Open Championship Preview: Hole-by-Hole Breakdown + Heat Wave at Royal Birkdale

Smylie Kaufman joins Charlie Hulme for a major championship preview edition of The Smylie Show, this time reporting on-site from Royal Birkdale ahead of the 154th Open Championship. Smylie's fresh off practice-round scouting with Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns and Tommy Fleetwood, and the two break down how a UK heat wave has left the course baked out, brown, and playing firmer and faster than usual — with wind direction doing wild things to distance and club selection all week. Plus: a full hole-by-hole walkthrough of Royal Birkdale using the R&A's course guide and Padraig Harrington's notes on each hole, including the redesigned par-3s and the new 13th where Jordan Spieth made his iconic bogey in 2017. They close it out with contender picks for the week & dark horse names to watch out for. Before all that: Charlie cranks the office heat and a fan to "simulate" Birkdale conditions, and Smylie details a rough night of jet lag getting into town. Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow! Chapters 0:00 Intro: heat wave banter & simulating Birkdale conditions 2:23 Smylie's practice round report (Scheffler, Burns, Fleetwood) 3:34 Course strategy: wind, firmness & club selection 6:46 UK heat wave, dry conditions & Open Championship ice cream 8:36 Hole 1 10:41 Hole 2 12:30 Hole 3 14:48 Hole 4 17:53 Hole 5 22:14 Hole 6 25:00 Hole 7 26:53 Hole 8 28:12 Hole 9 31:57 Hole 10 33:52 Hole 11 37:08 Hole 12 39:18 Hole 13 43:06 Hole 14 47:15 Hole 15 50:43 Hole 16 54:14 Hole 17 56:06 Hole 18 57:28 Course wrap-up: what to watch for at Royal Birkdale 59:41 Open Championship picks & dark horses 1:09:56 Sign-off & what's coming this week #golf #theopen #royalbirkdale #smylieshow #smyliekaufman #golfrecap #pgatour