Players guilty of misconduct face two-shot penalty

R&A chief executive Mark Darbon says that players guilty of on-course misconduct could receive a two shot penalty at the Open in July.

This follows a reprimand for Sergio Garcia at last month's Masters where the Spaniard damaged a tee box with his club after an angry reaction to an errant tee shot on the second hole of his final round.

Scotland's Bob MacIntyre was also warned by Augusta officials after microphones caught him swearing and gesturing angrily during a ruinous first-round 80 at the year's opening major.

Both incidents brought player behaviour into sharp focus in a season where the four major tournaments, the Masters, US PGA, US Open and Open, have agreed to implement a new code of conduct.

The leading professional tours are expected to follow suit, but unlike the majors, their policies have yet to be formalised.

There has always been scope for a player to be disqualified for a serious breach, as Garcia was for furiously damaging a green in a DP World Tour event in Saudi Arabia in 2019.

But now there is scope for referees to impose shot penalties for players who seriously breach the etiquette of the game. It means that, for the first time, a fit of temper could affect a leaderboard at one of golf's big four tournaments.

"I think first and foremost, you want passion," Darbon told BBC Sport.

"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.

"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.

"And it will give us another measure by which to help influence and control that behaviour."

Asked how this might impact competitors at the 154th Open, Darbon 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."

Darbon also said that R&A will press ahead with joint plans with fellow rule makers the United States Golf Association to introduce rules that will limit the distance golf balls can fly. The change is due to be made in 2028 but could be pushed back by two years.

Original proposals to distinguish between the recreational and elite games were scrapped, so the rollback would apply to golfers of all levels. The plans won strong backing from Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley last month.

"What we're trying to do is to protect the integrity of what makes golf so great," Ridley said on the eve of the Masters. "That it's more than about just hitting prodigious drives."