The Open Championship 2026: What It Costs to Attend From 5 U.S. Cities

By Thomas Leary

Jul 8th, 2026 2:14 PM EDT

Royal Birkdale plays host to this summer's Open Championship (USATODAY)

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The Open Championship 2026 Tickets Are Sold Out — Here's What It Costs to Attend Anyway

General Admission tickets for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale -- known in the U.S. as the British Open -- are sold out across all four Championship days. The public ballot for The Open Championship closed back on July 25, 2025, and as of this writing, the R&A's own site confirms there's no standard grounds ticket left to buy for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

That doesn't mean you're out of options. Fans can still get onto the grounds at Royal Birkdale, Southport, through Ticket Plus, hospitality packages, the new ticket-inclusive Destination Packages, or the resale market -- and we ran the real numbers on what each route costs a U.S. sports bettor flying in for the weekend. Below is a full Open Championship 2026 cost breakdown from five major American cities: New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

And don't forget to check out our Scottish Open picks ahead of next week while you're here.

How Much Does It Cost to Attend The Open Championship? The Quick Answer

For two people flying in, sharing a hotel room for three nights, and attending both weekend rounds (Saturday and Sunday), here's what it runs across five U.S. markets according to Bookies.com.

• New York -- $3,518, the cheapest of the five, thanks to shorter connecting routes to Manchester
• Miami -- $3,852
• Chicago -- $3,880
• Houston -- $4,070, despite no direct flights to Manchester
• Los Angeles -- $4,308, the most expensive, driven by the longest flight and no direct routing

Average across all five: $3,926 for two people. That figure includes round-trip airfare, three nights in a Southport-area hotel, General Admission tickets for both Saturday and Sunday, food and drink, local transport and a modest merchandise budget.

One important caveat: since standard General Admission tickets aren't available through the R&A anymore, the ticket costs above reflect live pricing on the secondary resale market -- $151 for Saturday and $204 for Sunday, per ticket. That's actually less than what the official Ticket Plus upgrade costs for the same two days, though resale inventory is never guaranteed and prices move by the hour.

Where Is The Open Championship 2026? Royal Birkdale, Southport

The 154th Open is being played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside, on England's northwest coast -- roughly 17 miles north of Liverpool and about 40 miles west of Manchester. It's the 11th time Royal Birkdale has hosted The Open, most recently in 2017, when Jordan Spieth won his lone Claret Jug over Matt Kuchar. The venue's history runs deep: past champions here include Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and Padraig Harrington.

Championship rounds run Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19, 2026, with a new run of bespoke practice and fan days from July 12–15, including a Last-Chance Qualifier and a Heroes Classic showcase. The reigning Champion Golfer of the Year is Scottie Scheffler, who won the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush. The R&A expects somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 spectators across the week.

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Is The Open Championship Sold Out? General Admission Tickets and What's Left

The short version: demand outstripped supply, the ballot closed last summer and the R&A hasn't reopened standard ticket sales since. Here's what's actually purchasable right now, cheapest to most expensive:

• Ticket Plus -- Only Saturday remains on official sale; Friday and Sunday sold out. Face value runs about $386 per person and includes access to Links, a food-and-drink base near the 4th green, plus a free Park & Ride pass and a £25 food voucher.
• Hospitality -- Premium is available Saturday and Sunday only (Thursday and Friday are sold out); Platinum remains available across all four days; Signature is available Wednesday through Saturday, with Sunday sold out. Prices run from roughly $1,300 to over $3,300 per person per day depending on tier and day.
• Destination Packages -- New for 2026, these bundle a ticket with hotel and travel. Official pricing starts from £845 (about $1,124) per person.
• Resale market -- The R&A runs its own face-value resale platform through One Club (sign-in required, fan-to-fan, no markup). Open marketplaces like viagogo also had General Admission tickets listed at $151–$204 each at the time of writing.

Resale pricing is a snapshot, not a quote -- it changes constantly and inventory can vanish in minutes. The R&A itself warns that tickets bought outside official channels carry fraud risk, so treat any secondary listing as buyer-beware.

The Open Championship 2026 Cost by City: Flights, Hotels & Tickets Compared

The ticket and hotel costs are identical no matter where you're flying from -- what changes is airfare, and it changes more than you'd expect. New York comes out cheapest largely because of shorter, more direct routing into Manchester (typically via Dublin on Aer Lingus or British Airways). Houston and Los Angeles sit at the top of the list, and it's almost entirely because neither city has a direct flight to Manchester -- Houston connects through Atlanta, and LA connects through Zurich on SWISS, adding both cost and travel time.

Hotels are the other surprise. Southport's short-term rental and hotel market is already running hot for Open week -- even two-star guesthouses were pricing like three-star properties when we checked live rates for a Friday-to-Monday stay. Booking your room before your flight is the smarter order of operations here; hotel inventory in a small English seaside town is a lot more finite than airline seats to Manchester.

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How Much Are The Open Championship Tickets on the Resale Market?

It depends how much risk you're comfortable with. The R&A's own official resale platform -- accessible through a free One Club account -- lets ticketholders resell unwanted General Admission and Ticket Plus tickets at face value, with no markup and (at least in theory) full legitimacy. The catch is you're at the mercy of whatever fans happen to be listing at any given moment, and there's no guarantee inventory exists when you need it.

Open secondary marketplaces like viagogo and StubHub are the alternative -- faster to browse, no account required, and in this case actually priced below what an official Ticket Plus upgrade costs for the same days. But they're not R&A-sanctioned channels, and the tournament's own FAQ flags the fraud risk that comes with buying outside official routes. If you go this way, stick to marketplaces with a legitimate buyer guarantee and don't wire money for a ticket you can't verify.

The Open Championship 2026 FAQ

How much does it cost to attend the 2026 Open Championship?

For two people flying from a major U.S. city, staying three nights near Southport, and attending both weekend rounds, total costs run about $3,500 to $4,300 depending on your home airport -- mostly driven by flight prices to Manchester.

Are Open Championship 2026 tickets sold out?

Yes. General Admission tickets for all four Championship days (July 16–19) are sold out through the official R&A ballot and website. Ticket Plus, Hospitality, Destination Packages, and resale remain the only ways in.

How much are Open Championship tickets on the resale market?

As of early July 2026, General Admission resale listings on secondary marketplaces were running $151 for Saturday and $204 for Sunday per ticket, though prices and availability shift constantly.

Where is the 2026 Open Championship being played?

Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside, England -- the venue's 11th time hosting The Open, most recently in 2017.

When is the 2026 Open Championship?

Championship rounds run Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19, 2026, with practice and bespoke fan days from July 12–15.

What's the cheapest way to attend The Open Championship in 2026?

With General Admission sold out through official channels, the cheapest confirmed route is Ticket Plus for Saturday (around $386 per person, face value) or a General Admission resale ticket where available.

How do I get to Royal Birkdale from the U.S.?

Fly into Manchester Airport — the closest major international hub -- or Liverpool John Lennon Airport, then take a train or car into Southport. There's no on-site parking at Royal Birkdale, only Park & Ride.

Who is the defending Open Championship champion?

Scottie Scheffler, who won the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Flight and hotel prices reflect live quotes pulled the day of publish for Friday–Monday travel during Championship week, based on two adults sharing one hotel room. General Admission ticket prices reflect live secondary-market listings, not official face value -- official General Admission is sold out. Ticket Plus, Hospitality, and Destination Package prices are official R&A face value, excluding VAT, as listed on theopen.com. All figures converted from GBP at $1.33 to the pound. Flight, hotel, and resale prices change daily and are not locked quotes.

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