Royal Birkdale is supposed to bully golfers into submission, the kind of Open venue that makes even good players look like they are trying to solve a puzzle in the dark. So when Peter Finch, a two-handicap golfer, walked around it in one-under-par 69 just weeks before The Open, the round demanded attention. Not because it rewrites anything about the championship itself, but because it is a timely reminder that this historic course can still be scored on when the conditions allow it.
Finch’s scorecard was tidy enough to make the point without any hype: five birdies, four bogeys and nine pars. That is the sort of round that tells you two things at once. First, Royal Birkdale is still a serious test, because you do not make four bogeys by accident. Second, it is not some untouchable monster every single day. Even a player off a two-handicap can find his way to a sub-par round there if he gets the balance right between restraint and aggression.
Why the Finch round matters
This is not just a novelty story about a content creator taking on a famous links course. It matters because the context around Royal Birkdale has changed. The course has been lengthened by more than 200 yards to 7,300 yards before The Open in 2026, and it already carries the weight of history as a venue that can turn brutal when the wind gets involved. The modern layout is different from the one Jordan Spieth conquered in 2017, when he won The Open there with a 268 over four rounds.
That is the key point here: the headline number is Finch’s 69, but the broader takeaway is that Royal Birkdale is still capable of producing very different stories depending on the weather and the setup. In 1971, Lee Trevino took the title home on a par-73 course and is still cited for the lowest score relative to par by an Open champion. Fast forward to the present, and the course now features 12 par-fours, four par-threes, two par-fives and 123 bunkers, spread across a setup that can stretch a player long before the final putt drops.
So yes, Finch’s round deserves the applause it will get. A two-handicap golfer going around Royal Birkdale in 69 is not normal. But it is also not an accident. It is proof that this famous championship venue can still be attacked by anyone with enough control, enough nerve and enough respect for what the place can do when it tightens its grip. That is exactly why Royal Birkdale remains such a compelling Open stage: it never stops daring golfers to find out whether the course, or the player, is the bigger problem.
