Would R&A Leaving BBC Remove Golf From The Mainstream?

That's the question asked by The Guardian's Ewan Murray as the UK ponders the possibility of The Open telecast leaving BBC after more than a half-century for Sky.

With the USGA having grabbed huge money from Fox Sports it seems inevitable the R&A will do the same. But Murray warns that such a move will only merely serve to show golf to an even smaller audience.

With a fierce battle for the capturing of attention in a sporting context a notable component of this era, golf would suffer from further removal from the mainstream. The R&A will know that, hence a shift to Open coverage by Sky would sit uncomfortably with some within the organisation. Rightly or otherwise, it would also be seen as a key Dawson legacy as the chief executive prepares to hand over the post to Martin Slumbers later this year.

The solution may well be an agreement that replicates that of the Masters, where the BBC shares an element of live coverage with Sky. Even that, though, would be seen as the beginning of the end for a television relationship between the R&A and the BBC which stretches back to 1955.

From an American perspective, a move to Sky could also set up a move for The Open in 2018 away from ESPN to Sky's pseudo-partner, Fox Sports. Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Dawson is currently in Buenos Aires for the LAAC, so I'll be on high alert for a Friday news dump!