{"id":636408,"date":"2026-04-28T14:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/636408\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:40:11","slug":"the-open-may-crack-down-on-player-misconduct-with-penalty-strokes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/636408\/","title":{"rendered":"The Open May Crack Down On Player Misconduct With Penalty Strokes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The R&A CEO Mark Darbon<\/a> has suggested a new code of conduct will be introduced at The Open Championship in July and golfers who breach it could face a punishment of up to two strokes.<\/p>\n

The pro game has witnessed several high-profile cases of unsavory on-course behavior recently, including Sergio Garcia’s moment of madness<\/a> and Robert MacIntyre’s angry outburst<\/a> at The Masters, in a season where officials have apparently had enough.<\/p>\n

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Following in Augusta National Golf Club’s footsteps, the PGA of America will implement a refreshed code of conduct at Aronimink next month while the USGA will do the same at Shinnecock Hills in June.<\/p>\n

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Joining its fellow Major peers in completing the set at Royal Birkdale<\/a> during July, Darbon confirmed during The Open Championship’s media day on Monday that those battling it out for the Claret Jug will be under similar restrictions.<\/p>\n

Asked whether The Open would indeed join The Masters and PGA Championship in updating its code of conduct, Darbon replied: “We are looking to implement a code of conduct as well.<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“We’ve been working closely with the organizers of the other majors and the tours more broadly. I would expect to see a similar policy introduced this summer.”<\/p>\n

For the time being, the leading men’s tours around the world are yet to lay out their own version, but they are thought to be on the horizon.<\/p>\n

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In turn, it is hoped to drastically reduce the number of occasions where golfers – who are heroes and role models to many – lash out in frustration.<\/p>\n

It is rare to see, but players have been disqualified for serious breaches of misconduct in the past. Back in 2019, Garcia furiously damaged a green in Saudi Arabia while competing in a DP World Tour event and he was subsequently ejected from the tournament.<\/p>\n

While instances of that nature are thankfully extremely low, the number of times where a player releases their frustrations on the course or equipment remains far too high in the eyes of many.<\/p>\n

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That is why, according to Darbon, he is keen for The Open Championship to help set a precedent moving forward.<\/p>\n

Speaking to BBC Sport<\/a>, he said: “I think, first and foremost, you want passion. You want passion from players, you want passion from spectators. But there’s a fine line, and one of the amazing things about this sport are the values and integrity that underpin it.<\/p>\n

“So we will watch that line very closely. We, like many of the other major events, are looking to implement a new code of conduct policy that will be in place this summer here at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“And it will give us another measure by which to help influence and control that behavior.”<\/p>\n

Darbon also explained how the policy might be put into practice, should it be required.<\/p>\n

He said: “It will depend on the circumstance and a determination of what their actions may lead to, but you could well see a two-shot penalty, for example, being deployed. We will clarify all of those details in the buildup to the championship.”<\/p>\n

The Open Championship is due to take place at Royal Birkdale between July 16-19, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The R&A CEO Mark Darbon has suggested a new code of conduct will be introduced at The Open…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-636408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}