Breach the Open Commitment and you could be shown the exit.
That’s the message the R&A is delivering to fans who plan to attend the 154th Open Championship next week, with the hopes that preemptively harnessing crowd behavior will limit potential issues.
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Coming on the heels of raucous crowds at the 2025 Ryder Cup and then again during Wyndham Clark’s U.S. Open run last month, the R&A announced its “Open Commitment” fan code-of-conduct policy on Wednesday.
The core tenants of the new policy are succinct: Respect the players, respect the links, respect each other, be aware, enjoy responsibly.
Golf Channel host Paul McGinley said Wednesday that fan behavior has become a concern following the Ryder Cup and the U.S. Open.
“Boundaries have been stretched,” he said during a pre-Open teleconference.
“I think like everything in this game, we need to have boundaries and the USGA and the R&A are the custodians of the game in that regard, as well as the PGA Tour, and those boundaries have to be set in stone,” he added. “We’ve got a unique demographic in golf and that demographic demands, and looks for, a code of behavior, complicit with the standing that golf has as a sport and if we lose that, and if the game becomes a little bit more of a free-for-all in terms of behavior, well, we risk alienating that demographic.”
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Commitment terms will be communicated to fans at Royal Birkdale — and future Open Championships — before and during next week through digital channels, ticket communications and on-site signage. The R&A said that fans agree to comply with the commitment by attending the event.
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