R&A CEO Mark Darbon on new Open code of conduct and need for 'change' in golf

Mark Darbon, The R&A’s chief executive, was grilled on golf matters on Monday at a media day at Royal Birkdale for this year’s 154th Open at the Southport venue.

Darbon, who succeeded Martin Slumbers towards the end of 2024, mainly talked about Open matters, including widespread changes to the venue for this year’s edition while he also announced that Royal Lytham & St Annes will be hosting the 2028 event.

Here’s what he had to say about some other things relating to the Claret Jug event, as well as general golfing matters:

A new Last-Chance Qualifier for The Open

Mark Darbon, CEO of The R&A speaks to the media during a press conference at Royal Birkdale, venue for this year’s 154th Open | Kate McShane/Getty Images

“It will be on played Monday of Open week and will see 12 players competing over 18 holes for the last place in the championship. We expect that to deliver real drama and excitement at the start of the week. We think the Last-Chance Qualifier, which will give a handful of players an opportunity to qualify for the main event, creates an extra attraction that works for onsite attendees and for broadcasters, but is delivered in a way that is in keeping with the rest of the championship. We're looking forward to seeing how that goes this year, and we'll resolve and refine it into the future.”

Heroes Classic, which is also new this year

“We’re introducing this on Tuesday on Open week, and it will see Jordan Spieth and Padraig Harrington, both former winners of The Open at Royal Birkdale, joined by reigning AIG Women's Open champion Miyu Yamashita and G4D champion Brendan Lawlor and Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, as well as high-profile figures from sports and entertainment more broadly, including R&A ambassadors Bryan Habana and Kathryn Newton, and they'll be playing a three-hole scramble on Tuesday afternoon.”

Creating more value for the cost of Open tickets

“We have such strong demand for our Open Championship, over a million applications the last few years for tickets that are available, and we're absolutely at capacity on our championship days. We value the experience we deliver for spectators who are here and present. Like many other events, in golf and other sports, we've looked at means to elongate the event week. Our attendance now on the practice days are really strong, but in order to deliver that high value experience for attendees, we wanted to look at whether there were means to create additional opportunities, additional things for them to see and to do, but to do that sensitively and in line with the context and the nature of the rest of our championship.

Code of conduct similar to one for Masters

“We are looking to implement a code of conduct as well (the first breach is a warning, as given to Sergio Garcia in the last round at Augusta after he smashed a water cooler on the second tee with his driver with a second violation leading to a two-shot penalty and then disqualification for a third breach). We've been working closely with the organisers of the other majors and the tours more broadly. I would expect to see a similar policy introduced this summer.”

Golf’s distance debate and Masters chairman Fred Ridley describing top players as ‘one-dimensional’

“I think we're pretty closely aligned with what Fred said. We've obviously spent a lot of time discussing the topic with Augusta National and other major stakeholders across the golfing landscape. For us the trend on distance is undeniable. A decision was made at the back end of '23 to make a change to the golf ball. We remain committed to that. The one thing we're working through is the date of implementation given some feedback we've heard from the industry. I would expect there to be a finalised position on that over the next couple of months as we consolidate that feedback we've taken from manufacturers and other stakeholders. We think the change is important, and so we're committed to it. We know we have a lot of support from across the game. There's some debate on it in certain We think the change is important, and so we're committed to it. We know we have a lot of support from across the game. There's some debate on it in certain quarters, but we're optimistic about the route ahead.”

Portmarnock becoming a new Open venue

“We remain excited by the potential to stage both an AIG Women's Open and an Open Championship at Portmarnock. As you know, it's a wonderful golf course and it would be a first for us. Long history of R&A championships in Ireland, but it would of course be the first Open Championship there if we were to go. It's a complicated venue. So what we've been doing over recent months is undertaking a really significant body of feasibility work. If I'm honest, it's taken us slightly longer than we originally envisaged, but good progress is being made, and I would say we're cautiously optimistic about the ability to stage major championships at that venue. We're hoping to bring some clarity to that by the end of this summer.”