Why the NFL is causing chaos with the 2028 Open Championship
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The 2028 Open Championship was set to clash with the LA Olympics – but R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon has a plan up his sleeve to ensure the world’s best players aren’t forced to choose between chasing the Claret Jug or Olympic gold.
A clash of dates between the 2028 Olympics and The Open Championship was always going to create headaches – not to mention the prospect of Olympic golf being played without many of the game’s biggest stars.
The opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympics is set for July 14, 2028. If recent history is any guide, the women’s Olympic golf competition will take place in the second week, but the men’s Olympic golf competition will be staged in the first week of Olympic fortnight – making it a direct clash with when The Open is traditionally played.
If you look at the dates of the Olympics and the last ten Open Championships, you can see the problem.
- 2028 Olympics opening ceremony: July 14
- 2015: St Andrews, July 16-19
- 2016: Royal Troon, July 14-17
- 2017: Royal Birkdale, July 20-23
- 2018: Carnoustie, July 19-22
- 2019: Royal Portrush, July 18-21
- 2021: Royal St George’s, July 15-18
- 2022: St Andrews, July 14-17
- 2023: Royal Liverpool, July 20-23
- 2024: Royal Troon – July 14-21
- 2025: Royal Portrush – July 17-20
The venue and dates for the 2028 Open are yet to be confirmed, but, unless something changes, players would be forced to choose between teeing it up in golf’s oldest major or representing their country on sport’s biggest multi-event stage.
Golf isn’t the only sport affected.
Wimbledon typically wraps up the same weekend as the Olympic opening ceremony, prompting discussions about moving tennis’ biggest tournament forward. Tennis authorities are worried players may start skipping events in the run-up to LA 2028.
Football has already made the first move. UEFA’s Euro 2028 – being held in England and Ireland – has been brought forward to avoid a clash with Olympic football.
As for golf’s clash of dates, Rory McIlroy, who represented Ireland at the last two Olympics, voiced his concern.
“Something needs to give,” he said after Paris 2024. “I think, from what I’ve read, 2028 in LA is going to be much more of a headache than this one was.
“I don’t think you can play The Open after the Olympics. It would be the second week of Wimbledon, which you can’t do. There are so many golf tournaments and not enough weeks in the calendar.”
Why not just flip the men’s and women’s Olympic golf events? Problem solved, right? Not quite.
The Amundi Evian Championship – one of the women’s majors – is played in mid-July, meaning top players would have to jet from a major in France straight to an Olympic contest in the US.
Making scheduling even more challenging is the fact that the 2028 Olympics will include more golf than the last two Games. A mixed-team golf event will debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, with sides featuring one female and one male player. The 36-hole event will take place between the men’s and women’s individual tournaments – across 18 holes of foursomes and 18 of fourballs – and means three separate golf events will need to be squeezed into a very tight and busy window.
Ahead of the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush, new R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon addressed the issue and insisted that the R&A has a solution up its sleeve.
“We’re working with a group of stakeholders because it doesn’t just impact ourselves, it impacts the wider schedule,” he said. “I think we’re pretty close to a solution on that, which I would like to think will be announced over the next few months, so we’ll bring it to life then.”
Golf may have just the right man to deal with the problem. Darbon worked as an Expert Adviser to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) between 2013-2018.
Why wasn’t this a problem with previous Olympics?
For a start, golf was only reintroduced to the Olympics in 2016, following a 112-year hiatus.
But why wasn’t it an issue in the three years that saw an Open Championship and Olympic Games? It’s because the 2028 Olympics are taking place earlier in the year than usual.
The 2016 Rio Olympics were held August 5-21, which meant the 2016 Open, played July 14-17, was long since done and dusted.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, moved to 2021 due to COVID, saw the men’s golf event played July 29 – August 1. The Open that year was played July 15-18.
And the Paris 2024 Olympics ran July 26 – August 11, while The Open took place July 18-21.
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