quickest and most challenging Open Championship in recent memory, prompting the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler to reassess their tactical approach.
Competitors have reported that fairways are as hard as those at Carnoustie in 2018, and while Muirfield in 2013 played fast, the conditions most closely resembling this year's setup were probably witnessed 28 miles along the coastline at Royal Liverpool in 2006.
Tiger Woods surveyed Hoylake's parched, straw-coloured fairways – scorched by prolonged sunshine, though nothing comparable to this summer's relentless heatwave – and abandoned his driver, deploying it just once across 72 holes en route to securing his third and final Open triumph.
Numerous players have already adjusted their equipment, swapping seven-woods for long irons to capitalise on the additional run available on the fairways.
"I think it's a double-edged sword," said Masters champion McIlroy, pursuing his second Claret Jug following his triumph at Hoylake in 2014.
"All this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago the rough was a lot more penal than it's going to be this week. It's definitely burnt out a lot.
"The big thing, especially off the tee here, is avoiding the fairway bunkers. You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play.
"It might be in the rough, but it's not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there."
Defending champion Scheffler's last outing on the links saw him miss the cut at last week's Scottish Open – his first missed cut in four years.
While that afforded him an additional day of preparation at Birkdale, he's still refining his approach.
"The ball's just going to run for forever pretty much," he said.
"There's a lot of thinking off the tee on whether you want to just hit driver up there somewhere and play from the rough most likely or start hitting some irons, getting it in some fairways and hitting some longer shots into the greens.
"If it wasn't as firm as it is now there wouldn't be as much decision-making but with the firmness it creates a whole lot more challenges just to try to control your ball and figure out where it's going to end up."
Twenty-one Englishmen will attempt to break their nation's drought, which dates back to Sir Nick Faldo in 1992, with Ryder Cup colleagues Justin Rose, local favourite Tommy Fleetwood from Southport, Tyrrell Hatton, and reigning US PGA champion Aaron Rai leading the charge.
Rose, who captured the world's attention here in 1998 as a 17-year-old amateur by holing out on the final hole to secure fourth place, is hoping to harness the backing of the home crowd.
"There is a bit of an X factor to that, not using it as a pressure but sort of playing with a sense of freedom with the crowd," he said. "You can't force it. You can't have that weight of expectation being a home player.
"I think the crowd really kick in when you're on the leaderboard. There's that real energy they provide. I think it's having a bit of an ace up your sleeve.
"That can be worth a shot or two down the stretch that can keep you going."
McIlroy has been grouped alongside Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick for the first two rounds, with Scheffler on the opposite side of the draw at Royal Birkdale.
McIlroy is in the late wave and tees off at 3.15pm on Thursday while Scheffler is out at 9.58am along with Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau, who is looking to avoid completing a 'Grand Slam' of major missed cuts in 2026.
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