Sam Burns Leads The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Heading Into Sunday

Sam Burns Leads at Royal Birkdale Heading into Sunday

Sam Burns holds a two-stroke lead at 10-under par heading into the final round of the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Burns, a five-time PGA Tour winner, solidified his position atop the leaderboard on Saturday with a 65, following his historic second-round 62. His 36-hole total of 127 stands as the lowest scoring total across consecutive rounds in any men’s major championship.

Burns enters Sunday’s final round two strokes ahead of Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim. Despite his lead, Burns acknowledged the volatility of major championship golf, noting that a single bad bounce or a difficult ruling can shift the tournament quickly.

Ultimately, it comes down to I can't control anything anyone else does, Burns said. Someone's going to go out and play a great round of golf [on Sunday], maybe a few people. It's pretty much a given. That happens every single week.

Burns, who finished runner-up at last month’s U.S. Open and tied for seventh at the Masters, is seeking his first major championship title. He noted that he did not expect to be in England this week, as he had planned to be home for the birth of his daughter, who arrived early.

The State of the Field

The tournament enters its final day with a leaderboard that has shifted significantly from the early rounds. Aside from Bryson DeChambeau, who holds two U.S. Open titles, the top 10 features only one player with a major championship on their résumé. DeChambeau remains in contention despite a two-shot penalty assessed on Friday for a rules violation on the fifth hole. Other notable contenders trailing Burns include Ryan Fox, who carded a 62 on Saturday, and Si Woo Kim. The field remains crowded, with several players aiming to capitalize on the challenging conditions at the Royal Birkdale links.

For more on this story, see Bryson DeChambeau Penalized Two Strokes at 2026 Open.

Record Purse and Financial Stakes

The 2026 Open Championship features the largest purse in the event’s history, with the R&A offering a total of $17.75 million. The winner is set to receive $3.2 million, an increase of $100,000 from the 2025 payout.

While this represents a record for the British Open, it remains the lowest purse among the four major championships. For comparison, both the U.S. Open and the Masters offered $22.5 million purses this season, while the PGA Championship featured a $20.5 million purse. The R&A has nonetheless made significant financial progress at the venue; when the tournament was last held at Royal Birkdale in 2017, the total purse was $10.25 million.

Final Round Coverage

The final round of the 2026 Open Championship is scheduled for Sunday, July 19. Television and streaming coverage is as follows:

* NBC: 4 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET
* Peacock (Featured Group 1): 3:15 – 8:15 a.m. ET
* Peacock (Featured Group 2): 5:30 – 10:30 a.m. ET
* Peacock (Par-3 Channel): 6:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
* Peacock (Sky Show): 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET
* Peacock (Featured Groups): 7:35 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. ET and 7:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. ET