What will happen to The Open Championship if England reach the World Cup final

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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.

The Open ‘can manage’ England reaching the World Cup final

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.