Organisers of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale will delay any decision to bring forward their fourth-round tee times until it is known whether England have reached the World Cup final.
Chiefs at the R&A have discussed the potential for a scheduling clash on Sunday, which is now a real possibility after Thomas Tuchel’s side beat Norway to set up a semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday.
R&A sources are adamant any change to their start times at Birkdale would be minor, and certainly less than an hour, to cover the possibility that the tail-end of their biggest day overlaps with the final in New York, which kicks off at 8pm in the UK.
The Open gets under way at Royal Birkdale on Thursday… but the final round may be brought forward
Typically, the leading group at golf’s oldest major tee off at around 2.30pm, which offers a comfortable margin, but a play-off could cause a scenario where some fans make a hasty departure from the Southport links before the Claret Jug is presented.
It is understood that Open bosses will consult their broadcasting partners, Sky Sports and NBC, to ascertain the feasibility of tweaking their schedule, but no verdict will be made until the outcome of England’s semi-final is known.
Earlier this year, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said: ‘We’re conscious of other events happening on that date. Some things are out of our control in terms of play-offs and the like, but we will attempt to avoid a clash.’
