The fourth and final Major Championship of the PGA Tour season arrives this weekend at Royal Birkdale. The legendary course just north of Liverpool, England, will host its first Open Championship since 2017, when Jordan Spieth won in a crazy turn of events down the back nine. On the 13th hole of the final round, Spieth hit his golf ball about 100 yards right of the fairway. Spieth took nearly 30 minutes to play his second shot after working with officials and finding his line-of-sight free drop. Finally hitting from 240 yards out, over a mound, Spieth managed a bogey. He eventually won that Open Championship. We now return to the golf course, which looks to be running very firm. The grass is seemingly browner than it is greener in many places. That will spice things up in a big way.Key Course MetricsObservations from Monday at Birkdale....1. Firm and fast. Yup. Not sure I've ever seen an Open course this brown and firm at the start of the week. Really makes players think, on all shots.2. Birkdale is a great venue. It ticks a lot of boxes. Course, setting, area, visuals,… pic.twitter.com/vTKV30y3xz— Jamie Kennedy (@jamierkennedy) July 13, 2026Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a classic links-style course. There are minimal trees and a lot of fescue in between the holes. With how firm the course expects to play, fairways can be missed with little penalty, especially with the moguls obsessively dominating them. Every hole is its own and will still demand smart tee shots, lining up the best possible approach shots into these bumpy greens. Given how hard the greens may be, especially near the pin, putting will not be a decisive factor in winning at the Open Championship. Rather, lag putting will be more important. Per Datagolf's Relative Importance Plot, these are the most demanding macro-metrics of the event. Datagolf.coTournament History and Weather ReportRoyal Birkdale has hosted the Open Championship ten times in its history. Peter Thomson won the inaugural event in 1954. Twice in the 21st century has Royal Birkdale hosted the event. Padraig Harrington won at 3-over-par in 2008. Spieth won in 2017 at 12-under-par. Since 2017, the course has lengthened by just under 100 total yards. They removed 19 bunkers and vastly changed how certain par-3s will play. The 2017 results will not be heavily factored in for those who apply, such as Jordan Spieth. Here are the past 5 Open Champions:2025: Scottie Scheffler (-17) — Royal Portrush2024: Xander Schauffele (-9) — Royal Troon2023: Brian Harman (-13) — Royal Liverpool2022: Cameron Smith (-20) — St. Andrews Old Course2021: Collin Morikawa (-15) — Royal St. George'sIn a rare fashion for the Liverpool area of England, rain is <5% likely each day from now until the conclusion of the event. For reference, Liverpool averages over 30 inches of rain per year, and about 40% of days have some rainfall. Consider the event lucky. Thursday will have a high of 77 degrees, slowly decreasing through Sunday, which has a high of 68 degrees. Wind will be up, as per usual, with daily gusts up to 20 miles per hour. The Open Championship is expected to play easier than most years, despite the course being ultra-firm. The winner shall be double-digits under par. Fantasy Golf Picks (DraftKings)Chris Gotterup ($8,500)Gotterup has shown that links golf suits his power-punching game. He finished T-11 at the Scottish Open, following a victory at the non-links-style John Deere Classic. He then won the 2025 Scottish Open before a 3rd finishing at the 2025 Open Championship.Robert MacIntyre ($8,000)The Scot is expected to play very well at Royal Birkdale, given his resume. MacIntyre finished T-3 at the Scottish Open, following a T-10 at the Travelers Championship. At the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links at St Andrews, MacIntyre won. In 6 Open Championships, MacIntyre has never missed the cut and has 3 top-10 finishes, including a T-7 in 2025. Russell Henley ($7,700)Henley's last two Open Championships suggests that he has evolved to love links golf. Henley had a T-10 in 2025 and a 5th place finish in the 2024 Open. He finished T-12 at last weeks Scottish Open.The form for Henley is also good. He won the Charles Schwab Challenge last month and finished T-12 in his last event, the Travelers Championship. In his Skill Profile, Henley is far worse in driving distance; however, that is little required to win this event. His matrix aligns with the course demands. Brian Harman ($6,600)Why not pick a man who won the 2024 Open Championship? Harman hits the ball very short, but that is just fine at Royal Birkdale, which demands hardly any length, especially in its expected firm conditions. In the 2025 Open, Harman finished T-10. On the PGA Tour, he has only had one missed cut since February and has had only 8. He is consistent with upside, well worth this mediocre price. More Fantasy Sports On SI News:Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow