Open fans told ‘abuse the players and you’ll be slung out’ as R&A gets tough

The R&A has warned golf fans who misbehave at the Open that they will be identified and slung out under its new code of conduct.

Its chairman, Mark Darbon, stopped short of endorsing calls by Sir Nick Faldo, the last Englishman to win an Open, for anyone that abuses a player to also be fined $10,000. However, he confirmed that a team of R&A staff, marshals and officials would be closely monitoring the expected 300,000 spectators at Royal Birkdale to ensure good behaviour.

Darbon also confirmed that the R&A was unlikely to change tee-off times for Sunday’s round before the World Cup final, but said a final decision would be taken on Thursday.

“Those people are briefed on keeping an eye on this behaviour in line with our code of conduct, so we’re very confident in our ability to identify any folks that step over the line,” he said. “We feel that it’s within our gift, if someone does step over the line, to ask them to leave the venue. That’s the mechanism that we’ll use rather than fining a spectator.”

The new guidelines come amid growing concerns over the behaviour of golf fans. Last year’s Open winner, Scottie Scheffler, said he had heard things “that were very far over the line” during his final round at Portrush last year, while Brian Harmon, the 2024 champion, was also jeered during his emphatic victory.

That behaviour has been largely blamed on gamblers who are angry that their bets have lost, or newcomers to the sport via TikTok or YouTube who are unaware of the sport’s traditions.

Darcon said the R&A was trying to balance the need for new audiences with tradition. “I certainly don’t think we’re a passive organisation,” he said. “So we are proactively focused on how we grow our audience for this great championship.

“I’d say a few things, though. I think the activities we want to undertake at our Open specifically have to remain true to their heritage and standing of this great event. We could have chosen to stage a creator classic at the start of this week. We didn’t do that. We proactively sought to stage an event – in this case, the Last-Chance Qualifier – that was entirely aligned with the roots that we have for qualification into our event more broadly.

“That’s where the sweet spot lies for us. We will engage with different audiences through a range of channels, where we’ll use influencers and content creators to help us on that journey, but we will never do anything to undermine the standing, heritage, and platform that our championship has built.”

Of plans for Sunday’s round, he added: “In the background, we’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this. Our final putt is currently scheduled for around 6.40 on Sunday. We think that, even if we go to a three-hole playoff, we’ve got time to complete the championship.”