The Open 2026: England’s World Cup progress could cause final round timings to change

The tee-times for Sunday’s last round of The Open could be brought forward to avoid a clash with football’s World Cup final, should England make it.

If England beat Argentina in Wednesday’s semi-final, they will play either France or Spain in New Jersey at 20:00 BST, with the golf scheduled to finish around 18:30.

However, should a play-off be needed to decide the winner at Royal Birkdale in Southport, the two events could overlap.

BBC Sport understands that Open organisers the R&A are remaining flexible on any scheduling and that no decision has been made.

Stakeholders and broadcasters are likely to be consulted before any final decision.

A clash has always been on the radar of the R&A, although England’s run to the World Cup semi-final has brought it into sharper focus.

In April, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said: “We’re obviously conscious of other events happening on that date.

“As we approach the championship, we’ll ensure we try and avoid that clash wherever possible.

“Of course some things are out of our control in terms of play-offs and the like, but we will attempt to avoid a clash, yes.”

The Open uses a three-hole play-off with the aggregate score determining the winner. Should there still be a tie, a sudden-death play-off will follow.

This would mean deciding the winner of the Claret Jug, and the presentation ceremony that follows, could come close to clashing with the football.

Even if play were to finish as scheduled, it would leave little time for those also wanting to watch the football to get away from the Merseyside course.

The last time an Open Championship was decided by a play-off was in 2015, with Zach Johnson beating Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman at St Andrews.

The R&A will hold its customary pre-tournament news conference on Wednesday.