NBC’s telecast of the British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale was the network’s most watched final round of the last major championship since 2022, with Ryan Fox winning with a birdie on the 72nd hole.
As our Adam Shupack wrote in his coverage of the event, TV cameras almost missed Fox’s winning putt on the final hole because he played faster than any golfer on the planet.
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“It was always like that when I was a kid. I see things quickly,” he said. “I was the same way when I was playing cricket. I’ve played almost every sport since I was little, but in tennis I wanted to hit the ball hard, and in cricket I wanted to hit the ball hard. It all happened so quickly. To be honest, I wasn’t very methodical at anything, and that carried over into golf.”
July 19, 2026. SOUTHPORT, England; Ryan Fox reacts on the 18th green to win after making birdie at the British Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Required Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Sunday’s final round coverage on NBC and Peacock averaged 4.3 million viewers, up 6% from last year (4.1 million viewers) when Scheffler won at Royal Portrush.
Viewership for the final round peaked at 6.1 million between 1:15 and 1:30 p.m., when Fox overtook Clubhouse leader Cameron Young.
Saturday’s broadcast averaged 3.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched third round since 2018 and a 16% increase over last year (3.2 million viewers).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek. NBC achieves highest open ratings in four years
