NBC forced to make concession to R&A when it secured rights to The Open Kylee HansenFri, July 17, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC 0 'The Open Championship' was forced upon NBC nearly a decade ago Credit:Getty Images NBC has broadcast the Open Championship for the last decade, but only after agreeing to a detail with the R&A before winning broadcast rights.
NBC forced to make concession to R&A when it secured rights to The Open
Kylee HansenFri, July 17, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC
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'The Open Championship' was forced upon NBC nearly a decade ago -Credit:Getty Images
NBC has broadcast the Open Championship for the last decade, but only after agreeing to a detail with the R&A before winning broadcast rights.
In order to broadcast the historic Open Championship, NBC Sports agreed as part of the contract that it would refer to the tournament strictly as either 'The Open Championship' or 'The Open,' not the ‘British Open' as many Americans call the tournament..
Since it was founded in 1860, the only aspect that has yet to change is the name of the tournament. The original tournament was played over three rounds of 12 holes by seven Scotsmen and just one Englishmen. They were competing for an incredible first place prize of a belt worth $33.73, not the $3.2 million up for grabs this year.
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In 2026, The Open is four rounds of 18 holes with a field of 156 of players who are all hoping to land the Claret Jug. And, with the exception of Ireland’s Pádraig Harrington, only Americans and Australians have won The Open at Royal Birkdale.
The confusion surrounding the correct title is long running and not a straight line of understanding. As the world of influence and athletics grew, many other ‘Opens’ were created.
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Whether it was the Spanish, Italian, French, or was tied to a completely different sport, the names overlapped. Whatever people want to call it doesn’t really matter, as players look forward to competing in the oldest major in the sport and changing the style of their game.
The Open Championship is being held at Royal Birkdale this year -Credit:Getty Images
“Different style of play, I would say,” said Matt Fitzpatrick. “That's the big thing. Hopefully I've not peaked yet obviously, but I just think I'm doing a lot of good stuff this year. Short game's been really, really good, and so has my irons.”
Fellow European Tommy Fleetwood and maiden PGA Tour winner continued, noting the Open Championship is always great to compete in.
“It's obviously very, very special. I think for anybody that was lucky enough to grow up in the town of Southport,” said Fleetwood. “It's such a golfing town, and The Open at Birkdale holds such a special place in the area.
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“It's a dream just to be competing in an Open here, so I feel very, very lucky. Still have lots of memories from the 2017 Open here. Yeah, just excited for the opportunity to play in front of everybody.
“It's very rare to have an opportunity to play a tournament, let alone The Open, in the town where you grew up in front of fans that were all there to support you. Very excited.”
Source: "AOL Money"
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Published: July 17, 2026 at 05:18AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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