US Open at Shinnecock Hills shows why golf on guard against bad behaviour
Attention will then turn to the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July. R&A chief executive Mark Darbon told BBC Sport in April that he would be prepared to impose penalty kicks for bad behaviour.
“You want passion from the players, you want passion from the spectators, but there is a fine line there and one of the great things about this sport is the values and integrity that underpin it,” he said.
“So we will follow that line very closely.”
Each group at The Open has an individual referee to facilitate consistent application of the rules of conduct. Meanwhile, the main tours are still working on protocols that will be acceptable to the players who are their ultimate bosses.
Behavior also needs to be carefully managed among fan galleries. Boorish individuals can be heard repeatedly shouting, making unfunny remarks at best and abuse designed to influence an outcome at worst.
As his six-shot lead dwindled last Sunday, the last thing Clark needed to hear was “Don’t strangle Wyndham.” But such feelings rang in his ears throughout the last day.
Golf is played in an intimate arena and fans have the privilege of sharing the stage.
There is no escape for the players and it feels like we are creeping towards the point where people can start shouting at the top of the backswings to distract the players while batting.
The proliferation of betting in the golf industry on both sides of the Atlantic doesn’t help either. And at last fall’s Ryder Cup in Bethpage we saw the effects of partisan crowding, the exploitation of European stars being an absolute disgrace.
Top-flight golf returned to Long Island last week, and some members of the New York crowd again lived up to depressingly deteriorating standards.
With The Open about to return to northwest England, it is worth remembering that there are many who behave similarly to American Brian Harman, who won the 2023 Open at Hoylake, the last time the championship was held in that region.
Harman and Clark have much in common regarding their finest hours on the golf course. Record crowds are expected at Birkdale and, given the heavy summer booze rush, policing them successfully will be crucial.
Last Sunday, Clark and Burns, just shy of the majors, produced a thrilling result played on a wonderful but maddening road.
Despite the magnificence of the Shinnecock display, it also proved that the sport has never been more angry or unruly. These fraudsters need to be kept under control.
Golf without its traditional courtesy is much diminished.
