The 2026 Senior British Open Championship format continues this year, with the R&A-run major championship remaining in July and being played at Gleneagles Resort in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland.
The 2026 Senior British Open Championship field is 144 players. Players have qualified through myriad criteria, including open qualifying. The PGA Tour Champions considers this one of five major championships on their schedule.
Senior British Open Championship format
The Senior British Open Championship format is a 72-hole event. The field is divided into morning and afternoon waves for the first two rounds, with players competing in threesomes each day. The same threesomes play together in each of the first two rounds, all played from the first tee. There's one round in the morning wave and one round in the afternoon wave.
A cut is made after 36 holes to the top 70 players and ties, including the amateurs in the field.
For the third and fourth rounds, pairings and tee times are made based on each player's total score through two and three rounds, respectively. Players with the highest total score go first, then in descending order until the two players with the lowest total score in the final group.
The player with the lowest total score after 72 holes is the winner.
A playoff to settle any ties after 72 holes will be played under rules similar to the PGA Tour Champions. The Senior British Open Championship playoff format is a sudden-death shootout. The player with the lowest score wins. If any players are tied after the initial hole, the playoff continues, played hole-by-hole until a winner is determined.
The winning player will get an expanded PGA Tour Champions exemption and a lifetime exemption into the Senior British Open Championship. The winner earns the 2026 Senior British Open Championship winner's share of the purse.
