The golfing eyes of the world are firmly focused on the UK: last week, it was the Scottish Open, this week, the biggest tournament of them all, The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
While the global audience will tune in to the World’s most famous golf event this week, here at Spectrum we’ve been laser-focused on the event all year. Indeed, we arrived on site back in March, but planning meetings started towards the end of 2025.
Once again, we are delighted to be working with the R&A and many other contractors to deliver a truly memorable experience in Southport. We will be providing cleaning services for all public, player, official, press, and hospitality areas. Our work doesn’t start on the first day of practice; it starts when the first contractors arrive on site, so we are familiar with the entire course.
It’s not only about on-site preparation. We are committed to providing opportunities in the communities near The Open Venues, so we have been busy onboarding and training local staff to bolster our event team, primarily during the public admission days. We have a rigorous, tried, and tested training programme to ensure our temporary local team integrate seamlessly with our highly experienced permanent staff who together make up the Championship events team.
From yesterday, the players and fans started to arrive, and things are getting much busier. This year, the R&A are introducing a new ‘Last Chance Qualifier’ event. This will be a dramatic 12-player qualifying showdown will take place today (Monday) to determine the final place at golf’s original championship.
Another first at this year’s Open, is the Heros Classic event. This is a showcase event that will see some of golf’s biggest names compete alongside a host of special guests at Royal Birkdale. Champion Golfers Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Padraig Harrington are among those teeing it up in the Heroes Classic. Joining them will be AIG Women’s Open Champion Miyu Yamashita, 2025 Women’s Amateur Champion Paula Martin Sampedro, G4D Open Champion Brendan Lawlor and European Ryder Cup stars Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood. R&A ambassador Bryan Habana will also take part in the star-studded event.
It’s only with exhaustive planning, attention to every detail, and excellent collaboration with fellow suppliers that we can deliver the level of service required for one of the primary global events of 2026. Like the elite golfers, it’s because we’ve done the hard work ahead of time that we are confident about what we need to deliver. It’s that meticulous planning that enables us to look forward to the upcoming practice and competition days.
The last time the Open Championship was contested at Royal Birkdale was in 2017 when Jordan Spieth lifted the coveted Claret Jug. It is also the venue where a young Justin Rose won the Silver Medal as Leading Amateur in 1998! Remarkably, both players are serious contenders again next week; they will, of course, need to outplay some of the World’s best, such as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and John Rahm. And let’s not forget our Scottish golfing hero, Robert McIntyre. We wish them all well.
We have an equally impressive pedigree at The Open; we’ve provided services to the R&A and the Championship since 2018. We are delighted to work with them and the fantastic array of suppliers who work together to deliver the Championship.
Royal Birkdale is already looking resplendent in the glorious sunshine already, below are some pictures captured this week as we finalise the preparations.
