The British Open Championship (officially just ‘The Open’) is fast approaching. On July 20, the world’s best golfers will descend upon the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England for four days of top-level play. The good news is you can watch the entire 2023 British Open online. In this post, we’ll explain how you can live stream this golf tournament whether you’re at home or looking to watch from abroad.
Note that we’ll only be recommending official British Open broadcasters. There may be third-party streams available, but as these usually only offer low-resolution video and choppy playback, we don’t recommend using them. Further, unlicensed streams run the risk of being taken down for copyright violation partway through.
This event will only be shown on region-locked platforms. This means that you’ll need a VPN to watch the British Open for free on your usual home services if you are traveling abroad.
How to watch the British Open with a VPN
If you’ve never used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) before, don’t worry: unblocking geo-restricted services is very straightforward:
- First, sign up for a suitable VPN. We recommend NordVPN but Surfshark and ExpressVPN are both excellent alternatives.
- Download and install the appropriate app for your operating system.
- Connect to a server in the right location (UK for Sky Sports or the British Open site, US for NBC).
- Try watching live video. It should load without any buffering or error messages. If not, clear your cache and cookies, then reload the page.
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How to watch the British Open for free on US TV
NBC Sports is broadcasting the entire event on the Golf Channel. It’s also possible to stream the first and second rounds, plus early morning coverage, on USA. You can login to either service using your cable provider details to watch the 2023 British Open online for free.
Don’t have cable? No problem: you can also stream the action live with a paid Peacock, fuboTV, Hulu, Sling TV, or YouTube TV account, and some of these services include a free trial that’s long enough to watch the entire British Open online. As such, as long as you remember to cancel before the trial ends, you can stream the British Open for free online.
All of the above services are geo-blocked, so you’ll have to either be in the US or connected to an American VPN server in order to use them. Don’t have a VPN yet? NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning you can live stream the British Open risk-free. If you’re unimpressed or just don’t need a VPN once the tournament is over, you can just cancel to receive a full refund.
How to stream the British Open championship on UK TV
Viewers in the UK can watch the British Open on Sky Sports. Existing Sky TV customers can sign into the Sky Go app and begin streaming at no additional cost. However, if you don’t have cable (or are with a different provider), you’ll have to purchase a Sky Sports Pass on Now TV. These start at £11.98 for a daily pass and increase to £34.99 for a monthly one.
Both of these services are region-locked. As such, you’ll need a VPN to watch the British Open from abroad.
Canada
TSN has previously only shown the later rounds but this year, it’ll broadcast the entire 151st British Open. If you’re already a subcriber, you can log in and watch at no added cost. Passes are available for $19.99 per month and unfortunately, there’s no way to purchase a one-day subscription anymore. You will have to be in Canada (or using a VPN) to watch, though, since this platform is geo-restricted.
Australia
This tournament will be shown on Fox Sports, which means that Foxtel customers can watch every moment live via the Foxtel Go app. Don’t have cable? In that case, you can just sign up for Kayo instead; plans start at $25 AUD per month and come with a two-week free trial. In other words, you can effectively watch for free, provided you cancel the account in time.
These services aren’t normally available outside of Australia. However, a VPN can help you use them from anywhere.
British Open 2023 schedule
| July 20 | July 21 | July 22 | July 23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Round 1:35AM - 3:30PM EST | Second Round 1:35AM - 3:30PM EST | Third Round 3AM - 2PM EST | Final Round 3AM - 2PM EST |
British Open Online FAQs
Can I watch the British Open with a free VPN?
Free VPNs can be a tempting prospect, but we strongly advise against using them. First of all, they usually offer lacklustre speeds due to their limited networks and high number of users. Streaming live, HD video is fairly data-intensive, and by using a free VPN at the same time, you set yourself up for stuttering video, endless loading, and intermittent connections. With copyright holders cracking down on VPN users, there’s a strong possibility that a free VPN wouldn’t even allow you to watch.
Finally, there’s the security risk a free VPN poses. We’ve previously examined several popular free services and unfortunately, many of them have less-than-ideal privacy policies. FWe recommend avoiding free VPNs and instead, using a reputable VPN provider with a track record of protecting its customers’ privacy.
Is it illegal to watch the British Open Championship abroad with a VPN?
No, it’s not illegal to watch the British Open Championship abroad with a VPN. The good news is that VPNs are legal in most countries (with only a few exceptions such as China). However, it’s worth keeping in mind that using a VPN to access a particular streaming service may go against that service’s terms and conditions. None of the advice in this article is to be taken as legal advice, and we recommend that you conduct your own research about what is and isn’t illegal with a VPN.
Who's the favorite for the 151st British Open?
At the time of writing, Rory McElroy leads the pack with odds of +750.This should come as no surprise: he won it back in 2014 and has been in great shape lately, taking the FedEx cup, Race to Dubai, Bryon Nelson Award, and Vardon Trophy last year.
Fancy backing someone with slightly longer odds? Scottie Scheffler is a close second at +1000, with John Rahm closing out the top three at +1200. Scheffler was the PGA’s Play of the year in 2022 and Rahm has put in a strong showing lately, winning the Mexican Open and DP World Tour Championship.
