Open chance: Spieth, Bryson among those trying to flip narratives at Birkdale

The season's final major is upon us this week as Royal Birkdale hosts the 2026 Open Championship.

Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai, and Wyndham Clark will each attempt to win a second major this season, while Scottie Scheffler looks to defend the Claret Jug.

Beyond that group, a number of other players are competing with hopes of changing the respective narratives around themselves. Here are five to watch.

Jordan Spieth

The last time Royal Birkdale hosted the Open Championship, Jordan Spieth left as the toast of the golf world, having executed one of the most absurd closing stretches in the history of the tournament to claim his third major victory. Forget a trophy room in his house. The rate at which Spieth was piling up wins suggested he might need a personal museum to store all his hardware.

Well, much like life, professional golf can come at you fast, and the Spieth who's limping into Birkdale nine years later might as well be a completely different golfer. The most notable differences are his approach play and the magic hands we used to regularly see around the green. His strokes-gained statistics in those two areas are miles apart compared to his 2017 form.

Due to his drop-off in skill, Spieth, who turns 33 at the end of July, is battling to simply be considered an above-average PGA TOUR player. He was once a staple of the United States squad in team events, but today you'll be better off searching his name in the Presidents Cup standings than looking near the top.

Spieth's 30-minute adventure on the driving range while playing Birkdale's 13th hole in 2017 was the type of narrative that Hollywood screenwriters would deem too unbelievable to produce. The ensuing near-ace on the 14th and "Go get that!" eagle putt on the 15th remain key moments in Spieth's story. Perhaps a return to the site of his most dramatic major triumph will ignite something in Spieth.

It's almost certainly needed if he wants to avoid another lost year in majors and a further drop into pro golf obscurity.

Bryson DeChambeau

Speaking of lost major years, Bryson DeChambeau comes to Birkdale as a complete nonfactor in golf's biggest events of 2026. The two-time U.S. Open winner hasn't just been noncompetitive in majors this season, he's missed all three cuts, which has never happened to the likes of McIlroy, Scheffler, and Jon Rahm.

The biggest question regarding DeChambeau's recent major results? Whether he even cares. The uncertainty surrounding LIV Golf's future - and DeChambeau's place on whatever that tour looks like in 2027 - has seemingly sent him further into the world of YouTube golf. While many of the game's top players from both the PGA TOUR and LIV spent last weekend playing the Scottish Open, DeChambeau's Open Championship prep appears to have included a trip to western Canada to film content.

DeChambeau's meticulous game hasn't always shone brightest in The Open's unpredictable conditions, but he did put up a T-10 showing in last year's event. With the wind expected to be calm this week, the Birkdale setup might be DeChambeau's best chance to enter the mix at The Open. That type of performance could completely change how the golf world views him headed into a potentially groundbreaking offseason for the 32-year-old.

Tommy Fleetwood

If you're betting on how many "Tommy!" chants we hear this week, do yourself a favor and smash the over. There's no question that Fleetwood will be the people's choice, considering the event is taking place just outside his hometown of Southport, England. Growing up, Fleetwood - who's a fan favorite anywhere he goes - honed his game at nearby Formby and still resides in Southport part time. The crowd support will be electric all week, but if he's in contention Sunday, the scene will resemble something out of a storybook.

Now, the challenge is whether Fleetwood can actually putt well enough for four days to ignite the locals and win his first major. His ball-striking remains elite, but the flatstick is the one club holding him back from piling up wins. Unfortunately for the Englishman, recent history has favored putting at The Open more than any other major.

A win for Fleetwood wouldn't just satisfy the rabid Southport faithful - it would completely shift the narrative around him being an incredibly strong player who rarely wins. It would reshape every "best player without a major" list and make him the first English winner of The Open since Nick Faldo in 1992.

Ludvig Aberg

Twenty-four-year-old Tom Kim winning the Scottish Open last week presented an interesting comparison to someone else on TOUR who's often labeled a great young talent: 26-year-old Ludvig Aberg.

The similarities end when you consider that the younger Kim has been a pro significantly longer than Aberg, who dominated the college game at Texas Tech. Aberg also immediately established himself as a force with a runner-up finish in his first major ever at the 2024 Masters and is coming to Birkdale off a T-4 showing at the U.S. Open.

However, there are still some questions around Aberg being able to deliver on the hype that followed him from Lubbock. Top finishes are encouraging and play well on the Wikipedia resume, but at some point, a major win will be needed to firmly solidify his place as the best 26-and-under player in the world.

Joaquin Niemann

If there's music blaring in the background, guys in team uniforms across the course, and overly excited broadcasters on every shot, you should probably bet on Joaquin Niemann to win. The Chilean has been an assassin on LIV Golf since making the move and even prompted an extremely bold take from Phil Mickelson last year.

However, Niemann's form simply hasn't translated when the golf gets harder, and his dismal major resume is often discussed. He has just two top-10 finishes in 28 major starts - a shockingly low rate given the fact he's won eight times on LIV, twice on the PGA TOUR, and once on the DP World Tour.

If you're looking for some positive trends with Niemann, his recent results suggest he's figuring out how to contend in majors and could eventually alter the narrative. Both of his top-10 finishes have come in the last five majors, and his performance at June's U.S. Open should give him plenty of confidence going into Birkdale. If you counted 71 of Niemann's 72 holes at Shinnecock Hills, he would have nearly won the title. Unfortunately for Niemann, the sixth hole Thursday was, in fact, reflected in his scorecard, and his septuple-bogey 11 on the par 4, which included a two-stroke penalty for throwing his club, made the mountain too difficult to climb.

A firm and fast Birkdale awaits this week, with conditions set up to favor elite ball-strikers such as Niemann. Serious contention or a win would certainly change his reputation as a supreme talent who simply can't perform at the same level when the challenge increases.