The Open Championship is rapidly approaching, with Royal Birkdale playing host to the 154th edition of the tournament this summer.
Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion at the major championship, having secured a four-shot win over Harris English at Royal Portrush in 2025.
He’s also aiming to successfully defend his PGA Championship title next month, but many eyes closer to Royal Birkdale are firmly focused on The Open Championship.
Intriguingly, the final day of The Open Championship takes place on the same day as the football World Cup final, which the R&A chief executive has now addressed.
Explaining what would happen to the event if England reach the World Cup final on July 19th, Mark Darbon told the Sky Sports Golf Podcast: “We can manage that.
“We can look at our tee times and we are thinking very deeply about that in our planning.
“I am confident if it’s just England or England versus Scotland then we will be in good shape.”
It would be quite the scenario if such events unfolded, with English fans potentially in for a remarkable day across golf and football if their nation went all the way in the United States.
Royal Birkdale is located in Southport, England, while New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium will play host to the World Cup final.
Darbon may just be left with no choice but to bring the final round of The Open forward, but that is not a major concern at this moment in time.
Also taking a backseat right now regarding The Open are future venues, with the hosts for the next two years having already been confirmed.
Royal Lytham & St Annes will host The Open in 2028, with the Claret Jug returning to St Andrews the year before that.
When asked if the tournament could return to Turnberry in Scotland, Darbon said: “The challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge.
“You see the scale of a modern Open Championship and the road and rail and accommodation network around that particular venue is challenging to deliver what we now deliver.
“We are open-minded and we will maintain that dialogue into the future and see where we go.”
And discussing Ireland’s Portmarnock as a future venue, he confirmed: “It is on the radar.
“We are working closely with the Irish government and the club itself.
“We remain cautiously optimistic about hosting an Open Championship there in the future and an AIG Women’s Open as well.
“A bit more work to be done on that front, but we are making good progress.”
Ireland is, of course, already preparing for a major tournament, with the 2027 Ryder Cup taking place at Adare Manor.